Книготорговец из Флоренции

by Ross King

Флоренция эпохи Возрождения. Эти слова приводят на память образы прекрасных творений искусных художников и архитекторов. Но не менее значимыми были свершения творцов в иной области: флорентийских охотников за рукописями, писцов, ученых и книготорговцев, которые смахнули пыль веков с античного знания, открывая и распространяя которое, они творили новый просвещенный мир.
Именно в этой сфере достиг грандиозного успеха Веспасиано да Бистиччи — «король книготорговцев», которому посвящена новая захватывающая книга Росса Кинга, автора бестселлеров «Леонардо да Винчи и Тайная вечеря», «Микеланджело и Сикстинская капелла» и многих других.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Italy, Books About Books, Art, Biography, Renaissance

592 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Ross King (born July 16, 1962) is a Canadian novelist and non-fiction writer. He began his career by writing two works of historical fiction in the 1990s, later turning to non-fiction, and has since written several critically acclaimed and best-selling historical works.

King was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada and was raised in the nearby village of North Portal. He received his undergraduate university education at the University of Regina, where in 1984 he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English Literature. Continuing his studies at the University of Regina, he received a Master of Arts degree in 1986 upon completing a thesis on the poet T.S. Eliot. Later he achieved a Ph.D. from York University in Toronto (1992), where he specialized eighteenth-century English literature.

King moved to England to take up a position as a post-doctoral research fellow at University College, London. It was at this time that he began writing his first novel.

For Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, King was nominated in 2003 for a National Book Critics Circle Award. Brunelleschi’s Dome was on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle, and was the recipient of several awards including the 2000 Book Sense Nonfiction Book of the Year.

He lectures frequently in both Europe and North America, and has given guided tours of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

King currently lives in Woodstock, England with his wife Melanie

Reviews

[Valeriu Gherghel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am început cartea în engleză, am continuat-o în română și m-am întors (aproape) imediat la original. Am confruntat uimit cele două texte. Și nu mi-a venit să cred ochilor. Prefer să nu vă spun de ce...

E vorba de o poveste despre librari, scribi, legători și iubitori de cărți care și-au trăit ilustrele vieți în secolul al XV-lea la Florența. Vespasiano da Bisticci (1421 – 1498) a fost doar unul dintre ei (cel mai mic dintre cei mari) și, către sfîrșitul vieții, cînd renunțase la afacere, le-a scris biografiile, sub titlul modest Le vite. Volumul s-a tipărit abia în 1839. Jacob Burckhardt, autorul lucrării Civilizația Renașterii în Italia, a găsit în cartea lui Bisticci un material neprețuit și l-a acoperit pe librar cu elogii.

Dar faptul că numele său apare în titlul cărții lui Ross King nu înseamnă că a fost un uomo universale ori un monstrum eruditionis. N-a știut niciodată prea bine limba latină, n-a redactat tratate enciclopedice și n-a avut curiozitatea febrilă a lui Leonardo (la fel de puțin știutor de latină). A legat cărți, a făcut din ele niște obiecte cu adevărat fascinante și le-a vîndut savanților și pasionaților. A fost, mai degrabă, un martor privilegiat. A avut norocul să stea în preajma celor mari: i-a acultat pe Poggio Bracciolini, pe cardinalul Giuliano Cesarini, pe Cosimo de Medici și, mai ales, pe eruditul Niccolò Niccoli, al cărui rafinament galeș l-a atras.

Niccolò Niccoli adunase o bibliotecă impresionantă pentru vremea aceea. Strînsese 800 de volume, în greacă ( o limbă pe care o învățase aproximativ), latină, armeană și slavonă, dar nici o carte în volgare, dialectul toscan, folosit și de Dante Alighieri, în Commedia. Din Dante n-a înțeles absolut nimic și i-a privit poemul cu nedisimulat dispreț. Limba poporului l-a dezgustat. În definitiv, Niccoli era un om al trecutului, i-ar fi plăcut să trăiască printre patricienii din Roma antică. Îl înfuria și greoaia latină medievală, visa la puritatea expresiei lui Cicero...

Tot un om al trecutului va deveni și Vespasiano da Bisticci după apariția, la mijlocul secolului, a tiparului. Noul meșteșug nu l-a atras. A continuat să lucreze cărți din pergament, cu ilustrații minunate și să le vîndă vechilor prieteni. Cînd cărțile ieftine au copleșit piața, s-a retras din negoț. S-a cufundat în trecut și a redactat Le vite. Atitudinea lui Vespasiano da Bisticci dovedește că mulți oameni din Renaștere au privit cu antipatie invenția lui Johannes Gutenberg.

Dincolo de biografia lui Bisticci (care și-a semnat Le vite cu numele Vespasiano Fiorentino), de la un punct încolo, digresiunile lui Ross King (despre volumen și codex, despre apariția pergamentului) tind să devină irelevante. Nu au legătură cu subiectul cărții. Formulează elegant lucruri de mult știute.

P. S. Chiar acum citesc un articol și aflu că Niccolò Niccoli e considerat fondatorul bibliotecii mănăstirii San Marco, prima bibliotecă publică modernă. Edificiul era opera lui Michelozzo Michelozzi și a fost terminat în 1444 (la 7 ani de la moartea lui Niccolò Niccoli), la porunca și pe spezele lui Cosimo de Medici. Un catalog din 1499 - 1500 arată că în rafturile și dulapurile bibliotecii se aflau 1.053 de volume în latină (870 manuscrise și 183 tipărite) și 182 în limba greacă (doar 6 tipărite, restul manuscrise). Sînt opere din Sfinții Părinți alături de tratate de medicină, astronomie și cărți ale clasicilor greci și latini: „The catalogue of 1499 or 1500 which forms the major portion of the work was apparently created by Zenobio Acciaili. This lists 1,053 volumes in the Latin library (870 ms. and 183 printed) and 182 in the Greek library (all except six are ms.). The list is exceptionally complete for the church fathers, although, surprisingly, sermons occupy only one bench. It is strong in medicine, astronomy and classical authors in general. Every branch of contemporary knowledge is represented” (Arthur T. Hamlin, Reviewed Work(s): „The Public Library of Renaissance Florence: Niccolo Niccoli, Cosimo de' Medici and the Library of San Marco by Berthold L. Ullman and Philip A. Stadter”, The Journal of Library History (1974-1987) , Apr., 1974, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr., 1974), pp.189-191, la p.190).

[TBV (on hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“‘All evil is born from ignorance,’ as Vespasiano wrote. ‘Yet writers have illuminated the world, chasing away the darkness.’ This darkness he and his friends hoped to dispel by casting on to their fractured and unhappy times the pure radiance of the past, one scribe and one manuscript at a time.”

Author Ross King starts by discussing the origins of writing, what material they wrote on, who the great writers were, and the collection of manuscripts into libraries such as the Ptolemaic Library of Alexandria. The origins of several book-related words currently used are provided too.

