“Je sais un paysan qu’on appelait Gros-Pierre,Qui n’ayant pour tout bien qu’un seul quartier de terre,Y fit tout à l’entour faire un fossé bourbeux,Et de Monsieur de l’Isle en prit le nom pompeux.”
“Je sais un paysan qu’on appelait Gros-Pierre,Qui n’ayant pour tout bien qu’un seul quartier de terre,Y fit tout à l’entour faire un fossé bourbeux,Et de Monsieur de l’Isle en prit le nom pompeux.”
BOOK-PLATE OF M. LE COMTE LANJUINAIS.
As for the real heraldry of the Second Empire, such as there was of it, the fashion of the First Empire was revived by Napoleon III., whose constant endeavour it was to make the French people recognize in him the nephew of his uncle, whilst they, on the other hand, would not seriously believe that he was even the son of his reputed father. “Vous n’avez rien du grand Empéreur Napoléon,” said his cousin Plon-plon to him one day. “You are mistaken, I have all his poorrelations,” replied the easy, good-natured Louis Napoleon, who was in addition hampered by the descendants of the courtiers of the first Napoleon.
BOOK-PLATE OF THE MARQUIS DE PASTORET.
The emperor did not possess a book-plate, but books with the imperial arms stamped on their bindings occasionally occur in French sales. More rare, and consequently more sought after, are the volumes which are stamped either with his monogram, or with the elegant little device of the Empress Eugénie.
Severely simple as is the monogram of Napoleon III., it is ingenious, and not without a certain airof grandeur, whilst the badge of the empress, though still preserving an imperial character, is more graceful and ornamental, as was appropriate to its owner, who was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time.
CIPHER ON BINDINGS OF NAPOLEON III.
These two stamps were principally used on the bindings of books which were either presented or dedicated to the emperor and empress, and the volumes on which they are found certainly belonged to their private library.
A characteristic example of the formal heraldic book-plate in vogue during the Second Empire isthat of Amédée David, Marquis de Pastoret, a politician and littérateur, who was born in 1791, and died on May 19, 1857. His war cry, “France! France!” recalls the fact, little to his credit, that he was one of the first to applaud theCoup d’Etatof Napoleon III. and to profit by it. (See p. 144.)
CIPHER ON BINDINGS OF THE EMPRESS EUGÉNIE.
He was the son of M. Pastoret, a senator and member of the Institute of France, created a Count of the Empire by the first Napoleon, with a grant of arms thus described in theArmorial Général de l’Empire Français: “D’or à la bande de gueules chargée d’un berger paissant un mouton d’argent.”
This Count of the First Empire became a Peer of France under the Restoration, and figures as abrilliant instance of a successful turncoat in theDictionnaire des Girouettes.
BOOK-PLATE OF LE COMTE DE GRANCEY.
On page 143 is the modern armorial of the Comte Lanjuinais, probably that of the son of the first Comte Lanjuinais, who started in politics as a member of the National Convention, swore fidelity to the Republic and death to the King. This did not prevent him from accepting the title of Count of the Empire from Napoleon, who also named him a knight commander in the Légion d’Honneur. On the return of Louis XVIII. hewas named a Peer of France, but he again espoused the cause of Napoleon on his escape from Elba, whilst on the downfall of the Empire for the second time he obtained another appointment by the grace of the king. His name and fame are immortalized in the “Dictionary of Turncoats.”
BOOK-PLATE OF THE DUC DE MOUCHY.
The Comte de Beugnot was a Councillor of State, and Officer of the Légion d’Honneur underNapoleon I., and he also served under Louis XVIII. The Vicomte, his son, on his modern book-plate (see p. 142) carries quarterly first and fourth, the Beugnot arms, “argent, au chevron d’or, accompagne de trois grappes de raisin de gueules.”
BOOK-PLATE OF MONSIEUR BERRYER.
Monsieur Pierre Antoine Berryer was the most famous advocate at the French bar during the Empire, his defence of the Count Montalembert in 1858 created some sensation at the time. He was elected a member of the Académie Française in 1855, and of the Corps Legislatif in 1863.
His book-plate is distinctly in the Louis XVI. style, but this is not so incongruous as it appears at first sight, for M. Berryer was born in 1790,and was first elected a deputy in 1830 when France was still under the Bourbons.
