The Bibliographical Decameron
Or, Ten Days Pleasant Discourse upon Illuminated Manuscripts, and Subjects Connected with Early Engraving, Typography, and Bibliography

An illustrated three-volume exploration of the history of manuscripts and printed books, and of bibliography and bibliomania, published in 1817.

Thomas Frognall Dibdin (Author)

9781108076517, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 January 2015

684 pages, 215 b/w illus.
24.3 x 17 x 3.3 cm, 1.14 kg

Bibliomania, the almost obsessive collecting of rare books and early editions by the aristocracy, which peaked in 1812 with the sale of the Valdarfer Boccaccio, was fuelled in no small part by the work of the bibliographer Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1847). His most famous book, Bibliomania, popularised the word's use in England. The present work was first published in three volumes in 1817 and may be considered a continuation of Bibliomania in both style and content. Using a dialogue format with extensive footnotes, it covers all aspects of bibliography from early illuminated manuscripts and printed books through to contemporary book collectors and auctions. The work is notable for the number and quality of its illustrations. Volume 1 presents a detailed survey of illuminated manuscripts and early printed books, focusing on the continuity of illustration and decoration. Dibdin's Bibliomania (revised edition, 1811) and his Reminiscences of a Literary Life (1836) are also reissued in this series.

Preface
Introduction
First day
Second day
Third day
Fourth day.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]