bibliophile

The Bookworm, 1850, by Carl Spitzweg.

Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Accordingly a bibliophile is an individual who loves books. A bookworm is someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading. The -ia-suffixed form "bibliophilia" is sometimes considered^{[by whom?]} to be an incorrect usage; the older "bibliophilism" is considered^{[by whom?]} more correct. The adjective form of the term is bibliophilic. A bibliophile may be, but is not necessarily, a book collector.

Profile

The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often amassing a large and specialized collection. Bibliophiles do not necessarily want to possess the books they love; an alternative would be to admire them in old libraries. However, the bibliophile is usually an avid book collector, sometimes pursuing scholarship in the collection, sometimes putting form above content with an emphasis on old, rare, or expensive books, first editions, books with special or unusual bindings, autographed copies, etc.^[1]

Usage of the term

Bibliophilia is not to be confused with bibliomania, an obsessive-compulsive disorder involving the collecting of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged, and in which the mere fact that an object is a book is sufficient for it to be collected or loved. Some use the term "bibliomania" interchangeably with "bibliophily" and in fact, the Library of Congress does not use the term "bibliophily," but rather refers its readers to either book collecting or bibliomania.^[2] The New York Public Library follows the same practice.^[3]

History

According to Arthur H. Minters the "private collecting of books was a fashion indulged in by many Romans, including Cicero and Atticus."^[4] The British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone was known to have been a bibliophile. The term entered the English language in 1824.^[5] It is to be distinguished from the much older notion of a bookman (which dates back to 1583), which is one who loves books, and especially reading; more generally, a bookman is one who participates in writing, publishing, or selling books.^[6]

See also

• Antiquarian book trade in the United States
• Book collecting
• Caxton Club
• The Club of Odd Volumes
• Grolier Club
• Hyperlexia
• Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles

Notes

References

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 10th ed.. Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster, Inc.. 1996. ISBN 0-87779-709-9. 

Further reading

• Basbanes, Nicholas A. (1995) A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books, Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
• Richard de Bury (1902). The love of books: the Philobiblon translated by E. C. Thomas. London: Alexander Moring
• Rugg, Julie (2006). A Book Addict's Treasury. London: Frances Lincoln ISBN 0-7112-2685-7

External links

Look up bibliophilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Forbes article on bibliomania by Finn-Olaf Jones, December 12, 2005
• Booknotes interview with Nicholas Basbanes on A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes and the Eternal Passion for Books, October 15, 1995.