Bibliomania can be a symptom of

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...

which involves the

collecting The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that are of interest to an individual ''collector''. Collections differ in a wide variety of respects, most obvio ...

or even

hoarding Hoarding is a behavior where people or animals accumulate food or other items. Animal behavior ''Hoarding'' and ''caching'' are common in many bird species as well as in rodents. Most animal caches are of food. However, some birds will a ...

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

s to the point where social relations or health are damaged. Bibliomania is not to be confused with

bibliophilia Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...

, which is the (psychologically healthy) love of books, and as such is not considered a clinical psychological disorder.

Description

One of several unusual behaviors associated with books, bibliomania is characterized by the collecting of books which have no use to the collector nor any great intrinsic value to a genuine book collector. The purchase of multiple copies of the same book and edition and the accumulation of books beyond possible capacity of use or enjoyment are frequent symptoms of bibliomania. Bibliomania is not a psychological disorder recognized by the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...

in its DSM-IV. Bibliomaniacs are characterized as those who are obsessed with books so much so that they will go to extreme measures to obtain the books they want. Often bibliomaniacs will have multiple copies of the same book in different editions and varying conditions. Bibliomaniacs affect the buying and selling of books with their obsessive nature and have greatly increased the price of buying rare books.

History

The term was coined by

John Ferriar John Ferriar (1761 – 4 February 1815), was a Scottish physician and a poet, most noted for his leadership of the Manchester Infirmary, and his studies of the causes of diseases such as typhoid. Background Ferriar was born near Jedburgh, R ...

(1761–1815), a physician at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Ferriar coined the term in 1809 in a poem he dedicated to his bibliomanic friend,

Richard Heber Richard Heber (5 January 1773 – 4 October 1833) was an English book-collector. Biography He was born in Westminster, as the eldest son of Reginald Heber, who succeeded his eldest brother as lord of the manors of Marton in Yorkshire and Hodne ...

(1773–1833). In the early nineteenth century, "bibliomania" was used in popular discourse (such as in periodical essays and poems) to describe obsessive book collectors. In 1809, the Reverend

Thomas Frognall Dibdin Thomas Frognall Dibdin (177618 November 1847) was an English bibliographer, born in Calcutta to Thomas Dibdin, the sailor brother of the composer Charles Dibdin. Dibdin was orphaned at a young age. His father died in 1778 while returning to En ...

published

Bibliomania (book) ''Bibliomania; or Book Madness'' was first published in 1809 by the Reverend Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1847). Written in the form of fictional dialogues from bibliophiles, it purports to outline a malady called bibliomania. Dibdin was train ...

''; or Book Madness'', a work described by literary critic Philip Connell as "a series of bizarre rambling dialogues which together comprised a kind of dramatized mock pathology, lavishly illustrated and, in the second edition, embellished with extensive footnotes on bibliography and the history of book collecting." The "symptoms" displayed by the biblomaniacs in Dibdin's work include "an obsession with uncut copies, fine paper or

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

pages, unique copies,

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

blackletter Blackletter (sometimes black letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for the Danish, Norweg ...

books, illustrated copies, association copies, and condemned or suppressed works". In the late nineteenth century, book collections and collectors of note were given regular coverage as curiosities.

Holbrook Jackson George Holbrook Jackson (31 December 1874 – 16 June 1948) was a British journalist, writer and publisher. He was recognised as one of the leading bibliophiles of his time. Biography Holbrook Jackson was born in Liverpool, England. He worked ...

was to follow the work of Ferriar and Dibdin later in the work ''The Anatomy of Bibliomania'' Bibliomania became quite popular during the

Regency era The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. George III of the United Kingdom, King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 18 ...

as the desire for first edition copies of books drove prices to unobtainable levels. Because of this, bibliomaniacs made a significant impact on the sales of rare or older books in such a way that it has never truly recovered.

People with bibliomania

* Stephen Blumberg, who was convicted of stealing $5.3 million worth of books. * Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1st Baronet (1792–1872) suffered from severe bibliomania. His collection, which at his death contained over 160,000 books and manuscripts, was still being auctioned off over 100 years after his death. * Rev. W.F. Whitcher was a 19th-century

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

pastor who, after having stolen and rebound rare books, would assert they were rare "finds" from local booksellers. *

Lord Charles Spencer Lord Charles Spencer PC (31 March 1740 – 16 June 1820) was a British courtier and politician from the Spencer family who sat in the House of Commons between 1761 and 1801. Background Spencer was the second son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of ...

(1740-1820), a world renowned book collector who drove the bidding for a first edition copy of

The Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...

to £2,260 at the auction of the family library of Roxburghe.

Depictions in fiction

*Peter Kien, the protagonist in ''Auto-da-Fé'' by

Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; bg, Елиас Канети; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994) was a German-language writer, born in Ruse, Bulgaria to a Sephardic family. They moved to Manchester, England, but his father died in 1912, and his mother took her t ...

. Kien's obsession with his personal library leads to the destruction of his marriage, his happiness, and ultimately the library itself. *

Yomiko Readman , also known as "The Paper," is the protagonist in the Japanese language, Japanese novel series ''Read or Die'' and its manga and original video animation (OVA) spin-offs. She is also a major player (but not the protagonist) in the sequel, ''R.O ...

, the protagonist in ''

Read or Die is a Japanese light novel series written by Hideyuki Kurata, published under Shueisha's '' Super Dash Bunko'' imprint. ''Read or Die'' follows Yomiko Readman, codename "The Paper", an agent for the (fictional) Special Operations Division ...

'', is an introverted bibliomaniac, often preferring the company of books over people. *

Don Vincente Don Vincente, also known as Don Vicente and Fray Vicents, is a fictional character whose story was first published as an anonymous article in the French newspaper ''La Gazette des Tribunaux'', in 1836. The legend was subsequently cited and reprod ...

, a fictional Spanish monk who was suspected of stealing books from his monastery, and later murdered nine people so he could steal their books. * Leisel Meminger, the protagonist in

The Book Thief ''The Book Thief'' is a historical fiction novel by the Australian author Markus Zusak, and is his most popular book. Published in 2005, ''The Book Thief'' became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and sold 16 mil ...

, a 9 year old who steals a grave diggers handbook beginning her obsession with books.

References

External links

Bibliomania: the strange history of compulsive book buying
in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' {{Authority control Book collecting Compulsive hoarding Obsessive–compulsive disorder Mania