An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

1798

De Beer Sb 1798 L

Printed for Mundell & Son, and J. Mundell, College, Glasgow

Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872) was a bibliomaniac who wanted to own one of every book in the world. He was also obsessed with manuscripts. During a lifetime of collecting, Phillipps amassed some 40,000 printed books and 60,000 manuscripts. When he vacated Middle Hill, Worcestershire for Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham, some 105 horse-drawn wagons were required to transfer the collection. The eventual dispersal of his collection took over 100 years. Many of his books had a characteristic ‘Phillipps number’. The book label designating this book as part of Esmond de Beer’s Locke Collection may be hiding the number.