View source for Bookworm

{{short description|Lover of books}}
{{hatnote group|{{redirect-distinguish|Bibliophilia|bibliomania}}{{other uses}}}}
[[File:Carl Spitzweg - "The Bookworm".jpg|thumb|[[The Bookworm (painting)|''The Bookworm'']], 1850, by [[Carl Spitzweg]]]]

A '''bookworm''' or '''bibliophile''' is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects [[books]]. '''Bibliophilia''' or '''bibliophilism''' is the love of books. 

Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, [[autographed]] copies, or illustrated versions. Bibliophilia is distinct from [[bibliomania]], a compulsive obsession to collect books which can affect interpersonal relationships or health. The term "bibliophile" has been in use since 1820 and has been associated with historical figures like [[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|Lord Spencer]] and [[J.P. Morgan]], who were known for their extensive book collections.

==Profile==
The classic bibliophile loves to read, admires and collects books,{{efn-ua|Of course, a bookworm is an insect that eats books. The term "bookworm" is often used as a [[metaphor]] to describe a voracious reader, an indiscriminate reader, or a [[bibliophile]]. In its earliest iterations, it had a negative [[connotation]]—that is, it denoted an [[Slacker|idler]] who read rather than worked. Over the years its meaning has drifted in a more positive direction.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-the-meaning-of-bookworm-positive-or-negative |title=Is 'bookworm' positive or negative? |publisher=[[Merriam Webster]] |access-date=June 18, 2019}}</ref> Another meaning of the word is "a person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.synonym.com/synonyms/bookworm |title=Bookworm |work=synonyms |access-date=June 19, 2019}}</ref>}} and often amasses a large and specialized collection. Bibliophiles usually possess books they love or that hold special value, as well as old editions with unusual bindings, [[autograph]]ed, or illustrated copies. <ref>Holzenberg, Eric. "The Bibliophile as Bibliographer". ''The papers of the Bibliographical Society of America''. 104.4 (2010): 421–431.</ref> "Bibliophile" is an appropriate term for a minority of those who are [[Book collecting|book collectors]].<ref>Carter, John, Nicolas Barker and Simran Thadani. 2016. ''John Carter's ABC for Book Collectors'', p.45. Ninth ed. New Castle Delaware: Oak Knoll Press''.</ref>

==History==
According to Arthur H. Minters, the "private collecting of books was a fashion indulged in by many [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], including [[Cicero]] and [[Titus Pomponius Atticus|Atticus]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Collecting Books for Fun and Profit|last=Minters|first=Arthur H.|location=New York|publisher=Arco Publishing Inc.|year=1979|isbn=0-668-04598-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/collectingbooksf0000mint
}}</ref> The term ''bibliophile'' entered the [[English language]] in 1820.<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|bibliophile|accessdate=2022-07-01}}</ref> A bibliophile is to be distinguished from the much older notion of a bookman (which dates back to 1583), who is one who loves books, and especially [[Reading (process)|reading]]; more generally, a bookman is one who participates in writing, publishing, or selling books.<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|bookman|accessdate=2022-07-01}}</ref>

[[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|Lord Spencer]] and the [[George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough|Marquess of Blandford]] were noted bibliophiles. "The [[John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe|Roxburghe]] sale quickly became a foundational myth for the burgeoning secondhand book trade, and remains so to this day"; this sale is memorable due to the competition between "Lord Spencer and the marquis of Blandford [which] drove [the price of a probable first edition of Boccaccio's ''[[Decameron]]'' up to the astonishing and unprecedented sum of £2,260".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Connell|first=Philip|title=Book Collecting: Cultural Politics, and the Rise of Literary Heritage in Romantic Britain|journal=Representations|year=2000|volume=71|pages=24–47|doi=10.1525/rep.2000.71.1.01p00764}}</ref> [[J. P. Morgan]] was also a noted bibliophile. In 1884, he paid $24,750 ($772,130.92, adjusted for inflation for 2021)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Inflation Calculator |url=https://westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi?money=24750&first=1884&final=2021 |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=westegg.com}}</ref> for a 1459 edition of the [[Mainz Psalter]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Basbanes|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas A. Basbanes|title=[[A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books]]|year=1995|publisher=Henry Holt|location=New York}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Books}}

[[File:Henry David Thoreau - The Bibliophile Society.jpg|thumb|upright|The Bibliophile Society of Boston art from a limited edition book by [[Henry David Thoreau]]]]

* [[Book collecting]]
* [[Bibliophobia]]
* [[Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles]], UK
* United States:
** [[Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies]]
** [[Antiquarian book trade in the United States]]
** [[The Book Club of Detroit]]
** [[Caxton Club]], Chicago
** [[The Club of Odd Volumes]], Boston
** [[Grolier Club]], New York
** [[Bibliophile mailing list]]

;Similar terms
* [[Audiophilia]]
* [[Cinephilia]]
* [[Comicphilia]]
* Infophilia
* [[Telephilia]]
* [[Videophilia]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book |author=Merriam-Webster, Inc. |title=[[Webster's Dictionary|Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary]] |edition=10th |year=1996 |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]], Inc. |location=Springfield, Mass |isbn=0-87779-709-9 }}

==Further reading==
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?67215-1/gentle-madness ''Booknotes'' interview with Nicholas Basbanes on ''A Gentle Madness'', October 15, 1995], [[C-SPAN]]}}
* ''Bulletin du Bibliophile'' (1834-) [http://data.bnf.fr/32726854/bulletin_du_bibliophile__1834_/ Bulletin du bibliophile (1834)]. Since 1963 published by the [[International Association of Bibliophiles|Association Internationale de Bibliophilie]].
* [[Richard de Bury]] (1902). ''The Love of Books: "[[The Philobiblon]]" translated by E. C. Thomas''. London: Alexander Moring
* [[Thomas Frognall Dibdin]] (1809). ''[[Bibliomania (book)|Bibliomania]]''. New York, Henry G. Bohn.
* Harper, H. H. (1904) "[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22605 Book-Lovers, Bibliomaniacs and Book Clubs]" The Riverside Press, Cambridge
* Holzenberg, Eric. "The Bibliophile as Bibliographer". ''The papers of the Bibliographical Society of America''. 104.4 (2010): 421–431.
* [[Andrew Lang]] (1881). ''[[The Library (book)|The Library]]''. London, Macmillan & Co.
* Purcell, M. (2019). [https://lithub.com/the-role-of-librarians-in-a-historical-age-of-obsession/ The Role of Librarians in a Historical Age of Obsession]. Literary Hub.
* Rugg, Julie (2006). ''A Book Addict's Treasury''. London: Frances Lincoln {{ISBN|0-7112-2685-7}}
* Stebbins, Robert A. (2013). ''The Committed Reader: Reading for Utility, Pleasure, and Fulfillment in the Twenty-First Century''. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow.

==External links==
*{{Commonscat-inline}}
*{{Wiktionary-inline|bibliophilia}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070914134621/http://members.forbes.com/fyi/2005/1212/162.html ''Forbes'' article] on bibliomania, by Finn-Olaf Jones, December 12, 2005] (archived 14 September 2007)

{{Book collecting}}
{{Books}}
{{Fandom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bibliophilia| ]]
[[Category:Antiquarian booksellers]]
[[Category:Bibliophiles| ]]
[[Category:Reading (process)]]