Can you present yourself:

My name is Tassilo Sebastian Schweiger. I was born in Munich, Germany, but grew up in the city of Karlsruhe, a mid-size town near the French border. After finishing school, I began studying pedagogy at the Karlsruhe College of Education (PH Karlsruhe), although I did not complete the program. After that I completed a vocational training as a business computing expert and began working as a programmer. However, I didn’t make much progress in that field. After several unsuccessful job applications, I decided to pursue a new academic direction and enrolled in “Book Science” at LMU Munich. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in 2020 and completed my Master of Arts in “Book and Media Research” in 2022.

Although I don’t fit the stereotypical image of a “Book Science” scholar—most of them are women in their mid-twenties with a passion for reading and fantasy literature—I am, nevertheless,  certainly what you call a bibliophile. My interests, however, lie elsewhere: I focus primarily on early printed books and manuscripts produced before 1800.

How did you start to collect books or to develop an interest in art and culture?

As a child, I watched ”The Name of the Rose”, the film adaptation of Umberto Eco’s novel. In the final scenes, the ancient monastery library goes up in flames, and I was captivated by the old, pigskin-bound folios shown there. That moment sparked my fascination with old books like that.

Another formative experience came while researching my ancestry. I came across a reference to the ”Bayerisch Stammen Buch”, written by Wiguleus Hundt of Sulzemoos in 1585. I later discovered that the Baden State Library in Karlsruhe held a microfiche copy of this book. It contains a kind of chronicle listing aristocratic Bavarian families. Although I never looked at it during my ancestry research, I eventually found a copy for sale by a rare bookseller—priced at 950 euros. After some deliberation, the seller offered it to me for 850 euros. Even so, it was a significant expense, and I hesitated. One day, the seller informed me that another costumer had shown interest. I took a deep breath—and finally bought it. To this day, it remains the most expensive single item in my collection.

What work of art has left its mark on you?

One piece that left a lasting impression on me is a fragment of binder’s waste that was uncovered by my restorer. It originated from an early printed book, and I was able to date the fragment to the late 11th or early 12th century. When I shared the find on your bibliophile forum, someone pointed out that it contained neumes—early musical notation. Therefore, I contacted the district cantor in Heidelberg, Germany, who confirmed the dating and identified the notational style as typical of Southern Germany. It was a remarkable and humbling discovery.

What cultural events do you participate in?

I am an active member of several clubs and societies dedicated to bibliophiles, including:

·       Wolfenbütteler Arbeitskreis für Bibliotheks-, Buch- und Mediengeschichte e.V.

·       Internationale Gutenberg-Gesellschaft in Mainz e.V.

·       Internationale Buchwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft e.V.

·       Berufsverband Information Bibliothek e.V.

·       Early Book Society (New York, USA)

Through these memberships, I aim to build a network of like-minded individuals and stay engaged in the bibliophile community.

I try to attend as many antiquarian book fairs as possible. Unfortunately, not many of them take place within easy reach of where I live. That’s why, every year in early January, I make a point of visiting both the “Antiquaria Ludwigsburg” and the “Antiquariatsmesse Stuttgart” – two fairs in southern Germany that conveniently take place on the same weekend and are located close enough to each other to be visited in a single day.

What are your cultural projects? What is your bibliophile dream?

In 2019, I launched a multilingual website for my collection: www.altes-buch.com. It serves as a catalog of my holdings, where I document bibliographic information, include notable quotations from the books, and share various anecdotes I’ve experienced as a collector and librarian. I continue to acquire new volumes and work closely with a professional restorer to preserve and repair them as needed.

To be honest, my bibliophile dream has already come true: owning a fine collection of early printed and handwritten books dating before 1800. If the dream were about to expand, it would be to one day have a dedicated library room to house the collection—currently, it resides within the limited space of a simple two-room apartment in the outer rim of Munich, Germany.