Charles V, justly surnamed the _Wise_, from the encouragement he gave
to learning, may be considered as the first founder of this library.
According to the President Henault, that king had collected nine
hundred volumes; whereas king John, his father, possessed not twenty.
This collection was placed in a tower of the _Louvre_, called _La
Tour de la Librairie_, which was lighted up every night, in order
that the learned might pursue their studies there at all hours.
After the death of Charles VI, in 1423, the inventory amounted to no
more than one hundred and twenty volumes, though several works had
been added, because on the other hand, a great number had been lost.
When Paris fell into the power of the English, in 1429, the Duke of
Bedford, then regent of France, purchased these books, for which he
paid 1200 livres, and the library was entirely dispersed. Charles
VII, being continually engaged in war, could not concern himself in
its re-estahlishment. Lewis XI collected the remains scattered in
different royal residences, and availed himself of the resources
afforded by the invention of printing, which was discovered at
Strasburg or Mentz in 1440.
Printers, however, were not established in Paris till 1470, and in
that same year, they dedicated to Lewis XI one of the first books
which they printed. Books were, at this time, very scarce and dear,
and continued so for several years, both before and after the
discovery of that invention. Twenty thousand persons then subsisted
in France by the sale of the books which they transcribed. This was
the reason why printing was not at first more encouraged.
Charles VIII added to this literary establishment such works as he
was able to obtain in his conquest of Naples. Lewis XII increased it
by the library of Potrarch. Francis I enriched it with Greek
manuscripts; but what most contributed to augment the collection was
the ordinance of Henry II, issued in 1556, which enjoined booksellers
to furnish the royal libraries with a copy on vellum of all the works
printed by privilege; and, under the subsequent reigns, it gradually
acquired that richness and abundance which, before the revolution,
had caused it to be considered as one of the first libraries in
Europe.
In 1789, the _Bibliothèque du Roi_, as it was till then called, was
reckoned to contain one hundred and eighty thousand printed volumes,
eighty thousand manuscripts, a prodigious numbcr of medals, antiques,
and engraved stones, six thousand port-folios of prints, and two
thousand engraved plates. But, under its present denomination of
_Bibliothèque Nationale_, it has been considerably augmented.
Agreeably to your desire, I shall point out whatever is most
remarkable in these augmentations.
The buildings, which, since the year 1721, contain this vast
collection, formally made part of the _Hôtel Mazarin_. The entrance
is by the _Rue de la Loi_. It is at present divided into four
departments, and is managed by a conservatory, composed of eight
members, namely:
1. Two conservators for the printed books, M. M. CAPPERONNIER and
VAN-PRAET.
2. Three for the manuscripts, M. M. LANGLÈS, LAPORTE DUTHEIL, and
DACIER.
3. Two for the antiques, medals, and engraved stones, M. M. MILLIN
and GOSSELIN.