The Bookseller of Florence: Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Manuscripts that Illuminated the Renaissance
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- Create Date：2021-03-23 00:22:40
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Ross King
- ISBN：1784742651
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Summary
'A brilliant narrative that seamlessly weaves together intellectual debate， technological exploration and the excitement of new ways of thinking about ethics， politics and human capability' ROWAN WILLIAMS
An exhilarating and untold account of a Florentine bookseller working at the frontiers of human knowledge， and the epochal shift from script to print that defined the Renaissance
The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings - the dazzling handiwork of the city's artists and architects。 But equally important were geniuses of another kind: Florence's manuscript hunters， scribes， scholars and booksellers， who blew the dust off a thousand years of history and， through the discovery and diffusion of ancient knowledge， imagined a new and enlightened world。
At the heart of this activity was a remarkable bookseller: Vespasiano da Bisticci。 Besides repositories of ancient wisdom by the likes of Plato， Aristotle and Cicero， his books were works of art in their own right， copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists。 His clients included popes， kings， and princes across Europe who wished to burnish their reputations by founding magnificent libraries。 Vespasiano reached the summit of his powers as Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge when a new invention appeared: the printed book。 By 1480， the 'king of the world's booksellers' was swept away by this epic technological disruption。
A thrilling chronicle of intellectual ferment set against the dramatic political and religious turmoil of the era， The Bookseller of Florence is also an ode to books and bookmaking that charts the world-changing shift from script to print through the life of an extraordinary man long lost to history - one of the true titans of the Renaissance。
'Conjures a vivid， lost world of manuscripts and learning。 Written with an exquisite touch and enviable flair， King has written a book in defence of the pursuit of knowledge that's needed today more than ever' Jerry Brotton， author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps
An exhilarating and untold account of a Florentine bookseller working at the frontiers of human knowledge， and the epochal shift from script to print that defined the Renaissance
The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings - the dazzling handiwork of the city's artists and architects。 But equally important were geniuses of another kind: Florence's manuscript hunters， scribes， scholars and booksellers， who blew the dust off a thousand years of history and， through the discovery and diffusion of ancient knowledge， imagined a new and enlightened world。
At the heart of this activity was a remarkable bookseller: Vespasiano da Bisticci。 Besides repositories of ancient wisdom by the likes of Plato， Aristotle and Cicero， his books were works of art in their own right， copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists。 His clients included popes， kings， and princes across Europe who wished to burnish their reputations by founding magnificent libraries。 Vespasiano reached the summit of his powers as Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge when a new invention appeared: the printed book。 By 1480， the 'king of the world's booksellers' was swept away by this epic technological disruption。
A thrilling chronicle of intellectual ferment set against the dramatic political and religious turmoil of the era， The Bookseller of Florence is also an ode to books and bookmaking that charts the world-changing shift from script to print through the life of an extraordinary man long lost to history - one of the true titans of the Renaissance。
'Conjures a vivid， lost world of manuscripts and learning。 Written with an exquisite touch and enviable flair， King has written a book in defence of the pursuit of knowledge that's needed today more than ever' Jerry Brotton， author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps
Reviews
Lynn
，
In Florence， Italy， in the 1430's， the Street of Booksellers [Via del Librai]， was home to an "assortment of tailors and cloth merchants， as well as a barrel maker， a barber， a butcher， a baker and a cheesemonger， several notaries， a manuscript illiinator， two painters who shared a workshop， and a pianellaio [maker of slippers]。 But it took its name from the shops of the many booksellers and stationers [cartolai] scattered along its narrow stretch"。 This wonderful book is a history of these book In Florence， Italy， in the 1430's， the Street of Booksellers [Via del Librai]， was home to an "assortment of tailors and cloth merchants， as well as a barrel maker， a barber， a butcher， a baker and a cheesemonger， several notaries， a manuscript illiinator， two painters who shared a workshop， and a pianellaio [maker of slippers]。 But it took its name from the shops of the many booksellers and stationers [cartolai] scattered along its narrow stretch"。 This wonderful book is a history of these booksellers， this street， Florence， and the developing world of the time。 I read this EARC courtesy of Edelweiss and Atlantic Monthly Press。 pub date 04/13/21 。。。more
Nancy
