Proto-bibliophiles amongst the English aristocracy, 1500-1700.

The idea of aristocratic book collecting in Great Britain tends to conjure up images of great bibliophiles like Sunderland, Roxburghe and Spencer or of the benign neglect of country house libraries. Yet the origins of aristocratic bibliophilia - which in time gave rise to country house libraries - lie much further back in history with a handful of important English collectors who led the way the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This article presents an overview of some of these early collectors, their position in the society of the time and the influences which made them purchase books