Specialist or aficionado of antiquities or things of the past
This article is about practitioners of the scholarly pursuit of antiquarianism. For the trade in old books, see Bookselling. For trading or collecting old objects, see Antique.
Ole Worm's cabinet of curiosities, from Museum Wormianum, 1655
An antiquarian or antiquary (from Latin antiquarius 'pertaining to ancient times') is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. The essence of antiquarianism is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Colt Hoare, "We speak from facts, not theory."
The Oxford English Dictionary first cites "archaeologist" from 1824; this soon took over as the usual term for one major branch of antiquarian activity. "Archaeology", from 1607 onwards, initially meant what is now seen as "ancient history" generally, with the narrower modern sense first seen in 1837.
Today the term "antiquarian" is often used in a pejorative sense, to refer to an excessively narrow focus on factual historical trivia, to the exclusion of a sense of historical context or process. Few today would describe themselves as "antiquaries", but some institutions such as the Society of Antiquaries of London (founded in 1707) retain their historic names. The term "antiquarian bookseller" remains current for dealers in more expensive old books.
An antiquarian or antiquary (from Latin antiquarius 'pertaining to ancient times') is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More...
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century...
The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain is a guide book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. It is written as...
A list of antiquarian societies. An antiquarian society is a learned society or professional association for antiquarians, people who study history with...
The Plymouth Antiquarian Society is a historical organization in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Society, founded in 1919, owns and maintains the Harlow...
commission once the books have sold. In Paris, the Bouquinistes are antiquarian and used booksellers who have had outdoor stalls and boxes along both...
the tradition of English antiquarianism. Other scholars have discussed why Tolkien spent so much effort on these antiquarian-style elements. Some of the...
Elliot Stock, and in 1882 launched the rival Antiquarian Magazine and Bibliographer (renamed Walford's Antiquarian Magazine and Bibliographical Review 1885)...
The Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar, founded in the late 1970s, provides training for dealers in out-of-print, used, and antiquarian books. The Seminar...
The Cambridge Antiquarian Society is a society dedicated to study and preservation of the archaeology, history, and architecture of Cambridgeshire, England...
areas of Liverpool. According to the account of a 19th-century Liverpool antiquarian, James Stonehouse, these houses were eccentric in design and "of the...
new titles. Look up used bookstore in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Antiquarian book trade in the United States Bookstore tourism List of used book conditions...
opened another Booked Up in Archer City. It became one of the largest antiquarian bookstores in the United States, carrying between 400,000 and 450,000...
Ceredigion Historical Society (formally the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society) was founded in 1909. Founding members included: Revd George Eyre Evans...
The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Austria, formed in 1949, includes those Austrian antiquarian booksellers who exclusively or primarily buy and...
Weiser Antiquarian Books is the oldest occult bookstore in the United States. It specialises in books on Aleister Crowley and his circle, magic, mysticism...
broken up, and their contents often destroyed. There was an English antiquarian reaction to Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. The commissioners...
"-logy") grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Antiquarians studied history with particular attention to ancient artifacts...
The Hampstead Antiquarian and Historical Society was a local history society devoted to the history of Hampstead, London. Founded in 1897, the society...
The Finnish Antiquarian Society (Finnish: Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys) is a scholarly society for the purpose of promoting archaeological, ethnological...
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