Knihkupec z Florencie - Příběh rukopisů, které zažehly renesanci – King Ross (2021)

Books, as we know them today, emerged only during the Renaissance. They replaced beautifully handwritten illuminated parchments that were sold in shops resembling stationery stores. The author tells the story of this revolution through the tale of the famous bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci. Vespasiano began working in a bookstore on the so-called bookseller's street as a young boy when he had to leave school due to his father's debts. In the following years, he rose to become the king of European booksellers, creating unique manuscripts commissioned by princes and even the Pope himself. In addition, he discovered and popularized forgotten ancient texts. This was also thanks to the fact that the inhabitants of Italy at the time loved to read. In Renaissance Florence, one in every seven people could read, including women and girls, which was many times more than in other European cities. The author describes Florence in the 15th century in detail and credibly, the everyday life in the bookseller's street and the bookstore itself, as well as book lovers, philosophers, scholars, and nuns who were the first typesetters. All of this against the backdrop of historical and political upheavals that accompanied the Renaissance and the emergence of printing.