The Care of Books is John Willis Clark's 1901 essay on the development of libraries and their fittings from earliest times to the end of the eighteenth century. It explores how books were stored, arranged and protected, including monastic customs and furniture such as presses and shelves. Those interested in book history and reading spaces will find it informative.
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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
Fig. 15 Ezra writing the Law. Frontispiece to the Codex Amiatinus. In the background is a press with open doors. The picture was probably drawn in the middle of the sixth century A.D. Fig. 15 Ezra writing the Law. Frontispiece to the Codex Amiatinus. In the background is a press with open doors. The picture was probably drawn in the middle of the sixth century A.D. THE CARE OF BOOKS London: C. J. CLAY and SONS, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, AVE MARIA LANE, Glasgow: 50, WELLINGTON STREET. Leipzig: F. A. BROCKHAUS. New York: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Bombay: E. SEYMOUR HALE. [All Rights reserved.] THE CARE OF BOOKS An Essay on the Development of Libraries and their Fittings, from the earliest times to the end of the Eighteenth Century
By John Willis Clark, M.A., F.S.A. Registrary of the University and formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge CAMBRIDGE at the University Press 1901 Cambridge: PRINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. FRANCISCO AIDANO GASQUET MONACHO BENEDICTINO D.D. MAGISTRO DISCIPULUS PREFACE. When engaged in editing and completing The Architectural History of the University and Colleges of Cambridge, I devoted much time and attention to the essay called The Library. The subject was entirely new; and the more I looked into it, the more convinced did I become that it would well repay fuller investigation than was then possible. For instance, I felt certain that the Customs affecting monastic libraries would, if one could only discover them, throw considerable light on collegiate
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