

The Bookseller of Florence
The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
Author: Ross King
Narrator: James Cameron Stewart
Unabridged: 18 hr 20 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 06/08/2021
Categories: Nonfiction, History, European History, Literary Criticism
Synopsis
At the heart of this activity, which bestselling author Ross King relates in his exhilarating new book, was a remarkable man: Vespasiano da Bisticci. Born in 1422, he became what a friend called "the king of the world’s booksellers." At a time when all books were made by hand, over four decades Vespasiano produced and sold many hundreds of volumes from his bookshop, which also became a gathering spot for debate and discussion. Besides repositories of ancient wisdom by the likes of Plato, Aristotle, and Quintilian, his books were works of art in their own right, copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists. His clients included a roll-call of popes, kings, and princes across Europe who wished to burnish their reputations by founding magnificent libraries.