Roxburghe Club

The Roxburghe Club is a British association of collectors and bibliophiles.

On July 13, 1812, the valuable library of John von Roxburghe , the descendant of one of the oldest Scottish noble families, was auctioned in London . The auction lasted 24 days. The most valuable piece was the rare folio edition (1471) by Giovanni Boccaccio, sold for 2260 pounds sterling .

Subsequently, 30 auction participants founded the Roxburghe Club , which met every year on the memorable sales day of the Boccaccio, on July 13th, in the St. Albans Tavern. Gradually the society grew, and each member took the honor of reprinting excellent and rare works of older English literature at their own expense. Only 42 copies are ever made for members of the club. However, each member can have up to 300 copies produced (in less complex, but still more bibliophile) equipment, which can be purchased. The ballads of the eponymous Duke of Roxburghe were later also published by the RC.

The club became a model for many similar associations in Great Britain and other countries.

Famous members

Walter Scott (1771-1832), author Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1844), bibliographer Francis Wrangham (1769-1842), author Frederick James Furnivall (1825-1910), philologist Andrew Lang (1844–1912), author and journalist John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge (1820-1894), lawyer Evelyn Philip Shirley (1812-1882), politician James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), author and diplomat Henry Huth (1815–1878), banker to Frederick Huth & Co. Simon Watson Taylor (1811–1902), politician Joseph Haslewood

Edward Vernon Utterson William Osler (1849-1919), medic Frederick Baldwin Adams (1878–1961), businessman and philanthropist Harry Bradfer-Lawrence (1887–1965), antiquarian Charles Clay Christopher Selby Dobson David Eccles (1849-1912), businessman Anthony Richard Wagner (1908-1995), author Nicolas Barker J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), industrialist John Paul Getty II (1932-2003), patron Thomas Woodcock (* 1951), lawyer

literature

• Clive Bigham: The Roxburghe Club. Its history and its members 1812-1927 . University Press, Oxford 1928.
• Shayne Husbands: The Early Roxburghe Club 1812-1835. Book club pioneers and the advancement of English literature . Anthem Press 2017, ISBN 978-1-78308-690-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/history/
2. ↑ http://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/booksAvailable/
3. ↑ ^{a b c} founding member