Vespasiano da Bisticci (1421-1498)
The main narrative unfolds in the Via dei Librai (Street of Booksellers) where there were several booksellers and stationers, cartolai (from carta, i.e. paper). In 1433 Vespasiano da Bisticci, an uneducated boy, started work at the bookshop of Michele Guarducci. It was a good place to be, as the intelligentsia gathered in that street to discuss and argue various issues. ”By the 1440s the bookshop had become a gathering place for Florence’s intellectual luminaries. Philosophical and literary discussions now took place not sul canto del palagio but inside the corner shop itself as visitors filed through the doors not merely to purchase manuscripts of Cicero or Pliny but also to hear or participate in learned philosophical discussions about them. One visitor claimed the shop was ‘redolent of philosophy.’” In addition, ”If the arrival in Florence of the Roman Curia had been a great boon to booksellers, five years later, in 1439, when Vespasiano was seventeen years old, the cartolai in the Street of Booksellers suddenly found their shops filled with dozens of even more brilliant and discerning customers, or what Vespasiano called ‘learned men from all over Italy and beyond.’ Russians, Armenians, Bulgarians, Ethiopians, and Mesopotamians were among those who arrived. The majority of these distinguished scholars came, however, from Constantinople...”.. As a fourteen-year-old Vespasiano was part of the huge crowd of people who celebrated Brunellesci’s great achievement of designing and creating the large dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. Later he would meet erudite men such as ”The other is Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino’s friend and fellow Plato enthusiast: a tall, green-eyed intellectual virtuoso who can read, among other languages, Aramaic and Chaldean, and who can recite the entirety of Dante’s Divine Comedy both forwards and backwards. The awestruck Ficino regards him as a member of ‘a superhuman race.’”

The boy, keen to learn, acquired a great deal of knowledge and by the age of twenty he made an independent sale. His advice was now being sought in acquiring ancient manuscripts. Eventually he became an expert in all aspects of finding manuscripts and having them copied for wealthy clients. He got to know the powerful people of the day, finding and supplying manuscripts for their personal libraries. Using some of the best craftsmen of the time, he facilitated the copying, decorating and binding of these works, and he soon gained a reputation of being the best person to go to if one wanted to acquire manuscripts. Magnificent libraries were being built and stocked.

Vespasiano lived in Florence when the Medici family was in power, from Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464) to his son Piero (1416-1469) and his grandson Lorenzo (1449-1492). ”Vespasiano later wrote that Cosimo showed the greatest generosity to ‘those who busy themselves with books,’ since he knew they were often ‘poor in possessions but rich in virtue.’” “Cosimo came to possess a good knowledge of Latin – ‘more than one would expect,’ Vespasiano claimed, ‘in a great citizen burdened with the affairs of state.’ His interests and expertise ranged over a formidable territory. ‘He was so universal in his knowledge,’ wrote Vespasiano, ‘that he could talk to anyone,’ whether about agriculture, astrology, medicine, philosophy, or theology.”. Vespasiano’s client base included leaders from other regions too. For example Federico da Montefeltro and King Alfonso of Naples were clients of his, and as such Vespasiano exported manuscripts.

During Vespasiano’s lifetime Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press was created. The Florentines were quick to learn the new skills, and ”In the years 1475 and 1476, some 570 titles were printed in Italy: more than half the total published across the whole of Europe. Germany accounted for only 265 titles in these years, France for 101. By the beginning of 1476, twenty-four Italian towns and cities had printing presses compared to only thirteen in Germany and six in France. By 1476 at least a hundred printers were operating in Italy, three times as many as in Germany.” Leonardo da Vinci sketched a design for an automated printer, but his invention did not see the light of day. Ross King takes the reader through the history of printing and printed books of that era. But the beautiful illuminated manuscripts were still in demand for the libraries of the rich and famous. The reader also learns about the scribes, materials of their craft, and the manuscripts that they copied by hand. We learn for example that ”Manuscript illuminators needed to master the skill of painting in miniature on parchment, an apprenticeship that might take as many as eight or ten years.”. From that flows detail of exactly how they used their skills. And then there was the dissemination of the manuscripts or printed books.

Whilst all the illuminating educational things were happening there was of course also a lot of bloodshed (e.g. the Pazzi conspiracy) as well as territorial strife between different regions. There were even some who destroyed magnificent works, such as Cesare Borgia who ripped carefully crafted bindings from books. Also, ”But casualties of the Turkish conquest of Otranto also included manuscripts from one of the West’s greatest storehouses of Greek literature and philosophy.” Centuries later ”On 30 September 1943, as reprisal for the killing of one of their number in the village square in San Paolo Bel Sito, fifteen miles outside of Naples, a squad of Nazi soldiers set fire to the nearby Villa Montesano, to which the Royal State Archives of Naples had been evacuated. Seven hundred years of history were lost – thirty thousand manuscripts and fifty thousand documents.”

There is a wealth of information in the pages of Ross King’s book, and I have barely scratched the surface. There are plenty of beautiful illustrations, plus extensive notes and a comprehensive bibliography. Although I read the Kindle edition, I liked it enough to also buy a print copy for my home library.

#####

“In May 1468 Bessarion wrote a letter to the doge, Cristoforo Moro, justifying his gift with an eloquent plea for learning. He pointed out that ‘there is no more worthy or honourable possession, no more dignified and valuable treasure,’ than a book. ‘They live, they converse and speak with us, they teach us, educate us, console us,’ he wrote. Books bring the past to life and place it before our eyes, they offer examples to emulate, they tell us of things both human and divine. Without them, he wrote, we are rendered ‘barbarous and unlettered.’” [Venice]

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ross King, just his name tells us this is going to be a well-researched book, and one about the Renaissance period in Italy - he has written about some non-Renaissance topics, but the Renaissance is his wheelhouse! And for the first time he has turned his eyes to the lost art of bookmaking, and printing in the 15th century and a minor character, Vespaciano, who rose from humble origins to become a leading bookmaker, bookseller and friend to the greats in Florence and beyond. He supplied many of these people with beautiful and elegant copies of old masters such as Plato, Cicero and other Greek and Roman writers, his services were in demand even after the invention of the moveable type printing press.
No matter how much I will rave about this book, it is not a book for everyone, as you have to wade through the development of papyrus to codex to parchment to paper, with much detail about all of these developments. Then we learn about how ink is prepared, how scribes used to copy on parchment and how parchment was prepared. There is a lot of book history here, a lot of philosophy here, a lot of Renaissance history and historical figures here, and finally a massive amount of names and places in the development of the printing press - so much so that I have failed to understand why so many examples are included when maybe 5 would be sufficient. But, then again, we are talking about Ross King who does immense research and will give you all you need to know, and most likely all that is known on a topic.
I really enjoyed this book but it was not one that I could read cover to cover at one time. I was easily able to read a few chapters, close the book and return to it. A well done effort and I look forward to King's next book no matter what the topic!

[Titi Coolda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ceea ce mi-a adus nou cartea asta putea fi scris în mai puțin de 100 de pagini. Povestea manuscriselor și a copiștilor, a tipurilor de caractere și a miniaturilor, a vopselelor și a pensulelor, a librarilor și bibliotecarilor, in nuce, despre asta-i vorba în cartea asta. Cum viața lui Vespasiano da Bisticci nu are nimic spectaculos, autorul a socotit să combine pe lângă tema principală o sumedenie de portrete și evenimente din antichitate până-n contemporan cu tangențe minime la subiect realizând astfel o scriitură destul de dezlânată, plictisitoare prin șirul nesfârșit de personaje adiacente, prin salturi peste secole, motive și teme. E de apreciat munca istoricului în ceea ce privește documentarea pentru tema de bază a cărții dar din păcate stilistic nu depășește scriitura de manual de istorie. Am citit-o dar nu cu multă plăcere, dovadă că mi-a luat aproape o lună întreagă parcurgerea celor 400 de pagini.

