The Bookseller of Florence: Uncovering the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance

Peter King: The book is excellent researched and written. It is a joy to read

Canada on Nov 04, 2023

Chuck D89: Wonderfully detailed book! Mr King did a thorough job of researching his subject matter, and the reader is so much the better for it. Thank goodness for the man of the hour Vespasiano d’ Bisticci, who did so much to revive Greek and Roman scholarship; so much was reclaimed for not only those characters reviewed here by King, but for posterity. The Bookseller (the man) brought to life in this book makes the dawn of the new age come to life in a way that a history can not. This book breathes life into what could otherwise be dull material. The insight into the overlap of handwritten manuscripts and printed books is lively and humanistic! I highly recommend Ross’ book!

United States on Sep 24, 2023

Amazon Customer: Extremely readable and awakens you to a turning point in European history. Favorite quote and so applicable to today: Now the most stupid ideas can, in a moment, be transferred into a thousand volumes and spread abroad. Said in 1471. The more things change the more they stay the same...

United States on Aug 20, 2023

c j w ledger: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It lifted the lid on the transfer and saving of priceless texts from antiquity and changed my perspective of the renaissance in Florence. It also shone a light on the move from parchment and the quill pen to printing and the use that various groups made of the far cheaper impact that printing made on the whole dissemination of knowledge - and propaganda!

United Kingdom on Aug 02, 2023

Karen Monsen: Vespasian became a bookmaker in Florence, Italy at a tender age and grew up to become the greatest bookseller and bookmaker at just the moment scribes and illuminators were being replaced by the printing press, a technology Vespasian refused to accept. He could find just about any book that existed in the known world for a discriminating buyer, or he could hire the best scribes and illuminators to transcribe (& translate) if need be for kings & the wealthy across the western world. His work was superior. A marvelous book describing the history of writing on papyrus to parchment to paper made of linen, of making the ink and colors, of the printing press and typesetting, and the creation of fonts. We learn about the work of scribes & talented illuminators to typesetters & printers. Extraordinarily interesting on the one hand, and boring on the other as the book covers the rise and fall of the kings and rulers and the battles they fought—important because they were Vespasian’s customers. He often found himself supplying manuscripts to people on both sides of conflicts. Sadly, that part of the book was tedious. Overall, a brilliant read!

United States on May 20, 2023

Jean Lamb: This was a truly excellent literary history of Florence (the other kinds of artists are barely mentioned). Through it we see the flourishing trade in books and manuscripts, and the extraordinary disruption that printing eventually caused to it. In it, we learn the history of Florence itself through the rulers who patronized Vespasiano and other booksellers and writers. We also learn about other rulers who attacked Florence, defended Florence, but most importantly, bought from Vespasiano.

Its only flaw is that it took till two-thirds of the way through to book to remember that women actually live there, too, and that the children of people mentioned did not arrive through parthenogenesis or directly from the forehead of Zeus. After that, the author obviously tried hard to mention more women in his tale.

A good book, but as I said, you'll have to wait till late in the book till we discover that women besides the hero's mother actually existed.

United States on Apr 16, 2023

RAFAEL LÓPEZ MONTES: Para cualquier bibliófilo este libro es una joya. No sólo es un fresco de la Florencia de la época, sino una fascinante historia sobre la elaboración del manuscrito y de su comercialización.

Spain on Mar 12, 2023

markr: This is a fascinating look at Renaissance Italy in general, and Florence in particular through a slightly unusual lens - that of the recovery of the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, et al and their translation back into Latin. This was was initially carried out by handwritten copying onto parchment - one letter at a time, then beautifully illustrated. Later, following the widespread use of printing mechanical process began to overwhelm the handwritten manuscript market.

The book tells the story of Vespasiano de Bisticci, the prominent book maker and book seller of Florence in the 15th century. Vespasiano supplied books all across Italy, to the Popes, the Medici, the Sforza, and many others including Duke Montefeltro of Urbino - military general and book lover.

Along the way there is much to learn about the tyrants, generals, philosophers, artists and creaters of books who populated the time of the renaissance and who in different ways did so much to bring about the rebirth of learning and critical thinking that, along with violence and corruption, characterised the renaissance age.

Ross King writes superbly, and the reading is enjoyable as well as...

United Kingdom on Aug 05, 2022

John Buckeridge: 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...

United States on Sep 14, 2021

Manchester12: This is not just a biography of a remarkable boy who became a bookseller’s apprentice in Florence and progressed rapidly to become known as King of the world’s booksellers for books and illustrated manuscripts. Admired for his love of the written word and his detailed knowledge of the works of the Ancient Greek, Roman and Eastern philosophers, he became the friend of princes, popes, scholars and collectors across continents.

It is a vivid book. Ross King has an engaging style of writing that drew me into the world of Vespasian and the cultures, personalities and buyers of his world in a way that pure history books rarely do.

It’s a treasure trove of facts on book and manuscript production, libraries and private collections, the threat of the printing press, the movement of travellers across Renaissance Europe and the huge thirst for collecting the most desirable books at any cost.

I loved it and it will be a reference source that I will return to again and again.

United Kingdom on May 01, 2021