117 Years in the Dismantling:<br>The End of Perhaps the Greatest Collection Ever
- by Michael Stillman
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Anyone who collects books (or anything else for that matter) passionately will sympathize with Sir Thomas Phillipps. After all, he was driven by the same forces that drive all collectors. The difference is that while most collectors can exercise some control over these passions, Phillipps was consumed by them. His life was devoted to amassing paper. While a man of means, he was constantly in debt, which only served to strain his personal relationships. His family was, to put it mildly, inconvenienced by the boxes of paper that eventually made it very difficult just to move about the house. But Phillipps was a man possessed, and nothing until his death in 1872 was able to stop him.
If Phillipps was an eccentric, if not downright loony man, his madness did leave a gift for contemporary and future generations. While his book collection is not that highly regarded, his collection of manuscripts may have been the greatest ever. During his lifetime, Sir Thomas readily made his collection available to scholars. Even more important is that Phillips saved many of these one of a kind documents from the paper merchants, the recyclers of their day. Many manuscripts scattered in diverse collections around the world today would not continue to exist were it not for this man’s obsessive desire to preserve every piece of paper in the world. That is his legacy.
The apparent final disposition of the Phillipps boxes took place in London on December 2, 2003. There were many other Phillipps items sold at this auction, but this was the last lot to be sold just as Phillipps left it. It went for £2,160, including buyer’s premium. Perhaps the new owner will finally sort through these last three boxes, or maybe he or she too will be overwhelmed by the task and these boxes will come around for sale once again. If this is finally the end, it will bring a conclusion to a remarkable collection by a most unusual man.
For those interested in learning more about Phillipps, a five-volume set was produced by A.N.L. Munby in 1967. However, a much briefer description taken from this set is available online at www.maggs.com/onlycollect/munby.html.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