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It was an age when scholars studied the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers in search of answers to contemporary concerns。 Book collectors scoured monasteries and abbeys across Italy and Europe seeking rare and neglected books。 Golden Age Florence was a a republic， a literate city that educated boys and girls， a place where both wealthy and tradesmen ordered volumes for their personal libraries。 It was also an age of cruel acts of vengeance， political intrigue and family wars， a time of plague， It was an age when scholars studied the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers in search of answers to contemporary concerns。 Book collectors scoured monasteries and abbeys across Italy and Europe seeking rare and neglected books。 Golden Age Florence was a a republic， a literate city that educated boys and girls， a place where both wealthy and tradesmen ordered volumes for their personal libraries。 It was also an age of cruel acts of vengeance， political intrigue and family wars， a time of plague， while the Ottoman empire threatened from the East。 The church was in turmoil， powerless girls were married off or sent to an abbey， either way locked away from the world。While some sought truth in Plato and Aristotle， others rejected anything but the Holy Bible and traditional Christian beliefs。 As one bookseller in Florence wrote，"All evil is born from ignorance， Yet writers have illuminated the world， chasing away the darkness。" He was Vespasiano da Bisticci。 He started life as an eleven-year-old assistant in a book shop， a stationer and bookbinder， doing manual work that required great strength。 He went on to be renowned as the "king of the world's booksellers"， a trusted friend to the wealthy and powerful and the scholar。 The Bookseller of Florence is the story of Vespasiano's career， set against the story of bookmaking during the shift from hand written and illuminated manuscripts bound in velvet and jewels to the mass production of the printing press。 And it is the history of Florence and Italy during the early Renaissance。Saving ancient manuscripts， copying them， and distributing them for scholarly study did not protect the texts。 Without libraries to store and protected them， many sat neglected or where destroyed by fire and warfare， or carried off to disappear。 King covers a lot of territory！ I was only vaguely familiar with Italian and Catholic history previously---and found it fascinating。 I will read more！ （Such as King's Brunelleschi’s Dome， on my Kindle TBR shelf。） I learned about every aspect of book making， the switch from papyrus to parchment to paper， the advances in writing fonts， how printing presses work。 Yes， the book is filled with a huge cast of historic people and events， but my interest never flagged。 I was swept up in this epic history。I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley。 My review is fair and unbiased。 。。。more
Marlene
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Born in 1422 and after only five years of formal education Vespasiano da Bisticci began working in Florence's Street of Booksellers。 By the age of 20 he was a recognized expert on ancient classical manuscripts。 Popes， Kings， powerful families such as the Medici's sought him out to locate ancient texts and to create beautiful copies for their libraries。 Vespaisano was embraced by the group of intellectuals who recognized his talent and included him in their philosophical debates and discussions 。 Born in 1422 and after only five years of formal education Vespasiano da Bisticci began working in Florence's Street of Booksellers。 By the age of 20 he was a recognized expert on ancient classical manuscripts。 Popes， Kings， powerful families such as the Medici's sought him out to locate ancient texts and to create beautiful copies for their libraries。 Vespaisano was embraced by the group of intellectuals who recognized his talent and included him in their philosophical debates and discussions 。His days of glory began to diminish with the invention of the printing press in in 1440。King deftly weaves Vespasiano's biography into the broader framework of the classical world and the Golden Age of Florence during the Renaissance。 Details of 15th century book production and collecting are fascinating。 The work is meticulously researched and documented， accessibly written and a delight to read。Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to meet Vespasiano。 。。。more
Ari
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An extensive account of fifteenth century Florence’s literary world。Familiar Italian history author Ross King sets his sights on fifteenth-century Florence， but especially pays attention to the role that manuscript copyists played during the Renaissance。 King focuses in part on a general biography of Vespasiano di Bisticci， a bookseller and manuscript hunter who worked for the most demanding clients and with the heaviest purse。 Throughout his forty years as a salesman of hand-copied manuscripts， An extensive account of fifteenth century Florence’s literary world。Familiar Italian history author Ross King sets his sights on fifteenth-century Florence， but especially pays attention to the role that manuscript copyists played during the Renaissance。 King focuses in part on a general biography of Vespasiano di Bisticci， a bookseller and manuscript hunter who worked for the most demanding clients and with the heaviest purse。 Throughout his forty years as a salesman of hand-copied manuscripts， he served popes， governors， and high-ranking people who sought the wisdom of the ancient Greeks and obscure religious writings which would enable them to win philosophical debates。 Vespasiano who ‘was the most accomplished， prolific， and influential producer of manuscripts during the fifteenth century’ lived during turbulent political times: from the conquest of Constantinople and through the Pazzi Conspiracy， he dedicated his life to learn and rediscover lost currents of thought。 He was the go-to guy for rare religious texts， new translations， and beautiful deluxe editions of already known philosophical works。 And Florence was also the place where all knowledge converged， it was — at that time — one of the most cultural places of all of Europe and Vespasiano took advantage of that。 It was thanks to the manuscripts that academics and theologians could prevail over their intellectual opponents since they had no longer to rely on memory or on suspicious translations。 