The first department, containing the printed books, occupies, on the
first floor of the three sides of the court, an extent of about nine
hundred feet by twenty-four in breadth. The rooms, which receive
light on one side only, are equal in height. In the second room to
the right is the _Parnasse Français_, a little mountain, in bronze,
covered with figures a foot high, and with medals, representing
French poets. Lewis XIV here occupies a distinguished place under the
figure of Apollo. It was a present made by TITON DU TILLET.
In another of these rooms, built on purpose, are a pair of globes of
an extraordinary size, constructed, in 1683, by Father CORONELLI, a
Jesuit, for Cardinal D'ESTRÉES, who presented them to Lewis XIV. The
feet of these globes rest in a lower apartment; while their
hemispheres project by two apertures made in the floor of fhe first
story, and are thus placed within reach of the observer. Their
diameter is eleven feet, eleven inches. The celebrated BUTTERFIELD
made for them two brass circles, (the one for the meridian, the other
for the horizon), each eighteen feet in diameter.
Since the year 1789, the department of printed books has received an
augmentation of one hundred and forty thousand volumes, either
arising from private acquisitions, or collected in France, Italy,
Holland, Germany, or Belgium. Among these is a valuable series of
works, some more scarce than others, executed in the XVth century,
which has rendered this department one of the most complete in
Europe. I shall abstain from entering into a detail of the articles
assembled in it, several of which deserve particular notice. A great
many ancient specimens of the typographical art are on vellum, and
give to this collection a value which it would be no easy matter to
appreciate. All the classes of it present a great number, the
enumeration of which would far exceed my limits.
The department of manuscripts, which is placed in a gallery one
hundred and forty feet in length, by twenty-two in breadth, has been
increased in proportion to that of the printed books. The library of
Versailles, that of several emigrants, the chapters of various
cathedrals, the Sorbonne, the _Collège de Navarre_ in Paris, and the
different suppressed religious corporations, have enriched it with
upwards of twenty thousand volumes; eight thousand of these belonged
to the library of _St. Germain-des-Prês_, which was burnt in 1793-4,
and was immensely rich in manuscripts and old printed hooks.
About fifteen hundred volumes have been taken from Italy, Holland,
and Germany. Among those arrived from Italy, we must distinguish the
original manuscript of RUFFIN, a priest of Aquilea, who lived in the
IVth century, containing, on papyrus or Egyptian paper, the Latin
tranlation of the Jewish antiquities of FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS; the grammar
of PROBUS or PALÆMON, a manuscript of the Vth century, on vellum, in
uncial characters; a very beautiful volume in Syriac, containing the
Four Evangelists, a manuscript on vellum of the VIth century; the two
celebrated manuscripts of Virgil of the VIIth century, the one from
the Vatican, the other from Florence, both on vellum. A roll, in good
preservation, composed of several skins, sewed together, containing
the Pentateuch in Hebrew, a manuscript of the IXth century. A
Terence, with figures of the time and a representation of the masks
introduced on the stage by the ancients, together with the various
poetical works of PRUDENTIUS; manuscripts on vellum of the IXth
century. The Terence is that of the Vatican, in praise of which
Madame DACIER speaks in her translation.
The manuscripts of the ancient Dukes of Burgundy, which had so long
constituted the ornament of the library of Brussels, now increase the
fame of those which the _Bibliothèque Nationale_ already possessed of
this description. Their number is about five hundred volumes; the
greater part of them are remarkable for the beauty and richness of
the miniatures by which they are embellished, and one scarcely
inferior in magnificence to the primer of Anne de Bretagne, wife of
Lewis XII, to that of Cardinal Richelieu, to the primer and battles
of Lewis XIV, and to a heap of other manuscripts which rendered this
_ci-devant Bibliothèque du Roi_ so celebrated in foreign countries.
Five large apartments on the second floor are occupied by titles and
genealogies, which are still preserved here, in about five thousand
portfolios or boxes, for the purpose of verifying the claims to
property, and assisting the historian in his researches.
The department of medals, antiques and engraved stones has, since
1789, also experienced an abundant augmentation. The medals are in a
cabinet at the end of the Library; the antiques are in another, above
it, on the second floor.
In 1790, the engraved stones which had been previously locked up in
the drawers of the council-chamber at Versailles, were conveyed
hither, to the number of eight hundred. It would be too tedious to
dwell on the beauty, merit, and scarceness of these stones, as well
as on their finished workmanship and degree of antiquity. Among them,
the beautiful ring, called the _seal of Michael Angelo_, claims
admiration.
In 1791, some antiquities which constituted part of the treasure of
_St. Denis_, were brought hither from that abbey. Among these
valuable articles, we must particularly distinguish the chalice of
the Abbot SUGER; a vase of sardonyx, with two handles formed of
raised snakes, on which are represented, with admirable art,
ceremonies relating to the worship of Bacchus; a large gold cup,
ornamented with enamel of various colours; a very large urn of
porphyry, which formerly served as a sepulchral monument; several
baptismal fonts; the arm-chair of King Dagobert, a piece of very
extraordinary workmanship for the time in which it was executed.