[Constantin Beda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cartea asta a venit absolut natural după "Istoria Evului Mediu", și ca timp subiectiv pentru mine, dar și din punctul de vedere al istoriei cronologice. Librarul din Florența începe cam în aceeași perioadă în care se termină Evul Mediu; deci lectura ei a fost o preluare de ștafetă și o continuare a cursei. Însă mai este un motiv important pentru care am citit-o: e foarte personală, am parcurs-o cu o implicare totală. Ca fost librar și anticar (de fapt, anticar ești pe viață, odată ce ai intrat în lumea asta) timp de vreo 10 ani, lucrarea de față mi-a fost absolut necesară. Nu numai pentru informațiile istorice despre manuscrise și inventarea tiparului, dar și pentru că cititul nu e doar o pasiune sau un simplu hobby, ci un mod de viață. Și cred că oricine gândește la fel ar trebui să o aibă, să o citească.

Vespasiano da Bisticci - un nume care îmi place, e foarte melodios, încercați să-l rostiți cu voce tare - și-a început cariera de foarte tânăr, la doar 11 ani, ca ucenic în librăria unui legător și vânzător de carte de pe strada Librarilor (evident, cum altfel?). În doar câțiva ani s-a făcut remarcat de colecționarii și cărturarii vremii, ajungând în scurt timp să fie cel mai căutat librar, nu numai pentru că era foarte capabil să găsească ediții vechi și rare ale scrierilor clasice, dar și pentru transcrierea și legarea manuscriselor. A fost librarul personal și apropiatul multor oameni puternici și influenți din secolul al XV-lea, printre clienții lui se numărau bancheri, cardinali, regi și papi. Vespasiano a adunat într-un volum numit Vite di Uomini Illustri (Viața oamenilor iluștri), care nu a fost publicat în timpul vieții lui, biografiile tuturor personalităților pe care le-a cunoscut și care i-au călcat pragul librăriei.

În anii 1400 cartea era un obiect de artă. Pregătirea și scrierea pe un pergament se făcea cu deosebită atenție și meticulozitate. Scribii erau cei care se ocupau cu asta, iar pentru ei procesul de scriere era un adevărat ritual. Copertele și paginile erau impodobite cu miniaturi, ilustrații și anluminuri, aproape fără excepție, și produsul finit era o adevărată piesă de colecție, de o valoare inestimabilă pentru cei care îl comandau.

"Apoi Ser Antonio înmoaie penița într-una dintre cele două călimări. Una are cerneală neagră, cealaltă, roșie. Ingredientele din cea neagră sunt vinul, sevele și scoarțele mai multor specii de copaci, printre care și gale de stejar, niște protuberanțe mici, bogate în acid tanic, care cresc pe ramurile stejarilor, acolo unde o specie de muscă (Eurosta) își depune ouăle. O rețetă italiană pentru cerneala neagră spune că trebuie luate 110 grame de gale măcinate și amestecate cu o sticlă de vin alb tare, coajă de rodie, scoarță de scoruș, rădăcină de nuc și gumă arabica - adică seva unui copac de acacia. Aceste ingrediente erau lăsate în soare și amestecate o dată la câteva ore. După o săptămână, în amestec se mai adăugau câteva grame de vitriol roman sau sulfat de cupru. Lichidul era pus la păstrare încă vreo câteva zile și amestecat în mod regulat. Era pus apoi pe foc și fiert "cât un Miserere" adică atât cât îți lua să reciți cele 19 versete ale Psalmului 51. Fiertura neagră era răcită, filtrata printr-o pânză de in și lăsată în soare încă vreo două zile. "Dacă puneți în ea și puțin alaun, va deveni mai deschisă la culoare", spune rețeta, "și va fi o cerneală de scris perfectă"."

Librarul din Florența și manuscrisele care au iluminat Renașterea nu e doar o biografie. Veți găsi acolo istorie, detalii despre viața socială a Florenței în secolul XV, îi vom cunoaște pe membrii familiei de Medici, pe papii Sixtus al IV-lea și Nicolae al V-lea, chiar și pe Leonardo da Vinci. Am citit aici despre apariția tiparului în 1453 (același an în care a fost cucerit orașul Constantinopol) și cum asta a însemnat declinul lent, dar sigur, al manuscriselor legate. Despre cât costa o carte sau angajarea unui scrib. Cuvinte pe care le folosim astăzi în mod uzual și-au dezvăluit originile, unele de care habar nu aveam. Câteva exemple: hârtia velină vine de la cuvântul vellum (în latină vitulus) care înseamnă piele de vițel; bibliografie sau bibliofil ( bibliotecă prin extensie) își are originea de la papirus, trestie folosită pentru documente și pe care grecii o numeau byblos, după orașul-port cartaginez cu același nume; liber, tot din latină, era scoarța membranoasă a papirusului, cuvânt care s-a transformat în library/librarian.

Trebuie să spun și despre felul în care arată volumul. Cred că poate fi considerat o ediție bibliofilă, de colecție. Începând de la copertă, culori, grafică și ilustrațiile color din interior, totul arată superior calitativ. Și mai cred că poate lumina orice bibliotecă, nu numai minți. Și mai ales, cum spuneam la început, mi-a adus aminte cu plăcere de anii în care profesam ca anticar. Din punctul meu de vedere cartea asta e completă, de la aspect până la conținut.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Mina H · Rating 5 out of 5]

#clubdecarte #LibraruldinFlorenta #cartealuniimartie

𝔇𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔦 𝔠𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔦, bine v-am regăsit la clubul lunar, ne aflăm la sfîrșitul primei luni de primăvară (deși nu mai suntem siguri nici de acest lucru) și deschidem discuțiile pe baza uneia din aparițiile cele mai de seamă din colecția 𝔒𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔫, anume „𝔏𝔦𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔯𝔲𝔩 𝔡𝔦𝔫 𝔉𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔫ț𝔞. 𝔙𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔬 𝔡𝔞 𝔅𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔠𝔦 ș𝔦 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔲𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔲 𝔦𝔩𝔲𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔞𝔱 ℜ𝔢𝔫𝔞ș𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔞”, Ed. Nemira, 2022; Trad Iulian Bocai. O carte cît un suport de curs, un volum consistent lucrat cu minuțiozitate, documentat profund și pasionant. Îmi place să spun asta nu doar pe baza tuturor trimiterilor la alte personaje și perioade istorice aduse în cele 𝟐𝟕 𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞 ci și prin explicarea, mai pe înțelesul tuturor, a unei perioade mai puțin cunoscute. O introducere în perioada Renașterii pornind de la un personaj semnificativ acelei epoci. Poate că nu știam mai nimic despre secolul XV, cu atît mai puțin despre Florența în acea perioadă, dar după parcurgerea acestei cărți am călătorit un pic în timp și am descoperit cum a început călătoria cărților într-o epocă unde, în Florența, funcțiile publice erau ocupate numai de 10% dintre cetățenii eligibili.



Despre 𝗩𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 aflăm că, în pofida educației rudimentare, nu știe multă latină după 5 ani de școală, dar ajunge să-nvețe mai multe pe cont propriu, „la colțul străzii”, capătă o cunoaștere atît de vastă, care în curînd îl va face popular, iar în 1433 își începe activitatea pe Strada Librarilor. (De menționat că își începuse ucenicia încă de la 11 ani, la unul dintre cei mai buni librari ai epocii.) Vespasiano devine la scurt timp expert în copierea și reproducerea de manuscrise vechi, abandonase munca de atelier (unde se folosea de fierăstrău și ciocan) și se transformase într-unul din experții manuscriselor vechi, devenind totodată un bun negustor și vînător de cărți vechi. La momentul morții lui Michelle Guarducci, februarie 1452, Vespasiano deținea deja 37,5% din librărie.



