Editing Book collecting (section)

==History==
In the ancient world, ''papyri'' and scrolls (the precursors of the book in [[codex]] form) were collected by both institutions and private individuals. In surviving accounts there are references to bibliophile book collectors in that era. [[Xenophon]] wrote disparagingly of a man who tried to collect more books than his friends.{{Sfn|Holzenberg|2019|p=816}} [[Seneca the Younger]] was skeptical of those who collect books they do not read,{{Sfn|Holzenberg|2019|p=816}} asking: "What is the use of possessing numberless books and libraries, whose titles their owner can hardly read through in a lifetime?"<ref>[[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], Aubrey Stewart, tr., ''[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Of_Peace_of_Mind Of Peace of Mind] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114093436/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Of_Peace_of_Mind |date=2017-11-14 }}'', London: George Bell and Sons, 1900 (Bohn's Classical Library Edition), Book X; republished on en.wikisource.org. Retrieved 14 November 2017. ''Of Peace of Mind'' is a translation of Seneca's ''[[De Tranquillitate Animi]]''.</ref> Book collectors in western antiquity prized accurate transcription and high-quality materials.{{Sfn|Holzenberg|2019|p=816}}

In 1344 the English bishop [[Richard de Bury]] wrote ''[[The Philobiblon]]'', in which he praised the love and appreciation of books.<ref>Martin, S. S. (1986). ''Richard D'Aungerville de Bury, 1287-1345 (England, Bishop of Durham)''. Emory University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, p. 24.</ref> [[Philip the Good]] brought together a collection of "about six hundred manuscripts in his possession at the height of his reign",<ref>Leah Dobrinska, [https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/philip-the-good-early-book-collector-and-patron-of-the-arts  Philip the Good: Early Book Collector, Patron of the Arts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115143425/https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/philip-the-good-early-book-collector-and-patron-of-the-arts |date=2017-11-15 }}, bookstellyouwhy.com. Retrieved 15 November 2017.</ref> which was the largest private collection of his day.

With the advent of the [[printing press]] invented by [[Johannes Gutenberg]] in the 15th century, which resulted in cheaper and more abundant books, and with the contemporaneous economic, social and political changes of the [[Renaissance]], book collecting received a great impetus. [[Jean Grolier de Servières|Jean Grolier]], the Treasurer-General of France, was an important bibliophile and book collector of this period.<ref>Gabriel Austin, [https://www.oakknoll.com/resources/bookexcerpts/106587.pdf ''The Library of Jean Grolier: A Preliminary Catalogue''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514170156/http://www.oakknoll.com/resources/bookexcerpts/106587.pdf |date=2016-05-14 }}, New York: The Grolier Club, 1971, pp. 1-4.</ref>  

With the advent of the [[Romanticism|Romantic era]] in the 18th century and its focus on the past, book collectors began to show an interest in old books, antiquarian editions and manuscripts. This new emphasis was nourished by the flood of old books onto the market following the dissolution of monastic and aristocratic libraries during the [[French Revolution]] and the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>Owen Chadwick, "The Acton Library", in: Peter Fox, ed., ''Cambridge University Library: The Great Collections'', Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 142.</ref>

The British Whig politician [[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|George John, 2nd Earl Spencer]] (1758-1834) collected tens of thousands of volumes. Strengths of his collection included first editions of the classics; works produced by important early presses, and notably an almost complete collection of [[Aldine Press|Aldine editions]]; and many Bibles.<ref>William Younger Fletcher, [https://archive.org/details/englishbookcolle00fletiala ''English Book Collectors''], London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Company, 1902 (The English Bookman's Library), pp. 309-312.</ref>  

[[Thomas Phillipps|Sir Thomas Phillipps]] (1792-1872) collected 40,000 printed books and 60,000 manuscripts.<ref>{{Cite DNB|wstitle= Phillipps, Thomas |volume= 45 |last= Anon |first=  |author-link= |pages= 192-195 |year= |short=1}}</ref> He was "the greatest collector of manuscript material the world has ever known".<ref>Seymour de Ricci, [https://archive.org/details/englishcollector00ricc ''English Collectors of Books & Manuscripts (1530-1930) and Their Marks of Ownership. The Sandars Lectures 1929-1930''], Cambridge University Press, 1930; reprinted Indiana University Press, 1960, p. 119. Retrieved 13 March 2018.</ref> 

The increasingly wealthy United States during the 19th century saw the appearance of "titan" book collectors such as the railroad magnate [[Henry E. Huntington|Henry Huntington]] and the financier and banker [[J. Pierpont Morgan]].<ref>Stephen Ferguson, [https://blogs.princeton.edu/rarebooks/2008/03/collecting-in-19th-century-ame/ Collecting in 19th Century America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727043419/https://blogs.princeton.edu/rarebooks/2008/03/collecting-in-19th-century-ame/ |date=2020-07-27 }}, princeton.edu. Retrieved 13 March 2018.</ref>