‘There is No Describing the Library’: The Parkers of Saltram and Their Books

Abstract

It is arguable that a collection of books needs to meet certain conditions before it can qualify as a library.1 This is perhaps particularly the case with libraries in country houses, where the difference between a purposeful library and a random collection of books is often not recognized. Country house libraries are often taken to be random collections of books: unconsidered, disordered and serving no other function than to furnish a room. Indeed, a collection of books which was once purposeful can sink to this condition if not cared for and maintained. This paper will examine when a country house book collection becomes a library, and will trace the growth and development of these conditions in the library at Saltram House, near Plymouth, Devon.