The Care of Books by John Willis Clark is a learned history of libraries and the physical keeping of books, from antiquity through the close of the eighteenth century. Clark, a Cambridge scholar and antiquary, traces how books were stored, arranged, chained, and displayed, and how the architecture and furniture of libraries evolved over time.
Drawing on monastic, collegiate, and private collections across Europe, the book examines bookcases, lecterns, presses, and reading rooms with meticulous attention to detail and abundant illustration in its original form. It is at once a contribution to the history of scholarship and a study of material culture. For bibliophiles, librarians, and historians, Clark’s work remains a classic account of how Western civilisation preserved and organised its written heritage.