„Atât de abil se dovedise Vespasiano încât clienții îl căutau acum pe el, și nu pe Guarducci, când voiau sfaturi despre manuscrise. Prima sa vânzare independentă o făcuse în 1442, când abia dacă avea 20 de ani. Primise comanda să găsească (sau poate să copieze) un manuscris pentru Pietro Donati, arhiepiscopul de Padova, un renumit învățat, cu „o colecție uriașă de cărți”, pe care-l întâlnise la Conciliul de la Florența.”

Pe lîngă contribuția semnificativă avută în găsirea, recuperarea, rescrierea unor manuscrise și traducerea lor, Vespasiano a colaborat direct cu cei mai influenți oameni ai perioade respective. Amintesc aici de legăturile dezvoltate cu Vaticanul și Cosimo Medici pe care l-a ajutat să-și formeze o bibliotecă, a fost intermediar, în repetate rînduri, între Lorenzo Medici și alte familii, Cardinalul Bessarion pe care misiunea sa de a crea o bibliotecă cu manuscrise grecești din Europa l-a condus la Vespasiano, ori papa Nicolae al V-lea și alți învățați eminenți din Florența și nu numai.

O altă schimbare în producția de carte ne este relatată de 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 prin trecerea de la pergament la hîrtie. „Vespasiano mergea împotriva acestui curent, din moment ce manuscrisele pe care le producea erau scrise pe pergament. Deși ținea și vindea hîrtie ca toți papetarii, se asigura ca toate codicele făcute la comandă pentru clienți ca Andrew Holes și William Grey să fie copiate după moda veche, pe pielea animalelor.”



„Vespasiano spunea că nicio carte tipărită nu putea să se măsoare cu frumusețea și calitatea unui manuscris copiat de scribi. (…) Acolo, scria el, toate cărțile erau de cea mai bună calitate, toate aveau anluminuri, toate erau pe pergament, toate erau perfecte și complete, fără pagini lipsă. Și toate erau, cum el însuși se lăuda, scrise de mînă, iar unui volum tipărit i-ar fi fost rușine să se găsească printre ele.”

În capitolul X ne sunt relatate cîteva dintre contribuțiile lui Gutenberg la inventarea tiparului. Se pare că acesta folosea o rețetă anume pentru obținerea cernelii, diferită de cea pe care o foloseau scribii pentru copierea unor manuscrise. S-a iscat și o dispută între Gutenberg și Johann Fust, în 145, în care cel de-al doilea l-a dat în judecată, cazul ajungînd la tribunal unde Gutenberg, în cele din urmă, a fost forțat să-I plătească lui Fust 1.000-1.250 de guldeni, plus cîteva tiparnițe la care s-a văzut nevoit să renunțe. Asta ca să înțelegem că lumea umaniștilor din vremea sec XV a fost una abundentă în conflicte de tot soiul, nu doar de natură politică, mai ales în clasa intelectualilor.

După ani întregi petrecuți în munca tipăririi de manuscrise vechi, după ce tiparul va fi cîștigat bătălia, Vespasiano se retrage printre cărțile și hîrtiile sale, „în singurătatea plăcută” la Casa Il Monte, de unde numai clienți vechi îl mai pot scoate și, desigur, unul din familia Medici pentru care începe să lucreze e vorba despre Lorenzo care „are un așa mare dispreț față de cărțile tipărite, încît cere ca toate cărțile lui Marsilio Ficino să fie copiate cu pana și transformate în manuscrise cu aluminuri minunate”. Repornind pe acest drum, în căutare de manuscrise vechi, întîlniri cu minți strălucitoare, Vespasiano are sentimentul că Epoca de Aur s-a reîntors, din păcate „proiectul” său moare odată cu Lorenzo, urmînd ca toate manuscrisele găsite în Palazo Medici să fie duse la Mănăstirea San Marco.

La două luni de la moartea lui Savonarola (un călugăr eretic, spînzurat în 1498 printr-un ordin dat de papa Alexandru al VI-lea), Vespasiano moare două luni mai tîrziu, în Antella, la vîrsta de 76 de ani. Trupul îi este înmormîntat în Florența, în cavoul familiei de la Santa Croce.

Se vehiculează ideea conform căreia Vespasiano ar fi scris în timpul vieții despre marile figuri importante ale acelor vremi, o antologie fusese alcătuită pînă în 1493, care din nefericire nu s-a păstrat de-a lungul vremurilor, la fel cum și despre Vespasiano se cunoșteau extrem de puține lucruri sau nimic. Cu toate astea, a fost martorul unor două lumi, a prins tehnologia nouă a scrisului și transformările ei. Ross King îl caracterizează ca fiind „cel mai influent, prolific și realizat producător de manuscrise în timpul secolului XV”, fiind responsabil de crearea a peste 1.000 de manuscrise sau mai multe, o perioadă care va rămîne în urmă și despre care se vor ști tot mai puține lucruri odată cu noua tehnologie.

Prinvind partea bună a lucrurilor, în Italia și peste tot în lume, noua tehnologie permitea și altor categorii de oameni achiziționarea cărților. Nu erau încă accesibile tuturor, prin numărul redus de tiparnițe raportat la numărul de orașe, unde se adăuga costul transportului sau alte constrîngeri. În plus, florentinii n-au adoptat cu ușurință cărțile tipărite, în parte din cauza lui Vespasiano și a scribilor săi. „Vespasiano reușea să le ofere clienților săi manuscrise de lux pentru orice operă și-ar fi dorit, precum și cărți mai accesibile, de mîna a doua, și versiuni mai ieftine, pe hîrtie. În 1469, un cărturar din Genova scria cee ace toți clienții lui Vespasiano trebuie să fi știut: „regele librarilor din întreaga lume” putea să găsească pentru ei toate operele pe care și le doreau.”

Dacă ajungeți la Florența, aflați că librăria lui Vespasiano a fost transformată într-o pizzerie, au rămas doar manuscrisele sale, răspîndite în unele din cele mai cunoscute biblioteci din Europa, o amprentă a existenței sale și a celor 40 de ani petrecuți în slujba de librar.

Prin volumul de față, Ross King reușește să-I aducă un omagiu, readucîndu-l totodată la viață, prin dorința de a-l face cunoscut celorlalți, dar și pentru a descoperi o lume în care n-am trăit, dar ne-a devenit puțin mai cunoscută prin prisma poveștilor din sec. XV.

Ce mi se pare fascinant e că a existat cîndva o perioadă unde cititul era un lucru vital, nu un hobby, unde cel mai copiat manuscris al sec. XV a fost „𝔇𝔦𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔞 ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔢”, unde cea mai rapidă pană aparținea unui scrib pe numele de 𝐆𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐭 𝟏𝟐𝟕𝟎 𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐧 „𝐈𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥ă” 𝐚 𝐥𝐮𝐢 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 î𝐧 𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝐝𝐞 𝐳𝐢𝐥𝐞.

Aflăm că un scrib era cheltuiala cea mai mare a unui producător de carte, reprezentînd două treimi din costul final al manuscrisului, de două ori mai mult decît pergamentul.

În încheiere, ca să las loc de discuții, mi-a plăcut mult, nu a fost o lectură facilă, mi-au plăcut cu precădere capitolele despre scribi și misiunile lui Vespasiano în căutarea de manuscrise vechi, mai ales implicarea sa în readucerea în prim plan a operelor lui 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗻, dar binevenite au fost și cele în care am pătruns în viața socială a Florenței, apariția tiparului, apariția și dispariția unor figuri importante la conducerea orașului, conflicte și intrigi politice etc.

