Abstract

John Locke, in addition to being a great philosopher, was a man of great erudition in other, and surprising, fields. He was also a great bibliophile. He acquired books in his Oxford days, during his period with Shaftesbury in London, while in exile in Holland and, above all, during the final years when he lived as the guest of Sir Francis and Lady Masham at Otes in Essex. About half his library was acquired during these final years of fame; and it was only at this period that he was able to gather all his books, some 3,500 of them, into one place around him. The details and the vicissitudes of this development of Locke’s library are recorded in Peter Haslett’s graceful essay: ‘John Locke and his Books’.