How did the humanist movement, initiated by a handful of gifted individuals in Florence around the year 1400, contrive to spread its influence throughout Florentine society, becoming by midcentury the dominant cultural paradigm in the city by the Arno? What were the mechanisms by which humanist literary culture circulated, assuring its hegemonic status several decades before the advent of printing made the movement of ideas so much swifter? Scholars interested in such questions have long been able to draw upon the work of Albinia de la Mare: her research into the copying, marketing, and dissemination of classical texts prior to the age of printing suggests how networks of interest were formed, linking the production of humanist books to potential clients through the agency of middlemen like Vespasiano da Bisticci.

Lorenz Böninger’s edition of Lorenzo Guidetti’s Ricordanze now adds new insights into these processes of cultural transmission. Scion of a prominent family, Guidetti (1439–1519) is perhaps best known today as a disciple and protégé of Cristoforo Landino. Specialists are also aware of a large number of surviving classical texts written in his hand. Like other members of his social class, Guidetti was in the habit of copying manuscripts for his personal use. Nor was this a mere erudite pastime. By the middle of the fifteenth century the mastery of humanist culture had become a necessary accomplishment for those who hoped to pursue a career in public office. Guidetti, however, is a special case in that he left behind an extraordinary paper trail documenting his activities as a copier, lender, and even seller of humanist books. The text of his Ricordanze (hitherto unknown because the original is in private hands) presents what at first looks like a typical example of the account books for which the Florentine merchant class is justly famous. Closer inspection, however, reveals exciting new material: Guidetti’s jottings contain a detailed record of how he acquired his books, at what cost he had them decorated and bound, which authors he found most congenial, and what exactly he did with his books once they were securely in his possession.

The going is not always easy, but researchers who persist in deciphering the many transactions recorded here will find a gold mine of information. Prices, for example, are listed with precision, as are the comings and goings of the manuscript books as they crisscross Guidetti’s various social circles. A particularly precious aspect of the Ricordanze is, in fact, the way they document the travels of Guidetti’s books once they have become his property. Part of this story concerns the commodification of the book. Even though he would eventually inherit considerable family wealth, Guidetti always had a clear idea of the money value to be placed on each of his books. He was never squeamish about making a sale, providing he could obtain a good price. So we find out a good deal here about the book trade as practiced by a well-to-do Florentine from a merchant-class background. But that’s not all. In an age before books became cheap and there were no lending libraries, it was considered selfish not to share one’s books with one’s social peers and friends. So lending books to others, as well as borrowing, became something of a social nicety that demanded compliance. Often such lending practices were connected with an acquisition, either by the borrower copying the manuscript in question, having it copied, or even deciding to purchase the book borrowed.

The value of these Ricordanze, then, lies largely in the fact that for a number of crucial years (roughly 1463 to 1472) Guidetti kept a precise record of the movement of books in and out of his library. The record sometimes allows us to track the books on their journeys, following their adventures as they pass from reader to reader. A copy of Cicero’s De amicitia, De senectute, and the Paradoxa, for example, crops up at several points in the text (6, 164–65, 172), each time adding a new twist to the convoluted tale of its meanderings. Böninger has happily opted for a light editorial touch, leaving the modern reader free to enjoy a sense of discovery at each turn in the road.