Book-Buying and the Grand Tour: The Italian Books at Belton House in Lincolnshire

This article examines the Italian books in the library at Belton House in Lincolnshire, England, which were bought by family members in the early modern period on successive continental tours. It charts the growing prevalence of books at Belton House from its construction in the late seventeenth century and considers in detail the significance of two foreign tours: the first undertaken by Sir John Brownlow (1690–1754), later Viscount Tyrconnel, in the years 1710–11; and the second by John Cust (1779–1853), later Earl Brownlow, in the years 1801–2. As a whole, the article considers the ways in which books prepared tourists for going abroad, assisted them whilst they were in foreign countries, and helped them afterwards to recollect their travels.