People build their private libraries around a great variety of different interests.
For some, the private library may be a reflection of their vocation: doctors, for example, may collect books about medicine; lawyers may collect books about law; magicians may collect books about magic.
For others, the private library may reflect an avocation: doctors, for example, may collect books about gardening; lawyers may collect books about model railroading; magicians may collect books about photography.
Our second case study looks at building a private library around an avocation, a hobby that used to be quite popular, though anecdotal evidence suggests that its popularity, like that of many other hobbies of an older generation, is on the decline. That hobby is numismatics:
Numismatics is defined as "the study or collection of coins, tokens, and paper money and sometimes related objects." The "related objects" may be items that resemble coins (such as medals) or items that serve the same function as coins (such as credit cards).
We suggested in a previous post that most folks probably would find collecting numismatic books to be a bit more "obscure" than collecting something like romance fiction. That is because most people do not realize just how extensive the literature of numismatics is, nor do they realize just how far back such literature began.
In fact, the first known numismatic book, De Asse et Partibus Eius, "a scientific study of Roman metrology and coinage written by Guillaume Budé in 1514," was published only 60 years after Gutenberg first introduced printing from movable metal type to western Europe. And a recent publication, Christian Dekesel's A Bibliography of 16th Century Numismatic Books, finds that some 1148 individual numismatic titles were published during the 86 years after Budé.
More impressively, in a highly-acclaimed sequel--A Bibliography of 17th Century Numismatic Books--Dekesel found the pace of publishing numismatic books actually increased, to some 2825 individual titles. This pace would only quicken in succeeding centuries.
While the earliest numismatic books were concerned primarily with the evidence that numismatics provided for historical personages and events, the focus of such books would undergo substantial change as "common folk" began to collect coins, paper money and the like. Increasingly, numismatic books would also focus on "what do I have?" (is it really what it is purported to be?) and "what is it worth...?"
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