by Anura Guruge
on November 4, 2022
Click to ENLARGE.
I really didn’t need it! All the information I could get from an ‘Annuario Pontifico‘ (Pontifical Yearbook), i.e., the list of popes, list of cardinals, & organization of the curia, I already have in buckets — &, moreover, in ENGLISH. The ‘AP’ is in 100% Italian, which makes it difficult for me to follow, though, of course, you can get a fairly good idea of what is being said, especially when it is talking about names.
In 2007, when I started doing my research into popes I thought that I had to get my hands on an AP just to make sure that I was not missing out of anything. In those days, I recall, that APs were hard to get, in the U.S. $120 comes to mind. I think that that was about what the average price was — plus there were long shipping times being quoted since most were being shipped across from Europe. I then quickly discovered that all the data I wanted was readily available, in English, in more extensive detail, online & in other, easier to obtain books. So, I lost interest in APs & to be honest hadn’t looked for one until last week.
Getting this ‘AP’ only came about because I was in eBay looking for OLD copies of “J.N.D. Kelly’s” ‘Oxford Dictionary Of Popes’ as I talked about in this post. I didn’t want the new revised editions published well after Kelly’s death. Partly because of nostalgia, since my old copy, in tatters, was from 2006, I wanted one (or has it transpired two) from that era. Hence, why I went to eBay. Well, as I said in that earlier post, I ended up getting two copies, one from eBay & the other from Amazon. It was after I had bought that book from eBay that it struck me that I should look to see what APs were going for. The prices varied from ~$25 to well over $70 — the newer editions typically more expensive. I really didn’t care what year I got. There was one for 1978 — the year of the 3 popes. But, I realized that this one would not include the two that got elected that year. So, I opted for the 1985, which was priced at $26 — with “Make An Offer” option. As you can see, I got it for $2, plus shipping.
It is a LARGE book. 2,070, densely packed pages. It is quite literally a red brick. I have only thumbed through it. It is cute & neat. I wish I could read Italian.
For a lot of the same reasons as you, I picked up one of those reprint copies–by “Forgotten Books” (yes, they have a website, http://www.forgottenbooks.com)–but I opted for the 1870 edition. It’s basically a well-bound paperback of a photocopy of the book in the New York Public Library (the NYPL property-stamp was photocopied too– “Astor, Lennox and Tilden Foundations” below). I got it on Amazon for like $30.
Anyway, I wanted this particular edition because it would’ve been first published in 1869, right before the invasion and occupation of the remainder of the Papal States (Sept. 1870). And I wanted to see WHICH popes “counted” as legit at that point in history.
And of course in Italian, but the listings of the popes are done in a tabular format, and it’s easy to read for us non-Italian speakers.
Mark,
You really are a true historian to your core. Wow. Yesterday, before I did the post I searched for what APs were available online. Noticed that quite a few 19c are available on multiple sites, inc. ‘Google Books’. I clicked on a few. Noticed that the older pope lists were MORE detailed than what is in the 1985. Today, after you comment, I checked the online links again. Much to my JOY the 1870 is available. So, I too can have a look. I also checked ‘forgotten books’. I will check 1870 AP, a few others PLUS my 1985 to see HOW the anti list has changed. I have already learned quite a few interesting things about the antis. SMILE. Amazing what due diligence & having Excel can unearth. I will share with YOU before anyone else. Thanks. This was great. Oh, I am trying HARD to cut back on buying books. I am getting old. What will happen to ALL the books I already have? My kids, who were once interested, now no longer have an interest. They will throw them all away!