Roxburghe Club
Encyclopedia
The Roxburghe Club was formed on 17 June 1812 by leading bibliophiles, at the time the library
of the Duke of Roxburghe
was auctioned. It took 45 days to sell the entire collection. The first edition of Boccaccio
's Decameron
, printed by Chrisopher Valdarfer of Venice in 1471, was sold to the Marquis of Blandford
for £2,260, the highest price ever given for a book at that time. The Marquis already had another copy, but lacking 5 of the pages.
Starting with some eighteen in number, the first dinner party took place at the St Albans Tavern, St Albans Street (later renamed Waterloo Place). The Roxburghe Club is often claimed as the first book club
, and was a model for many book societies that appeared later in Britain
and Europe
. The circle is an exclusive one, however: the number of members is limited to forty, with one black ball excluding applicants. Each member undertakes to sponsor the publication of a rare or curious volume. The scholarship continues to be high and the quality of binding lavish, with no more than 100 copies ever printed. The first president was the Earl Spencer
.
A photograph exists of the membership in 1892, including the Prime Minister Arthur Balfour
and anthropologist Andrew Lang
, as well as American
poet James Russell Lowell
, Alfred Henry Huth, and Simon Watson Taylor
. James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne
, was then President.
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
of the Duke of Roxburghe
John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe
John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe KG, KT, PC was a Scottish nobleman and bibliophile.Born in Hanover Square, London, on 23 April 1740, Ker succeeded his father to become the 3rd Duke of Roxburghe in 1755. It is said that he fell in love with Christina Sophia Albertina, oldest daughter of the Duke...
was auctioned. It took 45 days to sell the entire collection. The first edition of Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
's Decameron
The Decameron
The Decameron, also called Prince Galehaut is a 14th-century medieval allegory by Giovanni Boccaccio, told as a frame story encompassing 100 tales by ten young people....
, printed by Chrisopher Valdarfer of Venice in 1471, was sold to the Marquis of Blandford
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA , styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British peer and collector of antiquities and books.-Background and education:...
for £2,260, the highest price ever given for a book at that time. The Marquis already had another copy, but lacking 5 of the pages.
Starting with some eighteen in number, the first dinner party took place at the St Albans Tavern, St Albans Street (later renamed Waterloo Place). The Roxburghe Club is often claimed as the first book club
Book club
A book discussion club is a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read and express their opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. It is more often called simply a book club, a term that is also used to describe a book sales club, which can cause confusion...
, and was a model for many book societies that appeared later in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The circle is an exclusive one, however: the number of members is limited to forty, with one black ball excluding applicants. Each member undertakes to sponsor the publication of a rare or curious volume. The scholarship continues to be high and the quality of binding lavish, with no more than 100 copies ever printed. The first president was the Earl Spencer
Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer
Vice-Admiral Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer KG, CB, PC , styled The Honourable Frederick Spencer until 1845, was a British naval commander, courtier and Whig politician. He initially served in the Royal Navy and fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the Greek War of Independence, eventually rising...
.
A photograph exists of the membership in 1892, including the Prime Minister Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
and anthropologist Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
, as well as American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...
, Alfred Henry Huth, and Simon Watson Taylor
Simon Watson Taylor (surrealist)
Simon Watson Taylor was an English actor and translator, often associated with the Surrealist movement. He was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire on 15 May 1923 and died in London on 4 November 2005....
. James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury
James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, CB, PC , known as Viscount Cranborne from 1868 to 1903, was a British statesman.-Background and education:...
, was then President.
Notable members
- Sir Walter Scott
- Thomas Frognall DibdinThomas Frognall DibdinThomas Frognall Dibdin , English bibliographer, born at Calcutta, was the son of Thomas Dibdin, the sailor brother of Charles Dibdin....
- Archdeacon Francis Wrangham
- Frederick James FurnivallFrederick James FurnivallFrederick James Furnivall , one of the co-creators of the Oxford English Dictionary , was an English philologist...
- Andrew LangAndrew LangAndrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
- Joseph HaslewoodJoseph HaslewoodJoseph Haslewood , was an English writer and antiquary. He was a founder of the Roxburghe Club.Haslewood was born in London, the son of Richard Haslewood and his wife Mary Dewsbery. He was an author and editor of many books, and assisted the bibliographer Sir Egerton Brydges...
- John Duke Coleridge
- Evelyn Philip Shirley
- James Russell LowellJames Russell LowellJames Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...
- Henry HuthHenry HuthHenry Huth was an English merchant banker and prominent bibliophile.-Early life:He was the third son of Frederick Huth of Hanover, who settled at Corunna in Spain. Frederick Huth left Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, with his family under convoy of the British squadron, and landed in England in...
(d.1878) - Alfred Henry Huth (d.1910, son of Henry)
- Simon Watson TaylorSimon Watson Taylor (surrealist)Simon Watson Taylor was an English actor and translator, often associated with the Surrealist movement. He was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire on 15 May 1923 and died in London on 4 November 2005....
- William OslerWilliam OslerSir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a physician. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital as the first Professor of Medicine and founder of the Medical Service there. Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a physician. He was...
- Frederick B. Adams, Jr.
- Harry Lawrence Bradfer-LawrenceHarry Lawrence Bradfer-LawrenceHarry Lawrence Bradfer-Lawrence was an antiquarian with a particular interest in Norfolk and Yorkshire, England.-Biography:...
- Charles Travis Clay
- Christopher Selby Dobson
- David Eccles, 1st Viscount EcclesDavid Eccles, 1st Viscount EcclesDavid McAdam Eccles, 1st Baron Eccles and 1st Viscount Eccles, CH, KCVO, MP, PC was an English Conservative politician....
- Sir Anthony R WagnerAnthony WagnerSir Anthony Richard Wagner, KCB, KCVO, FSA was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He served as Garter Principal King of Arms before retiring to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms...
— Garter Principal King of ArmsGarter Principal King of ArmsThe Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world... - Nicolas Barker — Editor of The Book Collector
- Sir John Paul GettyPaul GettySir John Paul Getty KBE , born Eugene Paul Getty, was a wealthy American-born British philanthropist and book collector. He was the elder son of Jean Paul Getty, Sr...
- Sir Walter OakeshottWalter Fraser OakeshottSir Walter Fraser Oakeshott FBA was a schoolmaster and Oxford college head. He is best known for discovering the Winchester Manuscript of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur in 1934.- Biography :...
- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of SalisburyRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of SalisburyRobert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, PC, DL , is a British Conservative politician. During the 1990s, he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne...
- Barry HumphriesBarry HumphriesJohn Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the...