On page 148 is a reproduction of the plate of the Duc de Mouchy, another supporter of the Third Empire, bearing the Cross of the Legion of Honour. He and the duchess for some time resided in Paris in a house which belonged to the empress, but after the downfall of the Empire, this house was bought by the late Baron Hirsch, who also bought Beauregard, near St. Cloud, which had formerly belonged to Mrs. Howard, a mistress of Napoleon.
BOOK-PLATE OF GENERAL DE LANCEY.
What a curious comic opera court it was, this of the Second Empire, with the emperor’s life-long friend Persigny at the head of it, and he the son of a pastrycook.
Persigny married the daughter of Marshal Ney, a rich, vulgar, violent woman. When Persignywas appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James, he unfortunately brought his wife with him. At abal masqué, attended by the Queen and Prince Albert, the wife of Persigny suddenly slapped a lady in the face because she had copied her costume; consequently “urgent private affairs” required the immediate return to Paris of Mons. de Persigny. The emperor, to console him, shortly afterwards created him a duke.
Then there were De Maupas, the Count Walewski (an illegitimate son of the first Napoleon), the Baron Haussmann, Préfet de la Seine, who rebuilt Paris, and enriched all his friends, De Lesseps, and crowds of political adventurers, feather-bed soldiers, and financial schemers, who thrived in this hot-bed of corruption, and amassed fabulous fortunes at the expense of France.
The festivities came to an end none too soon for the nation, but the bill was a terrible one to pay.
IN June, 1881, M. Auguste Stoeber wrote some articles on Alsatian book-plates which were published in the “Express de Mulhouse.” In response to the persuasion of his friends he re-published these notes in a pamphlet entitled “Petite Revue d’Ex-Libris Alsaciens, par Auguste Stoeber, avec un facsimile de l’Ex-Libris de C. Wolfhardt, dit Lycosthenes, de Rouffach.” Mulhouse, Veuve Bader et Cie, 1881. M. Stoeber died a few years later, and his little pamphlet is now very rare.
We have already seen that 1574 is the year of the earliest known dated French ex-libris; M. Stoeber claims for Alsace a more ancient ex-libris, which is not dated, but from its history must have been engraved before 1561. It belonged to Conrad Wolfhardt, who pedantically translated his family name intoLycosthenes. He was born at Rouffach in 1518, studied at Heidelberg, and became a professor at Basle, where he died on the 25th March, 1561. His book-plate appears to have been engravedon some soft metal, either lead or pewter; there is no attempt to show the tinctures on the shield, which is surmounted by a death’s head and hour-glass. The design is surrounded by Latin mottoes, and beneath is the inscription “Symbolum Conradi Lycosthenis Rubeaquensis.”
BOOK-PLATE OF MESSIEURS A. AND L. BENOIT, 1846.
BOOK-PLATE OF MONSIEUR BENOIT, 1894.
M. Auguste Stoeber describes a large number of ex-libris of Alsace, formerly the frontier province of France, but now, owing to the terrible fortune of war, incorporated with Germany. The greater portion of these book-plates bear names of distinctly German origin, and their style is totally dissimilar to that of French art. Take, for example, the modern plate (it is dated 1846) designedby Mons. Arthur Benoit, of Berthelming, to be used by himself and his brother Louis, for their Saargovian collection, in which the artist has represented an Alsatian peasant woman, in the ancient costume of the province, wearing the quaint head-dress called theWinterkappe, which was made of black silk for the Protestants, white silk for the Catholics. The spire of the church of Berthelming rises in the background, and thetout ensemblehas a far more German than French character. The brothers Benoit had two otherbook-plates, different in design, but not more French in appearance.
BOOK-PLATE OF ALBERT METZGER, OF MULHOUSE.
The plates of Albert Metzger, of Mulhouse (by Ch. Delâtre), and of Jacques Flach, of Strasbourg (by Groskost, of Strasbourg), are equally German in style, although the pretty motto on the latter is essentially French in thought and word. A reproduction of it will be found in Chapter XIV.
Coming to the adjoining frontier province, we find that the plates engraved in Lorraine are rather less influenced by German art and the ponderous German heraldry. Many beautifulex-libris bear on their faces the name of the city ofNancyas their birthplace, and well-known artists for their fathers.
