Archaeologists have discovered ancient accounts of personal collections of manuscripts in Egypt, Greece and Rome. These collections were confined to religious leaders and heads of state because others were illiterate and manuscript papyri were scarce and expensive. During the Middle Ages, monastic institutions were the primary location of manuscript collections.

   Book collecting as we know it today began after the invention of the printing press circa 1437 and the growth of relatively inexpensive books. Early collectors such as Willibald Pirkheimer (1470-1530) and Jean Grolier de Serviéres (1479-1565) primarily wanted to assemble personal working libraries. Many of these early collections became the foundation of public libraries. Examples are the Bodleian Library at Oxford which started with the collection of Sir Thomas Bodley and the Harleian Library at the British Museum which began with a gift of books from Robert Harley, the 1st earl of Oxford. By the end of the 17th century, book auctioning was common throughout Europe.

   In the 18th century collectors shifted their focus from building up libraries to seeking original editions, including incubula, of earlier works. At first criteria were more visual than literary: early printing, fancy binding, and colorful illumination. Richard Heber (1773-1833), whose collection of first editions of literature and history filled several houses, was one of the first collectors to consider contextual factors primary.

   During the 19th century, first editions of native contemporary literature began to attract book collectors. The two most notable collectors of the second half of the century were Henry Huth (1815-78), an Englishman, and Robert Hoe, the first important American collector. In 1884 Hoe became the first president of the newly founded Grolier Club, a New York-based society dedicated to the appreciation of fine book production. The three greatest American book collectors were Henry Clay Folger, John Pierpont Morgan, and Henry E. Huntington. During the 20th century, book collecting on the massive scale practiced by Huntington has declined. Institutional libraries now vie with private collectors for rare books dispersed by auction and through antiquarian bookshops.