Înțeleg că pentru unii, aici mă includ și pe mine, cartea n-a alunecat cum ne-am fi așteptat, dar aflîndu-mă la finalul ei, trecînd peste paginile numeroase de bibliografie, nu pot să nu remarc și să admir munca colosală în scrierea acestei cărți. În spatele ei există multă cercetare, probabil sute de ore în care Ross King a stat aplecat peste un birou sau închis în biblioteci, sutele de telefoane, emailuri trimise cu întrebări care să vină în ajutor. E o muncă imensă de cercetare, iar dacă limbajul ușor academic sau de manual de istorie ne face s-o lăsăm jos după cîteva pagini, atunci poate nu e timpul ei acum. Iar asta e perfect în regulă. Rog doar să n-o ignorați la nesfîrșit, pierdeți cîteva amănunte care n-au putut fi cuprinse în umila prezentare de mai sus.

„Tot răul se naște din ignoranță”, scria Vespasiano. „Dar scriitorii au iluminat lumea, alungînd întunericul.”

„El și prietenii săi sperau să alunge acest întuneric, aruncînd asupra vremurilor lor zbuciumate și nefericite ceva din strălucirea pură a trecutului, scrib cu scrib și manuscris cu manuscris.” (Ross King)

Ca să deschid o linie de dialog, v-aș întreba cine a ajuns cu lectura pînă la final, ce părți v-au plăcut mai mult și care mai puțin? Ce credeți că a fost în plus sau în minus? Susțin unii cititori că autorul s-ar fi putut lipsi de multe pagini (de istorie), ușurînd procesul lecturii.

Ca o completare, așa cum Vespasiano era sceptic în privința noii tehnologii a scrisului, mă socotesc la fel de neimpresionată de avîntul cu care ebook-urile și-au făcut loc pe piața de vînzare. Înțeleg că sunt mult mai accesibile ca preț și nu ocupă spațiu, deisgur. Mi-am făcut cont pe voxa nu de foarte mult timp, am reușit să ascult doar două cărți și n-am citit niciuna folosindu-mă de device. Avînd în vedere prețurile la cărți și implicit prețul hîrtiei, credeți că în 10-20 de ani cărțile digitale vor cîștiga „lupta” cu cele tipărite?

[Mark Hebwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am disappointed with myself but I have to admit that in the end, I did not like this book very much. It took me almost 200 pages to notice that I didn't like it, but once I had sensed that I didn't, I could not banish this thought from my mind again, and the rest of the book felt rather tedious to read.

Just before I picked up this book, I had finished Brunelleschi's Dome, also by Ross King. That book, I thought, was excellent. In it, Ross chronicles the construction of Florence's famous dome, and tells a vivid tale of how its architect Filippo Brunelleschi managed to overcome the manifold challenges he encountered during the several decades of his work. Ross embeds his account into an analysis of the politics of the time, he introduces a suite of historical figures that impacted the dome's construction, some well-known like the Medici, some lesser-known like Filippo's personal rival Giovanni da Prato. Ross peppers his analysis with anecdotes, some funny, some tragic, and as his account develops, the reader shares Brunelleschi's fears, hopes, trepidations, and, finally, a sense of relief and pride in his crowning achievement.

In The Bookseller of Florence, I was looking to find such an intimate historical retelling again, this time of the life and times of Vespasiano da Bisticci, apparently one of the most influential booksellers in the Italian Renaissance.

Well, I say 'apparently', for after reading about 400 pages about the man, I am still not sure exactly who he was, and why he rose to such a position of eminence. Ross did not really tell me - we are treated to pages and pages of detailed information about topics related to the bookselling trade, how manuscripts developed, how they were manufactured, what training one needed to have as a scribe, or an illuminator, how much the manuscripts cost to produce, how much they sold for, how the coloured inks for the illuminations were manufactured, who V's customers were, how many manuscripts they managed to collate in their libraries, how they got them, where they found them, by which method they were transported, how the printing press began to change the market place for manuscripts, who the authors of the manuscripts were, what times they lived in, why they were famous, what type of reception they enjoyed by whom in what century. And that's just a short selection. There is more.

But what there isn't is any mention of Vespasiano. Ross must have felt the same thing, because every so often he injects a dutiful "V must have thought that...", "to the young V, this must have felt like...", but beyond these fillers, we are not treated to anything V actually did in his own right as a historical actor before page 83. And even then, we never learn who Vespasiano actually was, we do not know anything about his habits, his fears, his hopes, his triumphs. After less than 200 pages of Brunelleschi's Dome, I felt so close to the architect of Florence's dome that I started calling him "Pippo" in my head. After 400 pages of The Bookseller of Florence, I admit I had to look up the spelling of his name for this review, since I had already forgotten it.

So there it is. To me, Ross did not manage to do for Vespasiano what he so brilliantly did for 'Pippo'. His subject matter never became alive, it never jumped off the page, it did not draw the reader in. Still, to anybody with an interest in medieval manuscripts, this book will be a treasure trove. I still recommend reading it to those with such an interest, but perhaps forewarned may be forearmed in this case: Don't expect to learn a lot about the bookseller of Florence. If you approach the book as a grab-bag of topics related to 15th century book production, loosely held together by the professional life of a bookseller superstar, you will probably get a lot more joy out of the book than I did.

[Ari Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

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. ~

[Linden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vespasiano, a bookseller in 15th century Florence, is the person referenced by the title of this history. The author tells of how books were produced, which before the printing press, involved scribes hand copying the text. The history of the printing press and movable type is also discussed. He describes the intrigues of Florence, involving ecclesiastical figures and powerful men, wars, plagues, and murders, so there is a lot more involved than just Vespaciano and his book shop. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

[Shawn Callon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enthralling read full of historical facts about Renaissance Italy, the big split in the Roman Catholic Church, the introduction of printed books, the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, Savanarola's pyramids of book burnings and the wonderful references to the Greeks and the Romans. The author's style is entertaining and at times amusing, holding my attention throughout the book. I learned so much!
The novel takes us through the life of Vespasiano as he grows to be recognized as the king of the world's booksellers. Florence's bankers and wool merchants brought untold wealth into the city and that abundance encouraged magnificent architecture, sculpture, painting and literature. Vespasiano's skill lay in seeking out the original manuscripts written by the ancient Greeks and Romans and then creating his own beautifully adorned copies for his rich clients throughout Italy. We learned that he had to be very careful how he handled his clients because Italy in those days was full of warring parties jostling for power. At times his bookshop became known as "a political nexus, a listening post for the subversive and the disaffected."

As printed books became more popular throughout Italy, demand for Vespasiano's skilled craftsmanship began to wane. In 1480 he retired and moved away from his beloved city. The author
includes a great quote from Vespasiano that is still relevant today - "All evil is born from ignorance; yet writers have illuminated the world, chasing away the darkness."

This review was written by Shawn Callon, author of The Diplomatic Spy

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads giveaway given to my dad to read. And let me just say he LOVED this book. "This is the type of history they should be teaching in school." was his first comment upon finishing. He would share all of these cool, interesting facts with me, which I would have found really, really cool, except all of these facts and figures were shared prior to my morning coffee.
Not only that, my dad also won't let me share (MY) copy of the book with anyone, he's already squirreled it away on his bookshelf to read again at a later time. He recommended this book to his sister, a major History and book lover, but won't share his copy with her, either. For MY Goodreads giveaway prize, he's extremely possessive of it.
Maybe eventually I'll get my hands on it and read it. If that ever happens I'll be able to give a more insightful review of the book itself. Until then, all I can really say is he absolutely LOVED this book and highly recommends it to history and book lovers.

[Boudewijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Er zijn schrijvers die de wereld hebben verlicht en de duisternis hebben verdreven

Ingetogen biografie over Vespasiano, een Florentijnse boekhandelaar en manuscripten vervaardiger die leefde in een overgangsrijd tussen twee technologieën in. Hij perfectioneerde de productie van talloze met de hand gemaakte en geïllustreerde manuscripten terwijl die op het punt stond om te verdrongen te worden door de opkomende boekdrukkunst.

Door de komst van de drukpers zakte het vervaardigen van de manuscripten in, waardoor er plots meer boeken werden gemaakt en de prijs van een gedrukt boek aanzienlijk lager kwam te liggen.

Desondanks bleef Vespasiano manuscripten vervaardigen om tegemoet te komen aan de leeshonger van een groeiend publiek van geletterde en geleerden, vorsten en potentaten die in navolging van de lezers uit de klassieke oudheid indrukwekkende bibliotheken aanlegden.

Het boek geeft een mooi inzicht in het 15e eeuwse Florence, midden in de Renaissance en de bloeiende economie van kennis verzameling. Vespasiano wist in zijn tijd de aandacht te vestigen op de schittering van de oude Griekse filosofen en plaveidde daarmee de weg voor de groten van de Middeleeuwse wereld.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read comfortably over 70% of this nonfiction book. I may finish it or I may not, but I feel prepared to review it. This is an academic work of nonfiction detailing the life and world of a man called Vespasiano, who was "the bookseller of Florence". He lived at the time of the Gutenberg printing press and personally experienced the transition from manuscript to printed books. He knew all of the important people who lived in and around Florence, Italy at that time.
As a biography, this book is well researched and intelligently written. It includes all of the details anyone could possibly want. The author covered the subject very thoroughly. Depending on your interests, all or parts of it can be fascinating. Personally, I enjoyed the technical aspects of creating manuscripts and early printed texts. I found the overlap between the two very interesting. The book also provides a vivid picture of life in Florence at that time.
In my opinion, this would make excellent reading for a senior or graduate level university course in library science, history, or any other course of study involving the importance of the printing press on European civilization
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Johan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant, maar een beetje te veel een opeenstapeling van "weetjes" en te weinig "spanningsboog".

[Marks54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Bookseller of Florence” is a story of the importance of books in the Italian Renaissance told through the biography of Vespasiano da Bisticci, the undisputed top bookseller in Florence during most of the 15th century, the crucial time period in the richest phase of what came to be called “The Renaissance” by Burkhardt and others. Indeed, the claim in Ross King’s book is that it was Burkhardt’s encounter with a work by Vespasiano in his life that convinced Burkhardt to begin focusing on this period in Italian history and eventually to write his seminal book on “The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy.” That makes Vespasiano an important figure to appreciate.

The book recounts a fairly linear account of Vespasiano’s life from 1421 to 1498. Along the way, he appears to have met, done business with, and stayed friendly with virtually anyone of importance in 15th century Italy (and Europe more broadly). Not sure of the history? Not a problem! King does a fine job in providing background on the current events of the day and failing that one can always check Google as a last resort. Given the violence of the times, as well as the lifestyles of the players, especially for people in high places, Vespasiano’s long career by itself is an accomplishment. The analogy today might be contemporary media moguls, except that booksellers did not seem to make much money for their efforts.

The book is much more than a survey of 15th century Italy through the life of a central node in the social networks. There is also the story of the business of manuscript preparation and sales at the time. The 15th century was the high point of the time of Illuminated Manuscripts - fancy and well constructed volumes that were written out by hand by scribes as well as engraved, illustrated, illuminated, and bound on a custom basis for rich clients. Very few people were literate at the time and many of those who were had sufficient wealth that they could build fine libraries. King explains how these books were made, including a fairly intricate division of labor in which the final delivered was the result of a team of contractors rather than one or two solo artists. These books also involved a supply chain including different inks, quills, and different media that were written upon ranging from paper and papyrus to various types of vellum and leathers. Who would have expected that book production would be so tightly linked to the livestock business in an area? The details are a bit gross so I will not offer any spoilers on this.

In addition to this, the book also chronicles the growth of an alternative technology for producing and distributing manuscripts — printing. From the mid-century onward, an increasing number of works were printed rather than produced in the traditional manner by scribes and such. King also provides some good detail about how this nascent business works and how it differed from traditional manuscript preparation. At the time, the long term differences were not entirely clear and lots of clients still demanded traditional manuscripts. As the end of the century approached, however, it was clear that printing was the way of the future and that the days of the manuscripts were numbered. Who knew? I started thinking about my old floppy disks and cassette tapes. The archaic business story reminds me of Andrew Pettegree’s 2010 work “The Book in the Renaissance”.

This a rich and thoughtful book that is well written and well worth reading.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title of this book reveals its greatest problem. Its subject Vespasiano da Bisticci (1421 – 1498) was not a bookseller in the normal sense of the word in that he was not a retailer who purchased books from publishers and then placed them on shelves for resale. He was rather an entrepreneur with a passionate belief in the need to preserve ancient knowledge. What he was best at was procuring orders for manuscripts from rich patrons and then assembling teams of scribes, binders and illustrators to fulfil the orders. A business writer would have probably done a better job with the life of Vespasiano da Bisticci than did Ross King. King does not every seem to have grasped what he was writing about.
"The Bookseller of Florence" teems with fascinating anecdotes about Renaissance Italy and its book trade during the 15th century. It was the era when the production of handwritten documents peaked and when the printed press arrived on the scene to displace the old way of doing thins. King's book teems with stories about papyrus, parchment, inks bindings, printing galleys, and folios. King is particularly good at describing Vesapasiano's relations with the individuals who commissioned his projects. This is probably because they were the same individuals who were the patrons of the great painters, sculptors and architects of the era. Among their number were Lorenzo Medici, Pope Nicholas V, and Federico da Montefeltro.
What King fails to do is to explain the importance of the manuscripts produced by Vesapasiano on either the intellectual trends or the artistic ferment of the era. King makes the point that Vesapasiano produced a great number of manuscripts by Plato which ultimately served to move philosophy out of the Scholastic era (of Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle) into a new age. He also made many manuscripts of Cicero which helped launch the teaching of Rhetoric. Generally, however, the reader gets the impression from King's book that Vespasiano's workshop merely produced beautiful items for the libraries of rich patrons.
King spends a great deal of time writing about the politics of 15th century Italy with long sections conspiracies in the city states, the war waged between France and Spain for the control of the peninsula and the on-going conflict with the Ottoman empire. In so doing he explains little and creates considerable confusion.
I remain a great fan of King and hope that the next project that he embarks upon will be better suited to his considerable talent. "The Bookseller of Florence" very simply misses and misfires everywhere.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

We think our modern achievements are being upended by technological revolutions, wars, and pandemics, well it's not actually all that new in history. An unprecedented flowering of stunningly beautiful manuscript production enabling the recovery of ancient wisdom was upended by the Gutenberg revolution. There was also internal warfare, the Pope's army was up to no good, and threats came from the Ottoman Turks who claimed Constantinople and threatened Europe. And of course there were surges of plague, sound familiar? In Florence, the art of copying manuscripts survived quite a while after the invention of the printing press. Vespasiano facilitated the production and sale of priceless illuminated manuscripts, mostly in the Latin language which he himself did not know especially well. The German invention of the press spread quickly in the Italian states, but somewhat slower in Florence. Eventually the art of hand copying and illuminating manuscripts as fine works of art was superseded, just as our offset printing has been superseded by less beautiful but cheaper print on demand. The first press in Florence was established in a convent with nuns doing the typesetting, nothing new about employing women who have taken on a vow of poverty. One nun named Marietta, had been consigned to the convent at age 3. I can't help but wonder what she thought of it all. And in a brief note that today's booksellers will relate to, some of the early printed inventory was found unsold in the convent 300 years later... Thank you, Ross King, for all of these poignant details from the history of the book!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a book about books! I'm instantly sold. A slow start leads into a mesmerizing look at the history of the written word, how that written word morphed from manuscripts to printed publications in the 1400s, and how one bookseller in Florence dealt with all of it (not to mention the numerous wars and intrigues taking place on the Italian peninsula and beyond).

