The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club
Allen Lane, 624 pages, £40
In his new paean to the hand-written text, Christopher de Hamel undertakes a series of journeys, both real and imagined, to encounter 12 collectors who share his fascination with manuscripts. As he observes, every aspect of manuscript production points to human involvement and relationships. These range from initial discussions between illuminators, patrons and authors, to the elaborate copying and decorating of texts, to collectors, connoisseurs, scholars and readers. The collectors de Hamel “meets”, all profoundly different in personality and station in life, are bound together by a shared love of – even obsession with – manuscripts. The book ends with an imaginary soirée at which they are brought together, and one can well imagine their enthusiastic conversations.
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