A few of the leading engravers of ex-libris who sign themselves as ofNancyare J. Valdor (G. Grangier’s plate); C. Charles, 1739; Nicole on a large number of dated plates, from 1743 to 1767; Colin, and two named Collin, whose signatures appear on a number of fine plates. The D. Collin, who produced the interesting plate of “R. Willemet, Apothicaire à Nancy,” describes himself as “Graveur du feu Roy de Pologne.” Further particulars concerning these artists will be found in the chapter on artists and engravers.
BOOK-PLATE OF FRANÇOIS DE CHANTEAU.
The Duchy of Lorraine (formerly known as Lotharingia) was at one time an appanage of the House of Austria, but after several dynasticchanges it was conferred, for life only, upon Stanislaus I., the dethroned king of Poland.
BOOK-PLATE OF LÉON GERMAIN OF NANCY.
Stanislaus held the titles “Duc de Lorraine et de Bar,” and on the large book-plate for the public library of the city of Nancy, the inscription reads “Fondée par le Roy de Pologne, duc de Lorraine, enMDCCL,” whilst the supporters of the central shield are two eagles, each carrying an escutcheon, the dexter eagle bears the arms of Lorraine (or, on a bend gules, three allerions argent), the sinister eagle carries the arms of Bar. On the death of Stanislaus, in February, 1766, the Duchy was united to the crown of France.
BOOK-PLATE BY NICOLE OF NANCY.
The city of Nancy was the capital of Lorraine. Here Stanislaus resided: he did much to embellish the city, where his memory is still highly respected, his portrait is preserved in the library, and a public square is named after him, whilst, as we have seen, D. Collin mentioned on his works that he had been “engraver to the late King of Poland,” a statement which, at first sight, appears to have little relevance to French book-plates.
The handsome plate which has been re-engravedfor this work, and forms the frontispiece, belonged to the Prince de Marsan, of the house of Lorraine. It is a grand specimen of the Louis Seize style, but unfortunately it is neither signed nor dated.
BOOK-PLATE OF PETER DOBREE.
The inscription reads “Ex Libris Serenissimi Principis DEMARSANa Lotharingia.”
The eight quarterings on the shield are the arms of—1. Hungary; 2. Anjou-Sicile; 3. Jerusalem; 4. Aragon; 5. Anjou (modern); 6.Gueldres; 7. Brabant; 8. Bar. On the dexter inescutcheon are the pure arms of Lorraine as borne by the Dukes of Lorraine. The whole within a bordure.
BOOK-PLATE OF FREDERICK LE MESURIER.
The collars around the arms are those of the FrenchOrdres du Roi, namely the orders of Saint Michel and the Saint Esprit.
BOOK-PLATE OF PETER DE HAVILLAND.
As the Channel Islands have long belonged to Great Britain it is obviously incorrect to class themunder the Frontier provinces of France. And yet some mention must be made of them, for many book-plates used there have a distinctly French character, whilst a list of the names of some of the leading families (of French origin), will show that a collector might easily be led to mistake their plates for French:
Allès, Le Patourel, Metivier, Mauger, Le Dieu, Bichard, Andros, Bonamy, Brock, Blondel, Beauvoir or De Beauvoir, Carey, Cary, or Careye, De Carteret, Effard, de Jersey, de Havilland or Haviland, Gosselin, Dobrée, Perchard, Le Mesurier,Mesny, Millais, Milais, Milet, Priaulx, De Sausmarez or Saumarez, Fautret, De Vie, Lihou, Guille, Le Marchant, Le Febvre, Le Roy, Le Pelley, Tupper, Le Gros, Lemprière, De Lisle, Falla, De Putron, Renouf, Le Gallienne, Naftel.
I give reproductions of three such plates, one a fine specimen of engraving, of Peter Dobree, a family long settled in Guernsey, the other a more modern plate of the Le Mesurier family, to which the fleur-de-lys and the motto give a French appearance. The motto is the same as that used on his book-plate by David Garrick, who was himself of Huguenot descent. The third is a plate of Peter de Havilland, a member of a very old Guernsey family, now represented by General de Havilland. There is a plate of this family by Skinner, of Bath, dated 1742. (See pp. 159, 160, 161.)