But the process of copying manuscripts was an arduous and costly one。 Some editions costed more than entire farms or a year of one’s wages， and they took months to produce。 However， the end result was a beautiful piece of art which people like Cosimo di Medici were happy to pay for。 Author Ross not only outlines Vespasiano’s dealer trajectory， and not only does he give an extensive overview of Florence and its political events， but he also gives detailed accounts of some of the most important manuscripts of the day; when talking about a certain Cicero’s publication or one by Aristotle， he makes sure to inform the reader the contents of it and why people wanted them。 The time of Vespasiano was one in which the old Greek works were being rescued and ‘married’ to a catholic way of living， but it was not always a very successful attempt since most of them were perceived as pagan。 But it didn’t stop academics to learn the language and produce translations， and Vespasiano had a pivotal role in that。 But this famous cartolaio also lived in a risky period for his trade， which was in the advent of printing。 He was menaced by a machine by a certain Gutenberg guy which produced the same work as his but much faster and in larger quantities， and soon the office of copyist was no longer in great demand。 Even though Vespasiano never embraced this new invention， his legacy remains as one of the most — if not the most — renown bookseller of his time。This book will remain an authoritative work on the dissemination of manuscripts， and possible the one biography of Vespasiano da Bisticci that will be referred to for a long time。 ~ 。。。more
Haley
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Thank you， NetGalley， for providing a free copy for review。 This is no way sways my final opinion。The Bookseller of Florence was a remarkable man in Florence， Italy， that before reading this book I knew next to little about。 Vespasiano da Bisticci had connections to Cosimo de' Medici， Pope Nicholas V， and many prominent scholars both in Florence and abroad， who worked on the "Street of Booksellers" in the bookshop of Michele Guarducci。 He influenced the works published for the "modest man"， with Thank you， NetGalley， for providing a free copy for review。 This is no way sways my final opinion。The Bookseller of Florence was a remarkable man in Florence， Italy， that before reading this book I knew next to little about。 Vespasiano da Bisticci had connections to Cosimo de' Medici， Pope Nicholas V， and many prominent scholars both in Florence and abroad， who worked on the "Street of Booksellers" in the bookshop of Michele Guarducci。 He influenced the works published for the "modest man"， without intricate scribe work and detail that had formerly kept books out of the hands of all but the uber-wealthy elite。 By his mid-twenties， he was the "king of booksellers"， with connections to people and libraries across Europe。This book， however， is much more than just the tale of Vespasiano。 As with Ross King's other works， The Bookseller of Florence blends Italian history and politics， and important figures that influenced art， culture， and writing far beyond just Italy's confines and who's decisions can still be felt all these centuries later。 King describes the process that developed from papyrus to scrolls to bookbinding， the creation of inks that copyists used， the long （and sometimes deadly） work that manuscript illuminators carried out to leave behind some of the most beautiful books in history。With all of this detail， it can be easily overwhelming to the casual reader， so it's advised to do little sips at a time to avoid the flood。 If you are anything like me， I would fall down the Internet rabbit hole researching individuals， places， and manuscripts mentioned in the book， easily losing hours of time。 Take your time， for this heavily researched delight is well worth it。 。。。more
Diane Ferbrache
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By the author of Brunelleschi’s Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling， King now focuses on the beginnings of libraries and printing in the pre-Renaissance Florence。 This incredibly well researched book tells the story of Vespasiano who was a pre-eminent bookseller and collector。 As with his previous books， the story is not just about Vespasiano， but about Italian history and politics and about a multitude of characters who influenced art， writing， culture， and politics in Italy and beyond By the author of Brunelleschi’s Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling， King now focuses on the beginnings of libraries and printing in the pre-Renaissance Florence。 This incredibly well researched book tells the story of Vespasiano who was a pre-eminent bookseller and collector。 As with his previous books， the story is not just about Vespasiano， but about Italian history and politics and about a multitude of characters who influenced art， writing， culture， and politics in Italy and beyond。 I was fascinated by references to word origins and the stories of the development of book making throughout history。 I'm very interested in both books and history， so I was looking forward to reading this book。 I admit that I found parts of it utterly fascinating， but other parts were pretty tedious and boring and I found myself skimming occasionally。 This is less a reflection on the author or the quality of the text， but rather a reflection of the fact that I am a lukewarm student of history and philosophy。 This is a book that is thorough and detailed and a definite must read" for anyone who is interested in this period of history。 I this it would be of special interest to anyone with an interest in the humanities -- I will definitely recommend this to my teacher friends。 And I have every intention of reading more of Ross King's work。 My "4 star" rating is only a reflection of my belief that this is not a book for the casual reader， but for the history buff。 Thank you， NetGalley， for letting me read this wonderful bookl。 。。。more
