The Library of Rudolf Steiner

This three-volume set is the English translation of the original catalogue, published in 2019, detailing the entire contents of Rudolf Steiner’s personal library. The catalogue is the result of years of thorough and careful work by Dr. Martina Maria Sam of the Rudolf Steiner Archiv in Dornach, Switzerland, where the library is housed and kept fully intact in Haus Duldeck.

It is introduced with a preface by David Marc Hoffman, leader of the Archiv. This is followed by a series of photographs of Haus Duldeck, of the library itself, and of Rudolf Steiner through the course of his life. In a substantial introduction, Dr. Sam describes Rudolf Steiner’s relation to books throughout the phases of his biography and recounts numerous valuable anecdotes; she then details the history of how his library developed, began to be catalogued and ordered according to various sections (History, Medicine, Philosophy and Psychology, etc.), and eventually arrived at the nuanced and differentiated form in which it exists today.

The titles of the books are generally given in English with the original language following in parentheses. Subtitles and other descriptive and bibliographic information come next. Various specific details are also noted for each book, such as dedications (which are reproduced in full), particularly significant marginal notes, the presence of markings and underlining, dog-ears, drawings, bookmarks, etc. Throughout the catalogue, nearly 200 photographs are reproduced showing notable examples of dedications, notes, drawings, and the various details just mentioned. A comprehensive Index of Authors is provided at the end of volume three.

The three-volume set is available in a trade edition with leather spines and in a full-leather edition. The books are designed and printed by Martino Mardersteig of Opero S.r.l. in Verona, Italy and bound by Ruggero Rigoldi in Monza.