There are several instances of ancient French titles being held by residents in Great Britain, or our Colonies, which titles are also recognized by our heraldic authorities. As their book-plates would undoubtedly pass for French, a few explanatory notes about them may be given.
The Barony du Bois de Ferrieres may be instanced. The Du Bois was a Walloon family, whilst the De Ferrieres branch was of Huguenot descent, which removed from France to Holland at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The family motto wasTout par et pour Dieu.
The Marquis de Lapasture was created a French nobleman in 1768; his descendants settled in England.
The Baron de Teissier, created by French patent in 1819, was also permitted by royal authority to use that title in Great Britain.
BOOK-PLATE OF THE DE VISME FAMILY.
Another descendant of an ancient noble French family identified with this country was the Marquis Ruault de Longueville de Bucy, who was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and served in the Bechuanaland Expedition with Methuen’s Horse.
This marquis (the 11th in descent) belongs to a family whose history is full of curious and romantic vicissitudes. The first Marquis de Bucy et Merval was created in 1602, he being the direct descendant of the ancient feudal Lords of Bucy, successive holders of the Marquisate were Lords-in-Waiting to Louis XIII. and Louis XV. Charles Marc, the 8th marquis, was a Captain in the French King’s Musqueteers, a court post of considerable importance under theancien régime. During the Reign of Terror he escaped to England, but his wife, Marie Ruault, Marquise de Gamaches, in her own right, was captured and guillotined with Marie Antoinette.
The 9th Marquis, son of the above, was invited by Napoleon I. to return to France, which he did, served as Major in the celebrated Cuirassiers de la Garde, and died a soldier’s death at Waterloo. He was the grandfather of the present holder of the title.
The motto of the family is singularly appropriate to its history:Pour le roi souvent—pour la patrie toujours.
The next family to mention in this connection is one which, though thoroughly identified with this country, carries arms proclaiming their French origin to even the most casual observer. Indeed the Counts de Vismes (or de Visme) asserted their descent from royalty itself, as evidenced by the first quarter,d’azur semée de fleur-de-lys or, for France ancient, whilst the mottoMont Joie St. Denis, and the supporters, two angels, also indicate French royalty. (See page 163.)
BOOK-PLATE OF G. DE VISME.
The family of De Visme is descended from the sovereign Counts of Ponthieu (dating since the eighth century) of the Blood Royal of France, and the head of the family has, by usage on the continent, borne the title of prince. The title of Count de Visme has also been recognized by the successive governments of France, although the family has long been resident in England, andhas furnished many distinguished officers to our army.
Here is another plate of a Frenchman settled in England, and rather more English than the majority of Englishmen themselves.
BOOK-PLATE OF THE CHEVALIER DE CHATELAIN.
The Chevalier de Chatelain was a prolific author: poems, essays, and letters without number, flowed from his pen; he translated some of Shakespeare’s plays into French, and endeavoured to explain Victor Hugo’s works to our countrymen. Finally he wrote poems in praise of his deceased wife, Madame Clara de Chatelain,néeClara de Pontigny.
BOOK-PLATE OF THE BARON DE MORIENSART.(A Specimen of Flemish Heraldry of the seventeenth century.)
Probably few people have read the praises of this good lady, but she appears to have been a remarkable person, an accomplished musician, a clever linguist, and, what is more to the point, she was for thirty-three years the loving wife of the chevalier, who was enabled, through her amiability, to claim and obtain the Dunmow Flitch in 1855 for their marital felicity.
As for the chevalier himself, he appears to have been a kindly, fussy, well-read old gentleman, seriously afflicted with thecacoëthes scribendi.
SO long as the government of France was monarchical, it was largely influenced by the priests, and her most famous statesmen were such princes of the Church as Richelieu, Mazarin, De Retz, Rohan-Soubize, La Rochefoucauld, and Talleyrand-Périgord. Whether their power was always exercised solely for the good of France is not a question to be discussed here, but, speaking generally, it is certain that they did much to encourage the progress of art, science, and literature.
Some of the finest libraries in old France were formed by cardinals and bishops; Richelieu and Mazarin founded free libraries open to the general public, and many of the wealthy religious houses and monastic institutions had collections of the rarest illuminated MSS., such as Livres d’Heures and early Liturgies, of which, alas! most were wantonly destroyed, or dispersed, during the mad period of the Revolution.