Ross King packs a ton into The Bookseller of Florence, but his storytelling skills rarely lead you too deep down a rabbit-hole. The gentle tug of history pulls the reader along until, one day, the printing press is everywhere and manuscripts on vellum are passe. It's a fascinating bit of history that would be especially appealing to those who ponder why and how we read.

The only drawback to The Bookseller of Florence is its occasionally intense focus on the writers of long-past eras - Plato and the like. Obviously, booksellers and readers of the 1400s were fascinated with these ancient masters, but King can get bogged down in in Platonic babble that's less interesting to listen to. Still, I came away from The Bookseller of Florence with plenty of new knowledge and an unexpected appreciation for 1400s Florence. Now, where's that time machine?

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Street of Booksellers, Via dei Librai, ran through the heart of Florence, midway between the town hall to the south, and the cathedral to the north.’

A discussion of the origins of writing, the materials written on, some of the great writers and the collection of manuscripts into libraries is how Mr Smith begins his narrative. And once the scene is set, we move to the Via dei Librai in Florence. It is here, in 1433 that Vespasiano da Bisticci (1421-1498) started work in the bookshop of Michele Guarducci. By the 1440s, the bookshop had become a gathering place, where philosophical and literary discussions took place. Many distinguished scholars came from Constantinople. Vespasiano da Bisticci was keen to learn, and 15th century Florence was the perfect place: magnificent libraries were being built, manuscripts were being sourced and copied for wealthy clients. Vespasiano and his team of scribes and illuminators produced exquisite manuscripts for many important people across Europe.

‘All evil is born from ignorance,’ as Vespasiano wrote. ‘Yet writers have illuminated the world, chasing away the darkness.’

But the age of illuminated hand-written manuscripts was ending. In 1476 a printing press was set up in Florence. The Convent of San Jacopo di Ripoli, a community of Dominican nuns, acquired a printing press and began producing books and pamphlets.

‘Vespasiano occupied a tenuous and unenviable position, straddling as he did two different technologies.’

Vespasiano lived in Florence when the Medici family were in power. This book is the story of his career, the story of bookmaking and a history of Florence during the 15th century.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of books and 15th century Florence.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the birth of modern books, this book was a real treat. We meet Vespasiano,"king of booksellers". We learn of his career in Florence in the time following the early Crusades. Although he never grew rich from his profession, no doubt he had an outsized impact on how we have come to view ancient writers and early history. Without his efforts, many works of antiquity would undoubtedly not survived. This volume was a much deserved tribute to a forgotten figure from the past.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the title suggests that it's a biography of Vespasiano da Bisticci, and the subtitle suggests that it's about manuscripts, these are only pretexts. What we get instead is a history of Italy in the 15th century coupled with a history of the development and early spread of the printing press. While I found it fascinating, I was frequently dizzied by all the names being thrown at me!

[Erik Rostad · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a neat book! It centers around a bookseller and manuscript producer named Vespasiano who lived in the late 15th century in Florence, Italy. This book covers the history of books, of Florence, and of the shift from manuscripts (done by hand) to printed books. Vespasiano's focus was to "recapture the wisdom of the past and bring it back to life for the sake of the present." Works by Plato, Aristotle, and many others were introduced into Italy, paving the way for the Renaissance.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rare book trade is not unique to the modern era. It has, in fact, been a staple of society since there were books to trade, whether said books were in the form we know them as today, handwritten manuscripts, or scrolls. Once something has been written down and declared to be valuable– either for the words written within or for its status as an artistic object. In Florence in the mid-fifteenth century, the book trade was especially vibrant in the city that is often seen as the epitome of the Italian Renaissance. One man, Vespasiano da Bisticci, was at the heart of the Florentine book trade, and while his occupation did not bring him wealth, it brought him fame among the literary and artistic circles of the time. His clients included artists, noblemen, poets, popes, and generations of the Medici family itself. Even in the latter half of his career, with the Gutenberg moveable-type printing press made hand-copied books nearly obsolete, Vespasiano continued to have scribes copy texts by hand, creating beautiful editions of works by such luminaries as Plato and Petrarch long after most bookmakers had switched to using the printing press.

Ross King’s latest popular history, The Bookseller of Florence, is more than a biography of a single man. He uses Vespasiano’s life as an anchor point from which to expand his history of books, bookmakers, booksellers, and readers, and while the narrative roves from ancient Greek philosophers to the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by the Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire, it always finds a line back to Vespasiano and his bookshop in Florence. Still, the scope of bookmaking is vast, and King doesn’t hesitate to go into detail about the history of bookmaking and the materials used, taking the reader back to Egypt and Rome to explain the origins of the materials and detail the process that took us from papyrus to vellum to paper, and from scrolls to the books we know today. There is a good deal of discussion, too, about the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato; their works were beloved and discussed by Renaissance philosophers and church officials who argued about the ancient philosophies about whether or not they were too pagan to be read by good Christian people, or whether they enhanced the teaching of the Bible and so were acceptable to be disseminated.

Italian writers get a suitable page count, too, with Petrarch’s poetry, Dante’s Comedy, and Boccaccio’s Decameron. King makes special note of Boccaccio, whose critics warned that the raunchy stories were not fit for ladies’ eyes (indicating that, contrary to common modern opinions, upper-class women, at least, were educated and prone to buying books).

And because art and literature are not separate from historical events– and because those events affected Vespasiano’s life and trade– King discusses the major events of the time, from the fall of Constantinople to the infamous Pazzi conspiracy of 1478, as well as the election of popes, the doings and deaths of poorly-behaved noblemen, and how monks and nuns got into the book industry themselves- and not just for religious texts.

For readers lacking a solid foundation in the history of the Italian Renaissance, The Bookseller of Florence could be difficult to read. King sketches out the backgrounds of most of the figures he mentions, but there are enough of them that the flood of names and places could be overwhelming. Keeping a Wikipedia page open to look things up might be a good idea.

But for those who have an interest and grounding in Renaissance history, The Bookseller of Florence provides a treasure trove of facts and insights about books, their history, and our ongoing fascination with them. At times it feels elegiac, like when King discusses the lost works from Greece and Rome, but more often than not it lights up with the love of the written word that all readers feel when presented with a beautiful book.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a BIG book. It is very full of research and stories, and I am very glad to meet Vespasiano and learn about the transition from manuscript to print and even to hang out with the Medicis, but it took stamina to get through it. I would say this book is 3-4 times as long as it should have been.

[Bert Brunekreef · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone interested in history, books, and the history of books.

