At the time of computer dematerialization, what relevance grant the founding concept of book collecting: the symbolic relationship between the written work and its support?

The early days of its history, the book is not a simple support of thought, it is the single vector. The quality of this object depends on the impact of the work and thereby its future.
However, in these fertile Renaissance years, it is all the young humanist thought that needs to invent a form. Font, paper quality, size of the book, illustrations, drawing ... editorial strategies differ between an edition for the aristocracy and a protest pamphlet distributed under the mantle.
Today the "form" of these books tells us about the relationship qu'entretenaient works with their time. For there is no pure thought; any formalization is an interpretation and editing is the most noble and enduring form. Luxurious form of Pierre Corneille Theatre richly annotated by Voltaire, monumental form of Voltaire's complete works whose majestic edition in 76 volumes ruined Beaumarchais and, of course, as "original" designed by Rimbaud for his season in hell.
this natural link between the work and its edition is grafted a second fundamental element for the bibliophile: history of the copy.
On multiple object essence, the book becomes, by its very existence, a single object.
And each copy bears the marks of its unique history:

• dedication Dubuffet on Ler dla canpane offered Hans Bellmer
• Miguet decor binder on a deluxe edition of the Wall
• last copy in private hands of the first edition of the Dialogus creaturarum
• first printing of the Fleurs du Mal before amputation for indecency.

 

Most of the time, the story of the book is a simple anecdote. However, when an old dandy publishes on account of author a novel about his social life and offers one of the first copies at fault, but enriched with an autograph dedication full recognition to a literary lounge chair that was both a mentor for the writer and the model of a central character, the story of Marcel and his Du côté de chez Swann then meets the history of search time lost Proust. And modest copy of the first issue is a unique and valuable record of the literary history of the twentieth century.

So she is bibliophily to highlight the copy that, of all the books he has with the text conveys a historical connection as symbolic. Unveiled value rather than added value, the book, subject to infinite reproducibility, thus be reimbursed for its uniqueness of artwork.

Archaeologist of knowledge, the bibliophile extract the multiplicity and reintroduced a meaningful object in the physical and cultural heritage intangible idea underlying the book.