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The dispersal of the library amassed by George Spencer-Churchill (1766 1840), Marquess of Blandford and later fifth Duke of Marlborough, is most commonly cited today as a preservative against folly. The collection contained some of the most sought-after incunabula of a period defined by the high prices paid for early printed books. It included a fine selection of Caxtons, spectacular botanical and emblem books, and the iconic Valdarfer Boccaccio - the first edition of the Decameron, purchased by Blandford in 1812 for the unprecedented sum of 2,260. The Boccaccio was symptomatic of the...

The dispersal in 1812 of the library of John Ker, Duke of Roxburghe (1740 1804) was the bibliographical event of the decade and a key moment in 'bibliomania'. The huge collection contained illuminated medieval manuscripts, incunabula, fifteen books printed by Caxton, and all four Shakespeare folios. The sale, orchestrated by the bookseller and auctioneer Robert Harding Evans (1777 1857), attracted the greatest book collectors and dealers of the day, setting new records. For the first time in British auction history a single book fetched more than 1,000, while the Valdarfer Boccaccio, the...