Book Review: The Bookseller of Florence

A fascinating history of ancient manuscripts, the Renaissance, and the rise of the printing press.

This book tells the story of Vespasiano da Bisticci, a Florentine “bookseller” renowned in 15th-century Europe. Vespasiano, as he is referred to, isn’t really a seller of books, per se. In the period of the 15th century, the creation and distribution of what we think of as books was a vastly more complicated and interesting process than I’d expected. Fundamentally, this book covers the world of manuscript creation and compilation into codices and how the rise of the printing press led to its disruption. Given the rise of the internet and the enormous disruption of paradigms that had persisted since the printing press, there are interesting parallels to be drawn between that time and ours, though I believe there are fundamental differences between the milieu that saw the rise of print and our present times. Despite that, the book is well-written, deeply researched, and definitely worth reading.

‘The Bookseller of Florence’ spends much of its time introducing the reader to the process through which literature was created and distributed prior to the introduction of the manuscript. Since the fall of the Roman Empire, the dominant paradigm through which stories and learning were recorded for distribution was the manuscript. These manuscripts were most frequently velum or other forms of animal skin. Writers would have to work with this material for creating new work, but there seems to have been far more action around the recreation of prior material. This may be a selection sample from a book about the Renaissance, but much of Vespasiano’s work is focused more on a mixture of finding interesting/rare material from the Greek and Roman era and then working with scribers and ‘illuminators’ (illustrators) to turn those ancient materials into new manuscripts/codices.

It is in this way that the role is unlike contemporary booksellers as much of Vespasiano’s success seems to come from his positioning as a key point connecting wealthy patrons (the Medicis, the Duke of Ferrante, and various popes figure prominently in the story) with the burgeoning intelligentsia in Florence, whose various members head off on Indiana Jones-esque quests to save ancient manuscripts from decrepit monasteries and rotting castles. Both sides of the equation were necessary for his success - the creation of a major manuscript was a significant capital expense, with the cost of a single volume in some cases running to levels above the annual income of a skilled worker. However, these patrons frequently wanted unique or rare material from ancient authors. The interplay between the two drove a massive increase in manuscript creation even as the printing press was invented and spread throughout Europe.

One of the more interesting facts in the book is how the volume of manuscript creation actually continued to grow through the 15th century, even while the printing press took hold. According to the book¹, the peak year for manuscript creation took place in the second half of the 15th century, well after the printing press was established and in operation in much of Europe. Some of this had to do with the broader expansion of the reading public (which was growing, though still a distinct minority) as the Renaissance really got underway. However, some of it also had to do with much of the population continuing to prioritize the old technology as being superior to the new one. Vespasiano himself viewed printed works as distinctly inferior to manuscripts and generally did his best to exclude those works from the libraries he helped compile for various patrons.

Vespasiano’s career itself is wound down amidst the plague and war that tore apart Italy in the latter half of the 15th century. He retired from his work as a bookseller, turning his shop over to a printer - appropriately - while turning to writing from a home in the country. Ironically, his dedication to the manuscript as his preferred vessel for learning led to his work being lost for centuries, before being discovered in the 18th century.

1. I donated my paperback so I’m having to go with my best recollection on many of these citations, my apologies.