Among the valuable articles removed hither from _La Sainte Chapelle_
in Paris, in the same year, are to be particularly remarked a
sardonyx, representing the apotheosis of Augustus, and commonly
called _l'agathe de la Sainte Chapelle_. This stone is the largest
and rarest known of that species. It was brought to France in the
year 1383 by king Charles V.
At the end of 1792 the cabinet of medals of _St. Geneviève_, forming
in the whole seventeen thousand articles, and its fine collection of
antique monuments, increased the new riches accumulated in the
_Bibliothèque Nationale_. In 1794, a beautiful series of antiquities,
consisting of a great number of imperial medals, of nations, cities,
and kings, of all sizes, in gold, silver, and bronze, together with
little painted figures, busts, instruments of sacrifices, &c. arrived
here from Holland.
In 1796, the department of medals was also enriched by several
articles from the _Garde-Meuble_ or Jewel-Office. Among them were
some suits of armour belonging to several of the kings of France,
particularly that of Francis I, that of Henry IV, and that of Lewis
XIV. These were accompanied by a quantity of arms, helmets, shields,
breast-plates, and weapons used in the ancient tournaments, as well
as quivers, bows, arrows, swords, &c.
Towards the end of the year 1798 and in 1799, several valuable
articles arrived here from Italy, among which are two crowns of gold,
enriched with precious stones, worn by the ancient kings of Lombardy,
at the time of their coronation; the engraved stones and medals of
the Pope's cabinet; a head of Jupiter Ægiochus, on a ground of
sardonyx, a master-piece of art, which is above all eulogium; the
celebrated Isiac table, in copper incrustated with silver, a valuable
table of Egyptian mythology, which is presumed to have been executed,
either at Alexandria or at Rome, in the first or second century of
the christian era; some oriental weapons; a _fetfa_ or diploma of the
Grand Signior contained in a silk purse, &c.
The department of prints and engraved plates, formed of the
celebrated cabinets of MAHOLLES, BERINGHEN, GAIGNIÈRES, UXELLES,
BEGON, GAYLUS, FONTETTE, MARIETTE, &c. contained, before the
revolution the most ample, rich, and valuable collection in Europe.
It is placed in the _entresol_, and is divided into twelve classes.
The first class comprehends sculptors, architectural engineers, and
engravers, from the origin of the French nation to the present day,
arranged in schools.
The second, prints, emblems, and devices of piety.
The third, every thing relative to fables and Greek and Roman
antiquities.
The fourth, medals, coins, and heraldry.
The fifth, public festivals, cavalcades, and tournaments.
The sixth, arts and mathematics.
The seventh, prints relating to novels and books of entertainment.
The eighth, natural history in all its branches.
The ninth, geography.
The tenth, plans and elevations of ancient and modern buildings.
The eleventh, portraits of all professions, to the number of upwards
of fifty thousand.
The twelfth, a collection of the fashions and dresses of almost every
country in the world.
Since 1789, the augmentations made to it are considerable. Among
these must be distinguished four hundred and thirty-five volumes
brought from the library of Versailles, and fifty-two others,
infinitely valuable, respecting China, found at the residence of M.
BERTIN, Minister, about eight thousand prints brought from Holland,
the greater part of them, very fine impressions; and about twelve
thousand collected by different emigrants, almost all modern, indeed,
but one half of which are select, and remarkable for their fine
preservation.
Among five hundred volumes, obtained from the suppressed religious
corporations, are to be remarked one hundred and nine port-folios
from the abbey of _St. Victor_, in Paris, containing a beautiful
series of mythological, historical, and typographical subjects. This
forms a valuable addition to the collection of the same kind of which
the department of prints was already in possession.
In one hundred and forty-four volumes brought from Cologne, there are
several scarce and singular engravings.
As for sixty articles sent from Italy, they are, with the exception
of the _Museum Pio-Clementinum_, in such a state of degradation that
they are scarcely fit for any thing but to mark the place which each
composition has to occupy.
Since 1789, the department of prints has made several acquisitions
deserving of notice, such as the works of LEBAS, MARCENAY, and RODE,
all extremely difficult to find complete, and three hundred and
seventeen plates sent from Germany by FHAUENHOTZ; most of them
executed by foreign engravers, and some are very capital.
A few well-known distinguished artists and amateurs, among whom I
must not omit to name DENON, ST. AUBIN, and LAMOTTE, a merchant at
Havre, have generously enriched the department of prints with a great
number of very valuable ones.
The library is open every day, Sundays, and days of national fêtes
excepted, from ten o'clock till two, to persons who wish to read,
study, or take notes; and for whom every accommodation is provided;
but to such as are attracted by curiosity alone, on the Wednesdays
and Fridays of each week, at the same hours. On those days, you may
perambulate in the different rooms of this magnificent establishment;
on the other days, walking is here prohibited, in order that students
may not be interrupted. However, JOHN BULL seems to pay little regard
to this prohibition. Englishmen are frequently seen stalking about
the rooms at the forbidden time, as if they meant to shew that they
disdained the rules of propriety and decorum.[1]
Under the government which succeeded the monarchy, was established,
within the precincts of the _Bibliothèque Nationale_, a