The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance

Ross King tells the story of Vespasiano da Bisticci, the Florentine bookseller who supplied the Medici, popes and princes with manuscripts in the fifteenth century. Working with scribes and illuminators, he produced hand-copied libraries for patrons such as Cosimo de' Medici, Federico da Montefeltro and Pope Nicholas V, just as printing was about to change the trade.

It's for readers curious about Renaissance Florence, book history and how humanist learning spread. You see the business behind the beautiful manuscripts. It also captures the daily rhythm of the trade, with its commissions, deadlines and demanding clients.

Outward-looking and clear-cut; a moderate read.

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