Main content

Extent:

2 volumes

Abstract:

The collection Procès Libri. Détournement de manuscrits, d'autographes, et de livres: jugement – polèmiques houses materials from the Libri affair, the accusations that Guglielmo Libri, an Italian scholar and bibliophile, stole countless rare books and manuscripts from French national libraries while employed as an inspector of the libraries. When Libri was accused of theft, he and his supporters wrote a flurry of pamphlets in Libri's defense, disputing individual claims of theft and arguing that the neglectful state of French libraries led to confusion over the location of library books and to the prevalence of library-owned books in the private market. The collection, dating from 1848 to 1861 and bound together in two volumes, consists of manuscript table of contents for both volumes and thirty-one items in total, including pamphlets, newspaper clippings, a letter from Libri to his lawyer, Henry Celliez, and other manuscript notes.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]