It must be admitted that humility was a virtue not much studied by the cardinals or their satellites, their books were sumptuously bound, with their arms ostentatiously emblazoned on the covers, and their book-plates were also of the most pompous description.
When ex-libris became fashionable theirs were the largest and the most elaborate, the insignia of the Church being added to their family arms, and nothing was omitted which could show how vastly superior these men were to their predecessors, the poor fishermen of Judea.
First among the Church dignitaries, who were also statesmen, comes the name of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu, who formed a valuable library, partly by purchase, but principally by robbery or intimidation. To do him justice, however, he dedicated in his will his books to the use of the public, and his grand-nephew saw that his wishes were obeyed. The first idea of creating a free public library in France was due to J. A. de Thou, who, dying in 1617, left all his valuable collectionsad usum publicum: but his will was ignored, and his books were dispersed.
Richelieu followed his example, and later on the Cardinal Mazarin, his successor, realized the idea by leaving his magnificent library, with funds to maintain it, for the free use of the public.
Mazarin, that “Laquais parvenu au Cardinal,” the councillor and the minister, if not the husband, of Anne of Austria, the man who, with all the cares of an unruly state on his shoulders, still found time to accumulate two enormous libraries. Ofthese the first was compulsorily sold in 1652, but the second remains, and now forms the nucleus of the Bibliothèque Mazarine in Paris. It was of this collection that Loret wrote:
“Mais, surtout, la bibliothèqueContenant maint œuvre à la gréque,Et des rangs de livres nombreuxPersans, latins, chinois, hébreux,Turcs, anglois, allemans, cosaques,Hurons, iroquois, siriaques,Brefs tant de volumes diversD’auteurs tant en proze qu’en vers,Qu’on peut, sans passer pour profane,Alleguer que la VaticaneN’a point tant de livres de prix,N’y tant de rares manuscrits.”
“Mais, surtout, la bibliothèqueContenant maint œuvre à la gréque,Et des rangs de livres nombreuxPersans, latins, chinois, hébreux,Turcs, anglois, allemans, cosaques,Hurons, iroquois, siriaques,Brefs tant de volumes diversD’auteurs tant en proze qu’en vers,Qu’on peut, sans passer pour profane,Alleguer que la VaticaneN’a point tant de livres de prix,N’y tant de rares manuscrits.”
Mazarin confided his books only to the most expert binders; Le Gascon, Saulnier, and Petit were employed by him, whilst he kept a number of clever binders constantly at work in his library under his own supervision. His favourite style was red morocco, stamped on the sides with his arms, surmounted by the cardinal’s hat, and in the angles a monogram, either C. J. M. (Cardinal Jules Mazarin), or simply J. M.
“Livres tant rares que vulgairesDont chascun jusqu’aux plus coquinsRevestu d’un beau marroquin,D’une ravissante manière.”
“Livres tant rares que vulgairesDont chascun jusqu’aux plus coquinsRevestu d’un beau marroquin,D’une ravissante manière.”
Thus bound, emblazoned, and identified, the books of Cardinal Mazarin certainly needed no ex-libris, nor does it appear that he used one.
Bishop Huet, who gave his books to the Jesuits,has already been mentioned as the cause of several fine ex-libris.
BOOK-PLATE FOR THE LEGACY OF GILLES MÉNAGE.
BOOK-PLATE FOR THE DONATION OF BISHOP HUET.BOOK-PLATE FOR THE DONATION OF BISHOP HUET.
BOOK-PLATE OF BISHOP QUIQUERAN DE BEAUJEU.
