Ross King skilfully illuminates the career, interests and connections of a fifteenth-century maker of manuscript books, and in the process paints a compelling picture of Florence in the age of the Medici, and of the fascinating, fractured world of the European Renaissance, in the decades witnessing the final fall of the Byzantine Empire and the fateful appearance of the new technology of print Peter Marshall, author of Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation Written with an exquisite touch and enviable flair, King has written a book in defence of the pursuit of knowledge that's needed today more than ever Jerry Brotton, author of A History of the World in Twelve MapsĪ beautifully constructed work of popular scholarship, at once celebratory and elegiac. The Bookseller of Florence does for books what Ross King did for the art of Brunelleschi, Leonardo and Michelangelo: it conjures a vivid, lost world of manuscripts and learning. In this deft, sparkling book, Ross King reanimates the Street of Booksellers and the life of its most fascinating figure: Vespasiano da Bisticci Peter Moore, author of Endeavour: The Ship and the Attitude that Changed the WorldĪ brilliant narrative that seamlessly weaves together intellectual debate, technological exploration and the excitement of new ways of thinking about ethics, politics and human capability Rowan Williams In the mid-fifteenth-century it must have seemed as if all the wisdom of the world was distilled into a single street in Florence. 'A spectacular life of the book trade's Renaissance man' JOHN CAREY, SUNDAY TIMES Read more But by 1480 a new invention had appeared: the printed book, and Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge faced a formidable new challenge. With a client list that included popes and royalty, Vespasiano became the 'king of the world's booksellers'. His books were works of art in their own right, copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists. At a time where all books were made by hand, these people helped imagine a new and enlightened world.Īt the heart of this activity was a remarkable bookseller: Vespasiano da Bisticci.

But equally important were geniuses of another kind: Florence's manuscript hunters, scribes, scholars and booksellers.

The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings - the dazzling handiwork of the city's artists and architects. 'A marvel of storytelling and a masterclass in the history of the book' WALL STREET JOURNAL A gripping story of ancient wisdom, new technology and 'the king of the world’s booksellers', set in Renaissance Florence

The book seller of florence