I’ve always considered this site more about logophilia than strictly being about etymology. I don’t think it’s really possible to be a logophile without being interested in and intrigued by etymology but there is certainly more to a love of words and phrases than a scholarly exploration of their origins.

That having been said, I was surprised to find that Word Spy places the earliest citation to 1986. At first glance, the way it was used in such an unassuming way, made me feel it must have been in wide use by then, but upon further reflection I think it could simply be one of those words that is so easily understood that it feels like an old friend, even when you meet it for the first time.

I see that the Word Spy entry hasn’t been updated since 2002. Any new information about this lovely little word, so relevant to our little party here?

From OED:

1980 C. R. LOVITT tr. M. Pierssens (title) The power of Babel: a study of logophilia.
1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 22 Feb. 211/1 The market in logophilia is encouraged by large and eager colonies, who absorb the surplus product of rules and principles, providing raw material in exchange.

Based on the earlier logophile:

1959 Sunday Times 1 Feb. 25 We are pretty sure that since all Sunday Times readers are natural and inveterate logophiles.. he [sc. Mr. Burchfield] will get some invaluable assistance.

Yes, a logophile literally loves words, expressions, wordplay, etc.  with no interest in etymology at all, maybe to their loss, but who can judge? Readers can revel in a good Peter de Vries novel without using a dictionary.
You never hear logophobe perhaps because the phobe part means an irrational fear rather than a reasoned one. Anglophile is nice, anglophobe is...what? Dislike or hatred or fear?

According to the OED, I note, as far as the “-phile” ending goes, “the early pronunciation was with a short i. The spelling -phil became common around 1880, probably to match the pronunciation, but never displaced -phile. Around 1900, the pronunciation with a long i became increasingly usual.”