The Bibliographical Decameron

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 2 presents the rise and progress of printing, particularly on the Continent, and a survey of the history of bookbinding. Dibdin’s Bibliomania (revised edition, 1811) and his Reminiscences of a Literary Life (1836) are also reissued in this series.