[Deirdre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much in the same way that the Internet and Amazon disrupted and revolutionized book selling in the 21st century, movable type by Gutenberg was also a revolution, Making scribes obsolete. Originally booked sellers were also publishers and that they would have copies of books made by hand.

[Ceallaigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In May 1468 [Cardinal] Bessarion wrote a letter to the doge, Cristoforo Moro, justifying his gift [of his entire manuscript collection to the library of the Basilica of San Marco] with an eloquent plea for learning. He pointed out that ‘there is no more worthy or honorable possession, no more dignified and valuable treasure,’ than a book. ‘They live, they converse and speak with us, they teach us, educate us, console us,’ he wrote. Books bring the past to life and place it before our eyes, they offer examples to emulate, they tell us of things both human and divine.“

TITLE—The Bookseller of Florence
AUTHOR—Ross King
PUBLISHED—2021
PUBLISHER—Chatto & Windus, an imprint of Vintage // Penguin Random House (UK)

GENRE—literary nonfiction
SETTING—Europe & the Near East, mid- to late-1400s CE
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—the life & work of Vespasiano da Bisticci, history of bookbinding & bookmaking, book production in the mid to late 15th c. CE in Europe, illuminated manuscripts of the Renaissance, early modern printing, monastery & private libraries, Popes & the Vatican, warrior lords of Italy and the Mediterranean, Byzantine scriptoria, major Renaissance cities: Constantinople, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples & others, the invention of the printing press in Germany and its dissemination into Italy, the Medici—their politics & intrigue, Mehmed the Conqueror, King Alfonso (who kept giving me big Stede Bonnet vibes 🤣), Duke & other historical figures from the age, the role of women in Italian Renaissance society (brief glimpses, but even King’s brief treatment & insight made me want to learn more), major Classical authors: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero & others

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
DEPICTION of historical figures—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NARRATIVE FLOW—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—This was the ultimate book- & history-nerd read.
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“To the usual implements of warfare—battle axes, swords, lances, and cannons—a deadly new weapon, the printed word, had suddenly been added. The older weapons were still serviceable, of course, and they would ultimately settle the dispute.”

This book had kind of a dark academia vibe to it but also a definite Game of Thrones vibe to it as well and all of the historical information from the technological processes of manuscript production, illumination, the printing press, and the design and composition of various historical libraries to the discussion of various political intrigues, scandals, and conspiracies kept me very engaged in what was really an incredibly informative and academic piece of literary nonfiction.

King’s narrative voice was excellent. Reading every chapter felt like I was listening to a really dynamic professor giving a lecture on only the most interesting elements of the Italian Renaissance. He digresses into other relevant areas of information such as the history of the Byzantine scriptoriums responsible for preserving the majority of classical literature to the development of the printing press in Germany. I literally could have read 1,000 pages of this book.

Anyway, completely obsessed. This book was everything I had hoped it would be. Took me ages to read and I was still sad when it was over. Definitely going to be rereading. What’s next from King??

“The speed with which books could be produced, the quantity of them, and their relative cheapness in comparison to manuscripts—all of these things meant, they believed, that knowledge could spread far and fast, with everyone, even the poor, able to own libraries. Darkness would be dispelled and there would come, a friar would write in 1476, salutem in medio terre—salvation on earth.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW // poisoning, fratricide, plague, violence/gore (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—
- Map of Knowledge, by Violet Moller
- The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
- Brunelleschi’s Dome, by Ross King—I read this in high school and remember loving it
- A World Lit Only By Fire, by William Manchester—Another one I read in high school. I remember it being a bit controversial to have been assigned to an AP Euro History class but 🤷🏻‍♀️ I could be misremembering… I remember enjoying it though and I think I’d like to get the illustrated edition I saw at a bookshop recently and re-read it soonish…
- Ex-Libris, by Ross King—TBR—one of King’s fiction novels! Actually has kind of bad ratings but based on what ppl say it sounds like I’d love it so definitely going to give it a try

[Alison Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me to the author:



Like...yeah.

I mean, I know this isn't a novel, but still, the title explicitly refers to Vespasiano and the synopsis makes it seem like this man and his life and times and work will be the central focus. And they...are not. The book is clearly very meticulously researched and there is a lot of interesting information in here. I loved learning more about the early days of bookbinding and production and the idea of essentially bespoke book acquisition and creation is pretty damn cool. The notion that any time someone wanted a copy of some manuscript, it had to be hand-written by a scribe...Lordy. And the materials and methods they used were all really intriguing. And of course, it is pretty cool to see this total book nerd become such an important figure, sought after by so many powerful people.

But to be honest, we read a lot more about those other people than we do about Vespasiano. Of course we need to learn about Florentine, and Italian and European writ large, society, and the powerful men who held sway during Vespasiano's time. His success was pretty much predicated on other people wanting to pick up what he was putting down, fairly literally. But we spend so much time on what often felt like historical tangents, and then it would be like the author remembered who the book was ostensibly about and be like "Vespasiano said this about him" or "Vespasiano likely thought that about them" and such. I realize there might be a limit to how much we can know about him, but I wanted more of his life and his actual work, and more just about regular Florentine society and civilians, their relationship to books, what they wanted to know, what areas people wanted to be educated about and how they went about it via books. We just don't get much of that.

I did enjoy a good amount of this, but I feel like it could have been more focused and a little tighter.

[Alphan Lodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

İtalya’da erken rönesans döneminin simge şehirlerinden aynı zamanda eğitim, ticaret ve bankacılığın merkezi olan bir kent cumhuriyeti, Floransa. Şehirdeki kitapçılar sokağında sekiz kitapçı var. Bunlardan biri de Vespasiano da Bisticci’ye ait.

1400-1500 yılları akademisyenlerin çağdaş sorunlara cevaplar ararken antik Yunan ve Romalı filozofları incelediği bir dönem.
Kitap koleksiyoncuları, nadir ve ihmal edilmiş kitapları bulmak için İtalya ve Avrupa’daki manastır ve kiliseleri tararlar, bulunan nadir elyazmaları büyük bir özenle kopyalanıyor. Bu kopyalar varlıklı insanların koleksiyonlarında yer alıyor.

Kitapta onlarca tarihi kişilik, pek çok şehir ve hükümdar, İstanbul’un fethi ve yarattığı etkiler, Almanya’da matbaanın yaygınlaşması ve bunun manüskrilere etkisi ele alınıyor.
Salgınlar, savaşlar ve entrikalar ile geçen 15.yy Avrupasını sanki bir kurgu romanmış gibi kaleme alan Ross King, muhteşem bir esere imza atmış.
Antik Yunan ve Roma elyazmalarının Hıristiyanlık alemine ve Vatikan’a nasıl etki ettiğini, felsefi ve dini tartışmaların yarattığı güçlü etkileşimi gözler önüne sermiş.
Vespasiano’nun hayat hikayesini merkeze alsa da büyük bir coğrafyanın yüz yıllık macerasını bugüne taşımış.

Vespasiano’nun şu sözü de çok önemli: “Her kötülük cehaletten doğar ama yazarlar karanlığı kovarak dünyayı aydınlatmıştır”
O ve arkadaşları, parçalanmış ve mutsuz çağlarına çöken karanlığı geçmişin katıksız ışığıyla aydınlatmaya çalışmışlar ve bunu bir manüskrinin ardından bir manüskri daha yapa yapa sağlamaya uğraşmışlardır.
Çarpıcı bir medeniyet kesiti. Muhakkak okunmalı…