Cover of The Hardwick Library and Hobbes's Early Intellectual Development

The Hardwick Library and Hobbes's Early Intellectual Development

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Richard A. Talaska

This volume publishes the entirety of Hobbes's MS E.1.A, "Old Catalogue", the 1630s catalogue of the Hardwick/Chatsworth library. Talaska provides handwriting samples and a full discussion of the problem of identifying Hobbes's handwriting to prove that the "Old Catalogue" is in Hobbes's own handwriting. Talaska goes on to prove that almost all the books in the library were purchased by the Devonshires for Hobbes's own purposes, and shows that the Catalogue dates to the 1630s. Illustrations of the catalogue are provided. Hobbes's listings, which give only author's last name, short title, and printer's format, are filled out with full bibliographic information, making it possible for Talaska to date the catalogue and for the reader to find the editions listed.

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  • This work will be essential for those studying the intellectual influences upon Hobbes from the time of his Oxford years until the late 1630s. Paperback print copies available on demand from Amazon.

    CONTENT

    • Note from the Publisher
    • Author's Preface
    • Introduction
    Part 1: MS E.1.A. “Old Catalogue” and Hobbes’s Early Intellectual Life
    • Hobbes’s MS E.1.A
    • Hobbes’s Oxford Education
    • MS E.1.A. and other Catalogues and Lists of Books at Chatsworth
    • Hobbesian Authorship of MS E.1.A. and Responsibility for the Contents of the Library
    • Analysis of Hobbes’s Handwriting and MS E.1.A.
    • Photocopies of Various Handwriting Samples
    • Preliminary Study of the Contents of E.1.A. and Hobbes’s Early Intellectual Development
    • Dating E.1.A.
    • Principles of Editing MS E.1.A.
    Part 2: E.1.A. “Old Catalogue,” Edited with Commentary
    • I: “Libri Theologici”
    • II: General Works in Classical Languages and English
    • III: General Works in Contemporary European Languages
    • Bibliography
    • List of Illustrations

    "A masterpiece of scholarship and detective work."-- Arlene Saxonhouse


    · ISBN-13: 978-1-889680-02-6 · ISBN-10: 1-889680-02-8 · Published April 2013 · 148 pages · Paperback format ·