The arms which Gilles Ménage had stamped on his bookbindings (d’argent, au sautoir d’azur chargé d’un soleil du premier) were also placed on the ex-libris prepared by the Jesuits, to be placed in the books left to them by Ménage. The plate is less elaborate than that of Bishop Huet, but isequally interesting. Ménage was born on August 15, 1613, and displayed an intense love of books from his earliest youth, and what was somewhat remarkable, he inserted the date on which he acquired each book on the title page. Although a great scholar, he possessed little originality; his own most important work was hisDictionnaire Etymologique, whilst that which has best preserved his memory amongst general readers is the curious collection entitled, “Menagiana: ou les Bons Mots et Remarques Critiques, Historiques, Morales et d’Erudition, de M. Ménage. Recueillies par ses Amis.” This is indeed a mine of information; it contains much valuable ore in the shape of epigrams, parodies, and anecdotes, but great labour is required to separate the gold from the quartz. Here is the poem “Le Fameux La Galisse,” whichGoldsmith imitated, and here, too, is the famous saying of Ménage, “La première chose qu’on doit faire,” so often quoted on book-plates. Ménage died July 23, 1692, which year is given on the Jesuits’ book-plate.
BOOK-PLATE OF BISHOP CAUMARTIN.
To assist in identifying ecclesiastical ex-libris, it must here be mentioned that they carry the head-dresses peculiar to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, which are to be distinguished as follows:
Cardinal.—A red hat having a wide, flat brim, with a cord on each side, from which hang five rows of red tassels.
Archbishop.—A hat similar in shape to that ofa cardinal, but green in colour, with a cord on each side, from which hang four rows of green tassels.
Bishop.—The same hat as an archbishop, but with only three rows of green tassels.
Abbé.—A black hat, with a cord on each side, from which hang two rows of black tassels.
BOOK-PLATE OF H. CHABEUF, OF DIJON.
As a matter of fact, the distinction between the hats of archbishops and of bishops appears not to have been generally observed, as we find on the book-plates of most of the bishops that they carried four rows of tassels, that is, ten tassels on each side of their shields. Menestrier admits that the number of tassels is immaterial, but he lays stress on the colour: “Les chapeaux sont rougespour les Cardinaux, verts pour les Archevêques et Evêques, noirs pour les Protonotaires, et autres dignitez au dessoux des Evêques.” These colours are shown in the usual heraldic manner.
BOOK-PLATE OF L. B. BARBIER.
Here are a few examples of clerical plates.Caumartin, a bishop, after whom they have named a street in Paris;Chabeuf, a modern bishop of Dijon;Barbier, an abbot; andJ. F. Seguret, a canon of the cathedral church of Alais. The last is an old plate, and is remarkable because it contains no ecclesiastical emblems, the arms and supporters being purely heraldic. The same remarksapply to the plate of the Abbé Quarré de Monay, Canon of Autun, which is dated 1776, and is a characteristic specimen of the plate of the period. Observe the large coronet, the oval shield in a cartouche, the heavy pendent festoons, and the solid square base, all distinctive features of the style Louis XVI. (See reproduction, page 188.)
BOOK-PLATE OF CANON SEGURET.BOOK-PLATE OF CANON SEGURET.
The plate of Dominique-Barnabé Turgot de Saint Clair, bishop of Seez, dated 1716, is a good example of the ecclesiastical plate of the period, in which the mundane coronet is as conspicuous as the bishop’s hat. Bishop Turgot died on December 18th, 1727, leaving a valuable library, which was sold in Paris in 1730.
The ex-libris of the library of the college of Eu, founded by the Duc de Maine in 1729, may be insertedhere, as belonging to an educational establishment. It must be confessed that the plate has a very warlike appearance, for it carries the arms of the founder of the college, Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Duc de Maine, who was Captain-General of the Artillery, hence the warlike devices which surround the pedestal. Being a Bourbon, his arms were France, debruised by a baton.
BOOK-PLATE OF BISHOP BARNABAS TURGOT.
The plate is an interesting example of the artistic regularity which marks the early period of Louis XV. (See next page.)
BOOK-PLATE OF THE COLLEGE OF EU.
The armorial plate of the Abbé de Bourbon-Rothelin shows by its inescutcheon, and its supporters,that the owner was a descendant of the royal house of Bourbon. Charles d’Orléans, Abbé de Rothelin, a son of Henri d’Orléans, Marquis de Rothelin, was born August 5, 1691, and died July 17, 1744. He was an ardent collector of medals, books, and manuscripts, and was esteemed one of the most learned men of his day. At his death,his library, which was especially rich in early theological works, was sold and dispersed, but his collection of medals was acquired entire for the museum of the Escurial. (See reproduction, page 187.)
BOOK-PLATE OF M. LE CURÉ DUBUT.
