The Book Collector

Last updated

The Book Collector is a London-based journal that deals with all aspects of the book. [1]

Contents

It is published quarterly and exists in both paper and digital form. It prints independent opinions on subjects ranging from typography to national heritage policy, from medieval libraries to modern first editions. It has run series on Unfamiliar Libraries, Literary and Scientific Autographs, Author Societies, Bookbinding, Contemporary Collectors, Bibliophiles, and many other subjects. The editor is James Fleming.

History

A precursor to the Book Collector was the Book Handbook, issued serially in nine parts in 1951. [2]

The Book Collector was launched by the novelist Ian Fleming [3] in the same year, 1952, that he wrote the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale . [4] This has been discussed at the TLS. [5]

The journal has had only four editors since it was founded. After the death in 1965 of John Davy Hayward, the friend and muse of T. S. Eliot, it was edited for fifty years by Nicolas Barker, sometime publisher and first head of conservation at the British Library. [6] [7] He gave a presentation on the history of The Book Collector at the Caxton Club in 1998. [8]

On fifty years of its publication Thomas Tanselle noted, "for over a half-century now, THE BOOK COLLECTOR has been demonstrating --to experienced book people and to newcomers alike--the reciprocal relationship, the inextricable connection, between bibliophily and scholarship." [9]

In 2015 James Fergusson, founding obituaries editor of The Independent , 1986–2007, was editor until 2018. [10] The current editor is James Fleming. [11]

Essays about book collecting by Geoffrey Keynes in the Book Collector have been published in a compilation volume. [12]

Highlights

Some articles of particular interest include "Our Literary Banquet," a fantasy banquet for bibliophiles with place settings (2021); [13] "National Trust Libraries"(2005); [14] "In Search of Missing Copies of Shakespeare's First Folio"(1994); [15] “The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana”(1989); [16] "Russian Bookbinding from the 11th to the Middle of the 17th Century;" [17] and a series on the Biblotheca Thuana. [18]

In 1967 The Book Collector published a special issue on the November 4, 1966 Floods of Florence. [19]

In 2023 the winter issue was devoted to the history of Printing and the Mind of Man. [20]

Publication

The Book Collector publishes four times a year in March, June, September and December. Each issue consists of 192pp and is sent to subscribers by airmail, where appropriate. Subscribers also have digital access to every issue of The Book Collector, as printed, since its first appearance in 1952 and to its predecessor Book Handbook, which was published in twenty-eight numbers between 1947 and 1951. There is no restriction for libraries and other institutions on the number of digital users. The Book Collector's website holds its complete archive, indexed. [21]

Podcasts

The Book Collector produces Podcasts at Soundcloud. [22] Episodes include: "Ian Fleming: A Personal Memoir" by P.H. Muir, read by Rupert Vansittart; "Portrait Of A Bibliophile XVI: John Ruskin 1819–1900" by James S. Dearden; and 'Scribes in Ice and Darkness' by Fergus Fleming.

Publication details

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book collecting</span> Activity of collecting books

Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and a person who collects books is often called a bibliophile but can also be known as an bibliolater, meaning being overly devoted to books, or a bookman which is another term for a person who has a love of books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Auguste de Thou</span> French historian (1553–1617)

Jacques Auguste de Thou (Thuanus) was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parlement of Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliophilia</span> Love of books

Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books.

Printing and the Mind of Man is a book first published in 1967 and based on an exhibition in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxburghe Club</span>

The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom.

John Waynflete Carter was an English writer, diplomat, bibliographer, book-collector, antiquarian bookseller and president of the Bibliographical Society in 1968. He was recognised as one of the most important figures in the Anglo-American book world. He was the great-grandson of Canon T. T. Carter

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grolier Club</span> Bibliophilic club in Manhattan, New York

The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Treasurer General of France, whose library was famous; his motto, "Io. Grolierii et amicorum" [of or belonging to Jean Grolier and his friends], suggested his generosity in sharing books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dropmore Press</span>

The Dropmore Press was a British private press founded in 1945 by the newspaper-owner Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley.

This list of books published by Rupert Hart-Davis comprises titles reviewed in The Times Literary Supplement, plus reprints in the Mariners Library and Reynard Library series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas James Wise</span>

Thomas James Wise was a bibliophile and probable literary forger and thief who collected the Ashley Library, now housed by the British Library.

The Queen Anne Press is a small publisher.

Jon Gilbert is an English bibliophile, historian and the official bibliographer of Ian Fleming, creator of the fictional character James Bond. He is also an authority on J. K. Rowling first editions. He was educated at Caterham School and Roehampton Institute London. According to Fleming-family publisher Queen Anne Press, Gilbert is perhaps the foremost expert on the works of Ian Fleming and the literary history of James Bond. Through Adrian Harrington booksellers, he has become an internationally renowned dealer in rare Fleming material, and acts as a consultant to the US registered charity, The Ian Fleming Foundation. Ian Fleming: The Bibliography, which was published in October 2012, is the result of both a career immersed in the writings of Ian Fleming, and four years intensive research following Fleming’s centenary year in 2008. The book was the winner of the 16th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, awarded in 2014. Gilbert has appeared on radio and television discussing his subject, and in various Bond-related publications including 007 Magazine, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and MI6 Confidential. In May 2017, Gilbert gave the lecture Ian Fleming: The Author as Collector at the University of London. In July 2021, Gilbert moderated the specialist webinar 007: The Transatlantic Appeal of James Bond.

George Thomas Tanselle is an American textual critic, bibliographer, and book collector, especially known for his work on Herman Melville. He was Vice President of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation from 1978 to 2006.

