The process of creating and collecting Federico's library took fourteen years, especially since Federico resolved One wonders whether he was also aware of the much larger library at the University of Paris, and if he could have obtained a catalogue of the holdings there. It is significant, I think that Vespasiano was aware of, and could obtain the catalogue of the library at Oxford in addition to major libraries in Italy. This is the earliest reference that I recall reading where the holdings of different libraries were compared. Out of curiosity I looked up most of the names that were obscure to me in November 2014, and linked to them when a reference was available.Īnother element of Vespasiano's comments, written toward the end the quotation below, is his reference to the catalogues of the library of the Pope (then at the Lateran Palace before it was established in 1451 at the Vatican), the library of San Marco (Florence), and those at Pavia and Oxford, which he had obtained in manuscript for comparison with the Urbino library. I was less familiar with the Renaissance names than the names from antiquity or early Christianity. As one would expect, after more than five hundred years, some of these remain familiar to scholars others, of course, have become more or less obscure.
Vespasiano's description of its contents is especially interesting for its recitation of the authors and works that the Duke and his advisors felt should be included in his library. When Federico de Montefelto, Duke of Urbino set about building a library he hired Vespasiano to supply all of its books.
These were first published in print as Vite di uomini illustri del secolo xv by Ludovico Frati (Bologna, 1892-93) they were translated by William George and Emily Waters as The Vespasiano Memoirs: Lives of illustrious Men of the XVth century by Vespasiano da Bisticci, Bookseller (1926). He retired in 1480 supposedly disappointed by the changes in the book trade brought about by printing.īy the 1440s Vespasiano owned a bookshop in Florence patronized by members of Florence's humanist community, through whom he was in contact with local scribes, illuminators and binders. Though he was not particularly well educated and had only a modest knowledge of Latin, he was a very shrewd businessman, and he left valuable memoirs informing us of some of his achievements. Having begun his career as a cartolaio, a stationer or dealer in paper and parchment, Vespasiano da Bisticci became the leading bookseller in Italy during the decades immediately before the invention of printing, and during the first years of its introduction in Italy.
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