Bright Young Collectors: Robert Thake

Statuta Ordinis Domus Hospitalis Hierusalem (Rome, 1556).  Although this work is one of the few books in my collection not written by a Maltese and which holds a greater affinity to the Order of St John than to Malta, this book is one of the jewels in my collection.  This book contains the first set of statutes belonging to the Order of St John following their expulsion from Rhodes in 1522 and their resettlement on Malta in 1530.  These statutes pre-date the Ottoman siege of Malta by nine years and were compiled ten years before the foundation stone of the Maltese capital city, Valletta, was laid. The work was printed by Antonio Blado (1490-1567) who was also printer of the first edition of the 'Index Librorum Prohibitorum' as well as of Machiavelli's 'Il Principe' and 'Discorsi'.  This exquisite work, still bound in 16th century vellum, contains an engraved title page depicting the cross of the Order in red ink applied in stencil at the time of printing and also contains large historiated capitals throughout. 

In 2010 I was alerted to the appearance of an especially important publication, the highly seditious Mustafà Bassà di Rodi schiavo in Malta (Naples, 1751).  I had been interested in this book since I had first heard of it and was eager to acquire it.  The bookseller who brought it to my attention, a French-Algerian gentleman, told me that I could collect it at the 2010 edition of the Salon du livre ancien de Paris.  Though initially deterred by the fact that I'd be sitting for my law finals just 10 days or so later, this apprehension only lasted a few seconds and I proceeded to book my tickets to Paris.

I was the fourth person to enter the fair - the three before me being members of the press.  I rushed to the stand, bought the book, did a couple of rounds, and ran back to my hotel room as if I had stolen it.  That night I was meant to be flying back to Malta but little did I know that Mother Nature had other plans.  While browsing through the BBC website I came across a rather inconvenient article, the headline of which read 'Airspace over Charles de Gaulle airport closed'. After almost breaking the F5 key on my keyboard the headline refused to go away and instead now read 'Airspace over Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports closed'.  Ordinarily I wouldn't mind being trapped in Paris, however, with finals now mere days away, an indefinite holiday was not quite on.  A friend of mine at the airline told me that the cause was an ash cloud caused by an uncooperative volcano in Iceland and that there was no telling how long Parisian airspace would be closed for.  He suggested that I make a dash to Marseille as the ash cloud had apparently not reached there yet.  I left for Marseille first thing the next morning only to discover that the ash cloud had beaten me to it.  I'd have seen the funny side had I not been carrying a valuable, fragile book in my backpack.  Subsequent advice suggested that I go further south still - to Rome.  My thirst for adventure (read: crippling fear of failing exams) was overwhelming, and before long I had in my hand a train ticket to Rome.  After a picturesque train-ride through the Alps, a night in Nice, a brief stay in Monte Carlo, and an eight hour trip along the western coast of Italy, I finally arrived in Rome and then Malta, with the book still intact.  I've never been happier while placing a book on the shelf for the first time.

Yes.  I have written a number of papers of the history of various prohibited and anonymous books in my collection and last year I wrote my first monograph on the history of Mustafà Bassà di Rodi schiavo mentioned above.  I am currently composing my second monograph.