The Sandars Lectures in Bibliography

Thomas Hollis, a connoisseur and collector of art and antiquities, devoted the greater part of his substance and his energy to promoting the ideals of civil and religious liberty. Hollis is best known to modern bibliophiles for the distinctive bindings that he commissioned for the many books he distributed in Britain, the American colonies, and all over Europe. This book contains the first comprehensive catalogue and interpretation of his emblematic binding tools and a discussion of the several binders who worked for him. It also explores other activities that are less well known: his patronage of writers, printers, publishers, and artists, and his work as a designer of books and medals. This study should encourage a re-evaluation of Hollis's influence in the Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Revolution.