Rare books collection

Type: Bibliographic collection
Status: Open collection
Location: “Rari”
Time span: 1831–1959
Language: Italian, with the presence of titles in German, English, French, Spanish, and other languages
Format: Printed monographs
Access conditions: On-site consultation, subject to prior authorization and special handling due to the condition of the materials; digitization on demand
Origin: Extracted from historical collections

Content:

The collection brings together a bibliographic selection chosen for the rarity of its items. It presents itself as a heterogeneous collection, but with a clearly defined thematic core, focused primarily on economic, commercial, and administrative subjects, with a strong emphasis on accounting and business management. The predominant chronological coverage extends from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1940s.

Main thematic areas:

• Economics and commerce: A broad area including commercial French courses, studies on banking, and international commercial practices, especially with reference to England.
• Accounting and business administration: This represents the strongest core of the collection, with specific titles on industrial accounting and public administration.
• Law and social sciences: This area includes works addressing legal and social aspects, such as commercial law, public administration, and commercial practices.
• Language and pedagogy: A less represented but significant thematic area, focusing on educational tools, such as language courses designed for commercial use.

Documentary and historical value:

The collection shows a high degree of thematic coherence, with a predominant focus on economics, commerce, and accounting. Chronological coherence is concentrated between the late nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, a crucial period for the development of modern economics and accounting, particularly in Europe. From the perspective of academic and specialist research, the collection has significant potential relevance. The works included may be valuable for studies on the history of accounting, the evolution of commercial and financial practices between the Belle Époque and the 1930s, and the history of public administration in Italy. The presence of educational texts and manuals, such as commercial French courses, is particularly relevant for the history of education and professional training in the economic field.