From the mighty halls of ancient Alexandria to the coffered
ceilings of the Morgan Library in New York, human beings have had a
long, enraptured relationship with libraries. Like no other concept
and like no other space, the collection of knowledge, learning, and
imagination offers a sense of infinite possibility. It’s the
unrivaled realm of discovery, where every faded manuscript or
mighty clothbound tome might reveal a provocative new idea, a
far-flung fantasy, an ancient belief, a religious conviction, or a
whole new way of being in the world. In this new photographic
journey, Massimo Listri travels to some of the oldest and finest
libraries to reveal their architectural, historical, and
imaginative wonder. Through great wooden doors, up spiraling
staircases, and along exquisite, shelf-lined corridors, he leads us
through outstanding private, public, educational, and monastic
libraries, dating as far back as 766. Between them, these medieval,
classical, baroque, rococo, and 19th-century institutions hold some
of the most precious records of human thought and deed, inscribed
and printed in manuscripts, volumes, papyrus scrolls, and
incunabula. In each, Listri’s poised images capture the
library’s unique atmosphere, as much as their most prized
holdings and design details. Featured libraries include the papal
collections of the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Trinity
College Library, home to the Book of Kells and Book of Durrow. With
meticulous descriptions accompanying each featured library, we
learn not only of the libraries’ astonishing holdings—from
which highlights are illustrated—but also of their often lively,
turbulent, or controversial pasts. Like the Franciscan monastery in
Lima, Peru, with its horde of archival Inquisition documents. At
once a bibliophile beauty pageant, an ode to knowledge, and an
evocation of the particular magic of print, Massimo Listri. The
World’s Most Beautiful Libraries is above all a
cultural-historical pilgrimage to the heart of our halls of
learning, to the stories they tell, as much as those they gather in
printed matter along polished shelves. About the series TASCHEN is
40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980,
TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping
bookworms around the world curate their own library of art,
anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we
celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our
company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the
stars of our program—now more compact, friendly in price, and
still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.
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