In this Book
- Inside Roman Libraries: Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: The University of North Carolina Press
- Series: Studies in the History of Greece and Rome
summary
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 W. 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 considers the life expectancy of manuscripts, the sizes 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.
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 considers the life expectancy of manuscripts, the sizes 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.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. i-vi
- Abbreviations
- pp. 16-19
- Introduction
- pp. 1-11
- 1. Assembling a Collection
- pp. 12-38
- 4. The Book Collections of Oxyrhynchus
- pp. 130-179
- 5. Spaces, Storage, Equipment, and Art
- pp. 180-216
- 6. Personnel and Their Activities
- pp. 217-252
- Conclusion
- pp. 253-264
- Bibliography
- pp. 297-318
- Index of Ancient Sources
- pp. 319-322
- General Index
- pp. 323-330
Additional Information
ISBN
9781469617824
Related ISBN(s)
9781469617800, 9781469617817, 9781469639208
MARC Record
OCLC
891947817
Pages
348
Launched on MUSE
2015-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No