Melisende
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A new found kinship with a fellow collector。
Julia
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I received a free copy from Edelweiss and the publisher
Ionia
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This book is a true example of fine writing and dedicated scholarship。 For being a lengthier book， I had fears that it might get tiring， but that did not prove to be so。 This book is fascinating and educational from cover to cover。 The author not only gives details about the Florentine society and the book industry as it developed at the time， but so much more。 I was particularly interested in the way he described each part that went into book making both before and after moveable type came into This book is a true example of fine writing and dedicated scholarship。 For being a lengthier book， I had fears that it might get tiring， but that did not prove to be so。 This book is fascinating and educational from cover to cover。 The author not only gives details about the Florentine society and the book industry as it developed at the time， but so much more。 I was particularly interested in the way he described each part that went into book making both before and after moveable type came into play。 The different kinds of text that were used are shown in fine photographic examples and the descriptions of the different kinds of paper， parchment etc。， are explained in a way that easy is easy to understand even for the lay person with no knowledge of such things。 This is a fantastic book that helped me learn a lot and kept me interested along the way。 For any lover of books， you should definitely add this to your shelf。 This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher， provided through Netgalley。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Tyler
，
Absolutely incredible book。 The amount of detail and scholarship is astounding。 If you have any interest in books， book making， the birth of the printing press or 15th century Florence you will love this read。 I can't imagine the dedication the author put into the work。 Truly A+ and can't recommend the book enough。 Absolutely incredible book。 The amount of detail and scholarship is astounding。 If you have any interest in books， book making， the birth of the printing press or 15th century Florence you will love this read。 I can't imagine the dedication the author put into the work。 Truly A+ and can't recommend the book enough。 。。。more
Brenda
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The Street of Booksellers in Florence was crucial to further learning in the Renaissance and not only selling books but also stocking parchment， binding manuscripts and illumination （decorated with stunning illustrations）。 The literacy rate in Florence was far higher than anywhere else。 Few people could afford books then as they were all created by hand which took painstaking work and many months， if not years to complete。 This meant only the wealthy and priests/churches/monasteries owned them a The Street of Booksellers in Florence was crucial to further learning in the Renaissance and not only selling books but also stocking parchment， binding manuscripts and illumination （decorated with stunning illustrations）。 The literacy rate in Florence was far higher than anywhere else。 Few people could afford books then as they were all created by hand which took painstaking work and many months， if not years to complete。 This meant only the wealthy and priests/churches/monasteries owned them at first。 I just cannot comprehend owning such a treasure but thankfully have been able to see a few on my travels。 I love that a group of intellectuals gathered to discuss philosophy and literature in Florence。。。what a sight that must have been！ This author has done meticulous and incredibly thorough research into the creating of and selling books in the 15th century。 It was met with opposition frequently and there were book bans and burning and worse。。 Others were lost to climatic conditions and bugs。 Such a shame。 But thanks to Vespasiano da Bisticci and colleagues and surviving manuscripts we have information into their world and know how things were done， what materials were used， who wanted books， esteemed customers and their creative wishes and who didn't want books around。 We learn about Bruni， writings of Petrarch and Pliny， Grammar and Rhetoric and contemporary events。 We also learn about the first printing including Gutenburg and others。 Though Vespasiano and his scribes created glorious manuscripts he was opposed to mass printing。 Mistakes were often made including confusing letters and some printers were more cautious than others。 So many things to love about this book。。。some of my favourite aspects include learning about illustrating， materials used for writing， the origin of words， not to mention imagining the gorgeous binding as well as people's reaction to book making and printing and how they affected the entire world。 I have been to some of the most magnificent libraries in the world and have stood in tears of awe， envisioning scribes at work。 Well， this book brought it to life for me。 What a time of enlightenment and preservation this must have been！ How glad I am that people had the foresight to do this for their generations and emphasize the need of books and learning。This is quite a niche book and would be particularly meaningful to historians， archivists， those who wish to learn more about the book creating process and about the need for books in general。 But it's also a wonderful book to learn more about the Renaissance period and books。 A fascinating read - I learned a great deal and am happy about that。My sincere thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this highly informative and fascinating look into book creating， selling and buying in the 15th century。 Much appreciated。 。。。more
Tony Stacey
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