Provenance, from the French provenir and the Latin provenire (to come from, originate), in its most basic sense refers simply to the origin of an object, the circumstances of its creation or production. But in the world of art history, and increasingly in the world of rare books, provenance often has a second meaning — referring to not only where something came from, but also where it has been. In this sense, provenance refers to the chain of custody of a historical artifact, the trajectory of its ownership from its origin through the present day.
Special collections librarians and scholars of book history study provenance by examining the evidence left behind in books by former owners, sellers, and others. This copy-specific evidence can include inscriptions, bookplates, annotations, bespoke bindings, forgotten bookmarks, and so much more. Studying a book's provenance can often reveal a great deal about the work's production, distribution, and the ways in which it was read and used. The study of provenance can uncover secrets about the previous lives of books, as well as the lives of their readers, giving us crucial insight into the history of the book, the book trade, and the wider world.