British Library. 1st English ed. Acceptable. Acceptable. Ship within 24hrs. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed. APO/FPO addresses supported British Library ISBN 1584560185 9781584560180 [US]

New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, Date: 2000. hardcover, dust jacket. 9.5 x 13 inches. hardcover, dust jacket. 600 pages. First edition in English, second impression. This monumental work chronicles the development of the library from 300 B.C. to 1600 A.D. Beginning with the clay-tablet libraries of the ancient Sumerian and Assyro-Babylonian empires, to those inspired by the Italian Renaissance, Mr. Staikos reveals the majesty of Western literature within these great depositories of human knowledge. Using over 400 illustrations [130 in full color] the reader is treated to hundreds of beautifully photographed interiors of these legendary libraries and their rare treasures. Chapter by chapter, the stories of the fabled libraries of Alexandria, Greece and Rome unfold like an unbroken chain, connecting the wisdom of the ancients to the magnificent libraries of the European Renaissance. The author also shares with us the very personal stories of the founders and the un-sung librarians, who struggled during wars and countless disasters to preserve and protect their precious holdings. The chapters on the contributions of the Byzantine and Greek monastic libraries, the foundation of the Western Renaissance, are especially revealing. Mr. Staikos' original scholarship and well-written prose makes a very readable work of surprising originality. He has created a literary masterpiece that captures the rich heritage of one of man's greatest achievements. This is a very special, ...

New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, Date: 2000. Hardcover. VG/VG- (book and dust jacket both show minimal shelf wear at edges, all pages clear and intact). Red cloth boards with gold gilt lettering on cover and spine, illustrated flyleaves, gold and color illustrated dust jacket with gold and black lettering, xvi, 563 pp., color illustrations. "The Great Libraries: From Antiquity to the Renaissance (3000 BC to AD 1600). This is a study of the development of books and libraries, chiefly in the Mediterranean region, from the time when people first started collecting works of literature. It is divided into two parts. Book I traces the parallel development of written literature in the various Mediterranean countyies with the foundation of royal, public and private libraries. Extensive coverage is given to the first private and public libraries in ancient Greece and Rome and the factors that led to their formation. There are sections dealing with the type of script in use, the content of books and the way library architecture evolved in line with the political and cultural conditions prevailing in the Sumerian, Assyro-Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek (from the Pre-Socratic period to the end of the ancient Greek era) and Roman civilizations. The Middle Ages are covered in two long chapters, one on Byzantium and the other on the Western world. The Italian Renaissance is studied from the supranational viewpoint that engendered the Renaissance spirit, the central theme of this section ...

ISBN10: 1584560185, ISBN13: 9781584560180, [publisher: Oak Knoll Press, New Castle, DE] Hardcover Red cloth boards with gold gilt lettering on cover and spine, illustrated flyleaves, gold and color illustrated dust jacket with gold and black lettering, xvi, 563 pp., color illustrations. "The Great Libraries: From Antiquity to the Renaissance (3000 BC to AD 1600). This is a study of the development of books and libraries, chiefly in the Mediterranean region, from the time when people first started collecting works of literature. It is divided into two parts. Book I traces the parallel development of written literature in the various Mediterranean countyies with the foundation of royal, public and private libraries. Extensive coverage is given to the first private and public libraries in ancient Greece and Rome and the factors that led to their formation. There are sections dealing with the type of script in use, the content of books and the way library architecture evolved in line with the political and cultural conditions prevailing in the Sumerian, Assyro-Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek (from the Pre-Socratic period to the end of the ancient Greek era) and Roman civilizations. The Middle Ages are covered in two long chapters, one on Byzantium and the other on the Western world. The Italian Renaissance is studied from the supranational viewpoint that engendered the Renaissance spirit, the central theme of this section being the revolutionary effects of the ...
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