Bibliotheca Menckeniana, quae Autores praecipue Veteres Graecos et Lat. Historiae item Literariae, Eccl. et Civilis, Antiquitatum ac Rei Nummariae scriptores, Philologos, Oratores, Poetas et Codices MSS. complectitur..
Engraved frontis. port. of J.B. Mencke. Title printed in red & black. 8 p.l. (incl. frontis.), 876 pp., [82] leaves. Thick 8vo, orig. limp boards (occasional minor foxing), uncut. Leipzig, J.F. Gleditsch & Son, 1727.
Second edition, much enlarged (1st ed.: 1723) and a very lovely copy in original state; this was a very influential catalogue and was considered in its time to be the model of a universal bibliography. The Menckeniana is a catalogue of a specialized library particularly interesting to students of history and the history of learning. It was open to the public. The library was created by Otto Mencke (1644-1707), professor of moral philosophy at Leipzig University and founder of the Acta Eruditorum, the first great German scholarly journal. Mencke bequeathed the library to his son Johann Burckhard (1674-1732), professor of history at the same institution.
The first edition of the Menckeniana was exhausted in two years, suggesting how important the catalogue was considered by other scholars. In the Preface to the second and larger edition of 1727 Mencken writes about serving scholars and complains about the difficulty of recovering books that had been lent. There is no suggestion at the time that he contemplated the sale of his library, but within a year he issued small priced catalogues and within five years he had disposed of his books. As we can see, an owner’s catalogue can be an incidental means of selling a library. The largest part of the library was purchased in 1730 by Bünau and the remainder was auctioned in 1732.
The catalogue contains one of the earliest instances of a frontispiece portrait in a library catalogue. The final leaves contain an author index, one of the earliest examples found in a private library catalogue.
A very fine copy in original state.
❧ Folter 528. Loh, G., Verzeichniss der Kataloge von Buchauktionen und Privatbibliotheken aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum, Vol. I, p. 205. Taylor, Book Catalogues, pp. 7, 13, 108, 114, 127, 128, 131, 175, 207, & 252-53.
Second edition, much enlarged (1st ed.: 1723) and a very lovely copy in original state; this was a very influential catalogue and was considered in its time to be the model of a universal bibliography. The Menckeniana is a catalogue of a specialized library particularly interesting to students of history and the history of learning. It was open to the public. The library was created by Otto Mencke (1644-1707), professor of moral philosophy at Leipzig University and founder of the Acta Eruditorum, the first great German scholarly journal. Mencke bequeathed the library to his son Johann Burckhard (1674-1732), professor of history at the same institution.
The first edition of the Menckeniana was exhausted in two years, suggesting how important the catalogue was considered by other scholars. In the Preface to the second and larger edition of 1727 Mencken writes about serving scholars and complains about the difficulty of recovering books that had been lent. There is no suggestion at the time that he contemplated the sale of his library, but within a year he issued small priced catalogues and within five years he had disposed of his books. As we can see, an owner’s catalogue can be an incidental means of selling a library. The largest part of the library was purchased in 1730 by Bünau and the remainder was auctioned in 1732.
The catalogue contains one of the earliest instances of a frontispiece portrait in a library catalogue. The final leaves contain an author index, one of the earliest examples found in a private library catalogue.
A very fine copy in original state.
❧ Folter 528. Loh, G., Verzeichniss der Kataloge von Buchauktionen und Privatbibliotheken aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum, Vol. I, p. 205. Taylor, Book Catalogues, pp. 7, 13, 108, 114, 127, 128, 131, 175, 207, & 252-53.
Details
Title
Bibliotheca Menckeniana, quae Autores praecipue Veteres Graecos et Lat. Historiae item Literariae, Eccl. et Civilis, Antiquitatum ac Rei Nummariae scriptores, Philologos, Oratores, Poetas et Codices MSS. complectitur..
Author
(MENCKE, Otto & Johann Burckhard)
Condition
Unknown