Bibliotheca Farmeriana
A Catalogue of the Curious, Valuable and Extensive Library, in Print and Manuscript, of the Late Revd Richard Farmer

The 1798 sale catalogue for the library of Richard Farmer, annotated by an auction attendee with prices paid and purchasers.

Thomas King (Author)

9781108065993, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 January 2014

390 pages
24.4 x 17 x 2 cm, 0.62 kg

The library of the literary scholar Richard Farmer (1735–97) was first and foremost a working reference collection, the books acquired not as treasures, but to be read and appreciated. Farmer's library included all four Shakespeare folios and was remarkable for its Elizabethan literature and black letter, which provided the source material for his scholarly work. Notable acquaintances such as Samuel Johnson, George Steevens, Edmond Malone and Isaac Reed all benefitted from Farmer's knowledge, and Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry drew directly on the library itself. In 1798, Farmer's books were sold at an auction attended by many of the next generation's greatest book collectors. Reissued here is a copy of the catalogue featuring handwritten annotations by an anonymous attendee who recorded the prices paid and the names of many buyers, uniquely capturing the dispersal of one of the eighteenth century's great libraries.

Conditions of sale
1. Catalogues, dictionaries, grammars, etc.
2. Dictionaries, grammars, magazines, etc.
3. Libri classici, historici ac miscellanei
4. Libri classici, historici ac miscellanei
5. Libri classici, historici ac miscellanei
6. Libri classici, historici ac miscellanei
7. Libri classici, historici ac miscellanei
8. Poetae recentiores, Lat. Ital. Gall. etc.
9. Livres francois, italiens, espagnols, etc.
10. Miscellaneous English
11. Ditto
12. Ditto
13. Ditto
14. Ditto
15. Ditto
16. Ditto
17. Ditto
18. Ditto
19. Ditto
20. Ditto
21. Ditto
22. Ditto
23. Early printed English books, in black letter
24. Ditto
25. Ditto
26. Poetry, early printed books, etc.
27. Poetry continued
28. Ditto
29. Ditto
30. Ditto
31. Ditto
32. Poetry continued. Old plays
33. Old plays continued
34. Ditto
35. Manuscripts, books of prints, portraits, etc.
36. Prints and portraits continued.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]