The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of the Library of Sir Thomas Browne highlights the erudition of the physician, philosopher and
encyclopedist, Sir
Thomas Browne (1605-1682). It also illustrates the proliferation, distribution and availability of books printed throughout 17th century Europe which were purchased by the
intelligentsia,
aristocracy, priest, physician and educated merchant-class.
Biography
Browne graduated from the
University of Leiden in 1633 having previously studied at the Universities of
Montpellier and
Padua for his medical degree.[1] Upon his establishment in
Norwich as a physician in 1637 he was able to begin a lifetime's
bibliophilia, building a private library, acquiring and reading an estimated 1,500 titles. He was adept in five contemporary languages: French, Italian, Spanish,
Dutch and
Danish; these languages as well as
Greek and
Hebrew and the predominant written form of the Renaissance, namely
Latin, are all represented in his Library.
The catalogue
The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue reflects the wide scope of Browne's interests. It includes many of the sources of his encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica which went through six editions (1646 to 1672); and established him as one of the leading intellects of 17th-century Europe.
Browne's erudite learning is reflected by the
Classics of antiquity as well as history,
geography,
philology, philosophy,
anatomy, theology,
cartography,
embryology, medicine,
cosmography,
ornithology,
mineralogy,
zoology, travel, law,
mathematics,
geometry, literature, both Continental and English, the latest advances in scientific thinking in
astronomy,
chemistry as well as esoteric topics such as
astrology,
alchemy,
physiognomy and the
Kabbalah are all represented in the Catalogue of his library contents. It was however not until 1986 that the Catalogue was first made widely available. The American scholar
Jeremiah Stanton Finch, Dean Emeritus at
Princeton University took on the task of indexing Browne's work during his retirement,[2] completing the indexing of the books of Sir Thomas and his son Edward Browne's libraries, "after many years in many libraries".[3] Finch noted that the Catalogue advertised books of sculpture and painting, which somehow were never delivered to the
auction house. In the event, the auction held upon 8–10 January 1711 was attended by
Jonathan Swift and buyers working on behalf of Sir
Hans Sloane. Thus an unknown percentage of books auctioned from the Library of Sir Thomas Browne subsequently formed the foundation for the future
British Library.[3]
The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue records the omnivorous reading and bibliophilia which Browne engaged upon for roughly sixty years, it also exemplifies the observation:
to the student of the history of ideas in its modern sense of the inter-relationship between science, art and philosophy, Browne is of great importance.[4]
Charles de Bovelles, Liber de intellectu. Liber de sensibus. Liber de generatione. Libellus de nihilo. Ars oppositorum. Liber de sapiente. Liber de duodecim numeris. Philosophicae epistulae. Liber de perfectis numeris. Libellus de mathematicis rosis. Liber de mathematicis corporibus. Libellus de mathematicis supplementis Paris 1510
Artificia Hominum, Miranda Naturae, in Sina & Europa, 1655
Ethiopian Dictionary 1674
Sources
A Facsimile of the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of Sir Thomas Browne and his son Edward's Libraries. Introduction, notes and index by J.S. Finch (E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1986)
See also
Music, mysticism and Magic – A sourcebook ed.
Joscelyn Godwin pub. Arkana 1986
The greatest benefit to Mankind. A medical history from antiquity to the present.
Roy Porter Harper and Collins 1999
References
^R. H. Robbins, 'Browne, Sir Thomas (1605–1682)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008
accessed 16 Feb 2013
^
abA Facsimile of the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of Sir Thomas Browne and his son Edward's Libraries. Introduction, notes and index by J.S. Finch (E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1986) Page 7
^ The Strategy for Truth – Leonard Nathanson Chicago University Press 1967
^Yost, George (1965). "Sir Thomas Browne and Aristotle". Studies in Sir Thomas Browne. University of Oregon: 55.
ISBN9780871140111.
The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of the Library of Sir Thomas Browne highlights the erudition of the physician, philosopher and
encyclopedist, Sir
Thomas Browne (1605-1682). It also illustrates the proliferation, distribution and availability of books printed throughout 17th century Europe which were purchased by the
intelligentsia,
aristocracy, priest, physician and educated merchant-class.
Biography
Browne graduated from the
University of Leiden in 1633 having previously studied at the Universities of
Montpellier and
Padua for his medical degree.[1] Upon his establishment in
Norwich as a physician in 1637 he was able to begin a lifetime's
bibliophilia, building a private library, acquiring and reading an estimated 1,500 titles. He was adept in five contemporary languages: French, Italian, Spanish,
Dutch and
Danish; these languages as well as
Greek and
Hebrew and the predominant written form of the Renaissance, namely
Latin, are all represented in his Library.
The catalogue
The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue reflects the wide scope of Browne's interests. It includes many of the sources of his encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica which went through six editions (1646 to 1672); and established him as one of the leading intellects of 17th-century Europe.
Browne's erudite learning is reflected by the
Classics of antiquity as well as history,
geography,
philology, philosophy,
anatomy, theology,
cartography,
embryology, medicine,
cosmography,
ornithology,
mineralogy,
zoology, travel, law,
mathematics,
geometry, literature, both Continental and English, the latest advances in scientific thinking in
astronomy,
chemistry as well as esoteric topics such as
astrology,
alchemy,
physiognomy and the
Kabbalah are all represented in the Catalogue of his library contents. It was however not until 1986 that the Catalogue was first made widely available. The American scholar
Jeremiah Stanton Finch, Dean Emeritus at
Princeton University took on the task of indexing Browne's work during his retirement,[2] completing the indexing of the books of Sir Thomas and his son Edward Browne's libraries, "after many years in many libraries".[3] Finch noted that the Catalogue advertised books of sculpture and painting, which somehow were never delivered to the
auction house. In the event, the auction held upon 8–10 January 1711 was attended by
Jonathan Swift and buyers working on behalf of Sir
Hans Sloane. Thus an unknown percentage of books auctioned from the Library of Sir Thomas Browne subsequently formed the foundation for the future
British Library.[3]
The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue records the omnivorous reading and bibliophilia which Browne engaged upon for roughly sixty years, it also exemplifies the observation:
to the student of the history of ideas in its modern sense of the inter-relationship between science, art and philosophy, Browne is of great importance.[4]
Charles de Bovelles, Liber de intellectu. Liber de sensibus. Liber de generatione. Libellus de nihilo. Ars oppositorum. Liber de sapiente. Liber de duodecim numeris. Philosophicae epistulae. Liber de perfectis numeris. Libellus de mathematicis rosis. Liber de mathematicis corporibus. Libellus de mathematicis supplementis Paris 1510
Artificia Hominum, Miranda Naturae, in Sina & Europa, 1655
Ethiopian Dictionary 1674
Sources
A Facsimile of the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of Sir Thomas Browne and his son Edward's Libraries. Introduction, notes and index by J.S. Finch (E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1986)
See also
Music, mysticism and Magic – A sourcebook ed.
Joscelyn Godwin pub. Arkana 1986
The greatest benefit to Mankind. A medical history from antiquity to the present.
Roy Porter Harper and Collins 1999
References
^R. H. Robbins, 'Browne, Sir Thomas (1605–1682)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008
accessed 16 Feb 2013
^
abA Facsimile of the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of Sir Thomas Browne and his son Edward's Libraries. Introduction, notes and index by J.S. Finch (E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1986) Page 7
^ The Strategy for Truth – Leonard Nathanson Chicago University Press 1967
^Yost, George (1965). "Sir Thomas Browne and Aristotle". Studies in Sir Thomas Browne. University of Oregon: 55.
ISBN9780871140111.