The Sandars Readership in Bibliography is an annual lecture series given at Cambridge University. Instituted in 1895 at the behest of Samuel Sandars of Trinity College (1837–1894), who left a £2000 bequest to the University, the series has continued to the present day. Together with the Panizzi Lectures at the British Library and the Lyell Lectures at Oxford University, it is considered one of the major British bibliographical lecture series.

The Lyell Readership in Bibliography is an endowed annual lecture series given at the University of Oxford. Instituted in 1952 by a bequest from the solicitor, book collector and bibliographer, James Patrick Ronaldson Lyell. After Lyell's death, Keeper of the Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library, Richard William Hunt, writing of the Lyell bequest noted, "he was a self-taught bibliophile and scholar of extraordinary enthusiasm and discrimination, and one who deserves to be remembered not only by Oxford but by the whole bibliographical world."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolas Barker</span> British historian of printing and books

Nicolas John Barker is a British historian of printing and books. He was Head of Conservation at the British Library from 1976 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana</span> Collection at the University of California, Los Angeles

The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana is a special collection at the University of California, Los Angeles which focuses on Leonardo da Vinci – life, art, thought, and enduring cultural influence. It is the most extensive research collection concerning Leonardo in the United States. It was donated to UCLA in several installments between 1961 and 1966 by Dr. Elmer Belt (1893-1980), an internationally recognized urologist; a pioneer in gender-affirming surgery; a strong supporter in the founding of the UCLA School of Medicine; an important public health advocate; and a lifelong bibliophile and book collector.

Anthony Robert Alwyn Hobson, FBA was a British auctioneer and historian, specialising in the history of books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A.S.W. Rosenbach Lectures in Bibliography</span>

The A.S.W. Rosenbach Lectures are an endowed lectureship in bibliography established in 1928 by rare-book and manuscript dealer A. S. W. Rosenbach at the University of Pennsylvania.

David L. Vander Meulen is professor of English at the University of Virginia and has been editor of the journal of the Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia, Studies in Bibliography since 1991. He is author of The Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia: The First Fifty Years.

References

  1. ↑ (2010). Book Collector, The. In The Oxford Companion to the Book. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 24 Aug. 2024, from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198606536.001.0001/acref-9780198606536-e-0665.
  2. ↑ Horrox, Reginald, ed. (1951). Book Handbook: an illustrated guide to old and rare books. Bracknell. Retrieved 23 November 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ Fergusson, James. 2017. "Ian Fleming & Book Collecting [Special Issue]". The Book Collector 66 (1): 11–214.
  4. ↑ British Library (2003), The pleasures of Bibliophily: Fifty Years of The book Collector: An Anthology, British Library; New Castle, Del. : Oak Knoll Press, ISBN   978-1-58456-097-5
  5. ↑ J.C."The Agent's Secret". TLS. Times Literary Supplement no. 5946 (2017): 36.
  6. ↑ Barker, Nicolas (2002). "Fifty Years On." (fifty years of The Book Collector). The Book Collector 51 (no 4): Winter: 481-489.
  7. ↑ Barker, Nicolas (2003). The Pleasures of Bibliophily: Fifty Years of the Book Collector, an Anthology. Edited by Nicolas J. Barker. London: British Library; New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 2003.
  8. ↑ "Nicolas Barker at the Caxton Club", Chicago. 1998.
  9. ↑ Tanselle, G. Thomas. 2003. “Fifty Years On: Bibliography Then and Now.” The Book Collector 52 (4). Winter: 459–70.
  10. ↑ "News & Comment." The Book Collector 67 (no 3) autumn 2018: 535.
  11. ↑ Fleming, James. 2016. “The Price of Passion: Indexing The Book Collector,” The Book Collector 65 (4): 659–63.
  12. ↑ Keynes, Geoffrey Sir, 1887–1982 (1972), "To Geoffrey Keynes: articles contributed to "The Book Collector" to commemorate his eighty-fifth birthday", The Book Collector, ISBN   978-0-903482-00-4 {{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Fleming, James. 2021. "Our Literary Banquet." The Book Collector 70, No.2 (summer): 210–213.
  14. ↑ Purcell, Mark and Caroline Shenton.2005."National Trust Libraries."The Book Collector 54, no.4 (spring): 53–59
  15. ↑ West, James Anthony (1994). "In Search of Missing Copies of Shakespeare's First Folio" The Book Collector 43, no.3 (autumn): 396–407
  16. ↑ Marmor, Max. "The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana" The Book Collector, 38, no. 3 (Autumn 1989): 1–23
  17. ↑ Klepikov, S.A. (1961). "Russian Bookbinding from the 11th to the Middle of the 17th Century. The Book Collector 10 4 (autumn): 408–422.
  18. ↑ Lloyd, L.J.(1947). "Books from the Library of Jacques-Auguste de Thou." Book Handbook: 1–2; Kinser, Samuel (1966). "The Sunderland Copy of Jacques-Auguste de Thou's History of His TimeThe Book Collector 15 no 4 (winter): 446–453; Kinser, Samuel (1968). "An Unknown Manuscript Catalogue of J.A. De Thou." The Book Collector 17 no 2 (summer): 168–176.
  19. ↑ Muir, Percy H, John Carter, and Nicolas Barker. 1967. The Book Collector: A Special Number on Florence. London: Collector.
  20. ↑ Fleming, James. (2023). "Printing and the Mind of Man." The Book Collector 72 no.4 (winter): 619-623.
  21. ↑ The Book Collector Launches Complete Digital Archive Fine Books and Collections. 25 February 2020).
  22. ↑ The Book Collector. Soundcloud

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.