Inside Roman libraries
Subtitle: book collections and their management in antiquity
By: George W. Houston
Series: Studies in the history of Greece and Rome; H. Eugene and Lillian Youngs Lehman series; H. Eugene and Lillian Youngs Lehman series; Studies in the history of Greece and Rome
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Chapel Hill
Language: eng
Number of pages: 327
ISBN-13: 9781469617800; 9781469639208; 9781469617817
Subjects: Grekiska handskrifter; Books and reading; Handskriftssamlingar; Libraries; Böcker och läsning; Livres et lecture; 06.30 library and documentation: general; Collectionneurs et collections; Histoire; Historia; Papyrus (manuscrits); Bibliothek; Manuscripts, Greek (Papyri); Manuscripts (Papyri); History; Bibliothèques; Bibliotekshistoria; Collectors and collecting
Description: Libraries of the ancient world have long held a place in the public imagination. Even in antiquity, the library at Alexandria was nearly legendary. Until now there has been relatively little research to discover what was inside these libraries, how the collections came into being and evolved, and who selected and maintained the holdings. In this engaging and meticulously researched study, George Houston examines a dozen specific book collections of Roman date in the first comprehensive attempt to answer these questions. Through a careful analysis of the contents of the collections, Houston reveals the personalities and interests of their owners; shows how manuscripts were acquired, organized, and managed; and identifies the various purposes that libraries served. He takes up the life expectancy of manuscripts, the size of libraries, and dangers to books, as well as the physical objects within libraries, from scribal equipment to works of art. The result is a clearer, more specific, and more detailed picture of ancient book collections and the elements of Roman libraries than has previously been possible.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references, appendices, and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Assembling a collection; title: Lists of books preserved on papyrus; title: The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum; title: The book collections of Oxyrhynchus; title: Spaces, storage, equipment, and art; title: Personnel and their activities; title: Appendix 1. Lists of books on papyrus : Greek texts, English translations, and commentary; title: Appendix 2. Checklist of books in the collection of the Villa of the Papyri; title: Appendix 3. Catalog of manuscripts in the Breccia + GH3 Find.