Aedes Althorpianae
An Account of the Mansion, Books, and Pictures, at Althorp, the Residence of George John Earl Spencer, K.G: To Which is Added a Supplement to the Bibliotheca Spenceriana
2 Volume Set

The bibliophile aristocrat George Spencer (1758–1834) employed Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1847) as his librarian for life. The second earl had amassed the greatest private library in Europe, housed at Althorp, and Dibdin was tasked with cataloguing the vast collection and sourcing suitable editions to add to it. In 1814, Dibdin began publishing his four-volume catalogue, Bibliotheca Spenceriana (also reissued in this series). Aedes Althorpianae was published in two volumes in 1822, and although it is to a great extent devoted to further details of the great library and its contents, it is also illuminating for its detailed history of Althorp and the Spencers. Its descriptions of the internal decoration of Althorp, particularly its art, are accompanied by numerous illustrations. Volume 1 includes descriptions of the various illustrated works in the library, including a sumptuous illuminated Magna Carta. Volume 2 records over 300 additions to the collection, and catalogues the recently acquired Cassano library.

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Product details

• Date Published: November 2012
• format: Multiple copy pack
• isbn: 9781108057288
• length: 1024 pages

• weight: 1.8kg
• contains: 111 b/w illus.
• availability: Out of stock in print form with no current plan to reprint