The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession

Chapter 14

1 Marcello Simonetta, ed., Federico da Montefeltro and His Library (Milan: Y. Press and Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 2007).

2 Jonathan J. G. Alexander, “Perfection of Illustration and Ornament,” in Simonetta, Federico da Montefeltro and His Library , p. 17.

3 According to Freud, the collector’s makeup often includes “an enquiring mind; a penchant for secrecy” and “a propensity for rationalization.” As quoted in Burke, The Sphinx on the Table, p. 196. Burke cites Patrick Mauries, Cabinets of Curiosities (London: Thames & Hudson, 2002), p. 182.

4 Baez, A Universal History of the Destruction of Books.