The book maniacs

Budapesti Hírlap, June 1912 (Volume 32, Nos. 129-153) 1912-06-13 / No. 139

Collecting books is a beautiful passion, if you do it right, for example, the Frenchman Grolier, whose book collection with ex-libris is unparalleled in its kind, has gained great fame. The Florentine Antonio Machiabcchi, the founder of the library of the same name, also belongs to this group, from whose library the Grand Ducal Library originated, and then, after Italy gained independence, the Italian National Library. The names of the French cardinals and statesmen Richelieu and Mazarin, who laid the foundations of the Paris Library, will forever remain famous in this field. However, alongside these famous library founders, there is a whole series of book maniacs who mindlessly piled up book after book, partly out of passion, partly out of desire for profit. In his recently published book, the Frenchman Charles Rodier interestingly paints both examples of book fools; here we present two chapters from his work.

Henri Boulard was born in the middle of the eighteenth century into a distinguished French family. At a relatively young age he managed to obtain several honorary positions, among others, he entered the legislative body. He was loved and respected everywhere, and was also welcomed by academic circles. But his passion for collecting books took such a strong hold on him that after he handed over his notary office to his son, he rejected all other activities. From that time on, he only bought books. He became a regular visitor to all antiquarians and second-hand dealers, to whom he eventually appeared with a crowbar, and with it he measured out and bought entire rows of books for an average of one hundred francs per two crowbars. He had five houses in Paris, from which he evicted all the inhabitants and soon filled the five houses with hundreds of thousands of books. In the end, he only accumulated folio-shaped books, under the weight of which he collapsed on a beautiful May morning in 1825. His was the largest of all the private collections in Paris; the number of his books, according to experts, fluctuated between six hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand. A quarter of his vast collection of books was sold by weight, but the rest was carefully registered and sold in series over the years. The sale lasted from 1828 to 1832 and had a very bad effect on the book market, because it depressed prices for a long time, which the booksellers felt for a long time.

Among the book maniacs are those who began their careers as book lovers but then drifted into book thieves. In Rodier's book, the most interesting example of this is Guglielmo Bruto Julio Timoleone conte Libri Carrucci della Sommata, who came from an ancient Florentine family. The long-named count was endowed by Providence with wonderful intellectual abilities. At the age of seventeen he had already graduated in law and was a doctor of philosophy, and at the age of twenty he became a professor of quantity at the University of Pisa. Later, however, he became involved in political machinations and for this reason he fled to Paris, where in 1832 he became a professor at the Sorbonne. Here he worked on a great work, the history of mathematics, and used for it all the various book collections of the French capital, which he had become thoroughly acquainted with. Finally, under Guizot, he was invited to become the notary of the commission for the registration of books in the public libraries of France. It was then that an unquenchable thirst for collecting books and manuscripts arose in him. Until then, he had remained an honest man, but now he touched other people's property and for years he stole the most valuable prints and manuscripts, which he sold under the table. Lord Ashburnham, who had no idea that Count Libri was under ban, sold manuscripts for eight thousand guineas; and in 1847 he had his collection of 3,025 books auctioned in Paris. Almost a hundred thousand francs were raised at the auction. However, since he had only partially removed the library stamp from several of these books, their origin could easily be proven. Shortly before the July Revolution of 1848, proceedings were initiated against Libri; he escaped arrest by fleeing to England. He managed to prove that many works were his rightful property, but during a search of his Paris apartment, so much incriminating evidence was gathered against him that the highly educated but depraved scholar was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1850. In the meantime, however, the cunning Italian had managed to naturalize himself in England and now the excellent lawyer was trying to achieve his exhumation by all means at his disposal. However, his efforts were in vain. During his eighteen years in England, he held book auctions under different names almost every year; the origin of these books is still shrouded in mystery. A whole host of works were devoted to the Libri scandal at the time. The Count then lived out the remaining years of his shameful life in Fiesale; he died there in 1869.