![]() He dealt with the Medici family, so he was really the go-to guy for manuscripts. ![]() And he was quite literally the bookseller to kings, people like the kings of Naples. And he began work in the Via dei Librai as an 11-year-old and then for the next half-century, dominated the book trade not just in Florence but, really, across Italy and, really, for all intents and purposes, across Europe because, as I say, he was the king of the world's booksellers. He was a fellow named Vespasiano da Bisticci, and he was born 1422. He was known as the king of the world's booksellers. KING: In fact, I wasn't the one who christened him. KELLY: So who was this man who you christened the bookseller of Florence? It is titled "The Bookseller Of Florence." And Ross King is with us now. And it is what happened on this street in the 15th century during the Renaissance that inspires Ross King's new book. The street runs through the heart of the city from the Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall, north towards the Duomo, the cathedral. ![]() ![]() So it felt appropriate that many days, my errands took me down a narrow street long known as the Via dei Librai, the Street of Booksellers. ![]() When I lived in Florence, Italy, a few years back, I was on deadline, trying to finish writing a book. ![]()
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