The arms, stamped on the sides of the books bound for him resembled those on his ex-libris, but without the columns in the background.
BOOK-PLATE OF THE ABBÉ DE GRICOURT, 1750.
A very large ecclesiastical plate is that of Franciscus Tristanus de Cambon: Episcopus Mirapiscensis. This plate is in the best style of the early period of Louis XVI., and is signedJ. Mercadier. Inv. et sculp.The shield is surmounted by the coronet of a count, over which is the bishop’s hat.
The plate of Archambault is a handsome specimen of the work of Sergent, signed “Sergent scul.Carnuti.” The date is very faint, but appears to be 1773.
BOOK-PLATE OF D’ARCHAMBAULT.
“Affaires du Clergé” on the open book, the tables with the commandments, the mitre and crozier, sufficiently indicate that the owner of the plate was connected with the Church.
BOOK-PLATES OF J. A. LE MERCIER.
Des Livres de M. Dubutis the title of the pretentious book-plate of the Curé de Viroflay, signed Le Roy, and dated 1782.
Here we have the arms of this pious son of the Church going straight to Paradise on a thunder-cloud, under the protection of two rather mundane-looking ladies. The world, the flesh, and—but no—the cross of St. Louis in the background prevents the completion of the trio. (See page 181.)
In a somewhat similar style of thunder-clouddecoration is the dated plate of the Abbé de Gricourt, already referred to.
BOOK-PLATE OF THE REV. FATHER INGOLD.
The plates of J. A. Le Mercier show that at first over his arms he bore the coronet of a count, but that later on, probably during the revolutionary period, he had that erased to make way for a meaningless finial ornament, on the lower half of which the back part of the coronet can still be seen.
A modern addition to the French literature on book-plates is a sixteen-page pamphlet, entitled,Les Ex-Libris Oratoriens, published in 1892 by Charles Poussielgue, in the Rue Cassette, Paris.
BOOK-PLATE OF THE LIBRARY OF THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF LORRAINE.
This is a brief sketch of some ecclesiastical ex-libris,written by a priest, the Rev. Father Ingold, of L’Hay, near Paris. The pamphlet contains some facsimile illustrations, of which three are reproductions of exquisite plates designed by M. Claude Thièry, of Nancy. These are the plates of the library of the Oratory of Tours, of the library of the Massillon School, and lastly that ofthe author, Father Ingold, said to be copied from an original miniature, dated 1466. The Ingold family was of Alsatian origin, and the plate is essentially German in its design, the helmet being surmounted by the characteristic proboscis.
BOOK-PLATE OF L’ABBÉ DE BOURBON-ROTHELIN, 1691-1744.
This artist, Claude Thièry, who died in 1895, excelled in small delicate hand-work, full of minute detail, in the manner of Callot; his own ex-librisis an admirable specimen of his style. A facsimile of it is given as a frontispiece to Henri Bouchot’sLes Ex-Libris. It represents a fifteenth-century student at work amongst his books, with the inscription: “Cestuy livre est à moy Claude Thiery, ymaigier du moult hault et puissant seigneur Monseigneur François Joseph Empéreur.”
BOOK-PLATE OF L’ABBÉ QUARRÉ DE MONAY.
By permission of Father Ingold a few of his illustrations of clerical ex-libris are inserted here, namely, those of Quiqueran de Beaujeu, of Joan de Montmeau, of François Jannart, and thesimple little stamp illustrated below, which was used by the priests for marking the books in their own collection in the College of Lyons.
Father Ingold complains, however, that in most of the ancient abbeys and monasteries in France the officials who had charge of the books were content simply to inscribe the name of the establishment in MS. on the title-pages, and did not use book-plates. He gives a long list of these inscriptions (all in Latin), some of which contain allusions to interesting historical and bibliographical facts; but as all these entries arewrittenin, they cannot be considered ex-libris in the sense that we attach to the expression.
A work of the greatest utility to those interested in the study of ecclesiastical book-plates is the “Catalogue des Incunables de la Bibliothèque Publique de Besançon,” par Auguste Castan. This was a posthumous book, published in 1893, by J. Dodivers, Grande Rue, Besançon.
The author was Conservateur de la Bibliothèque de Besançon, a position which gave him ample opportunities for the pursuit of bibliographical studies, to which he devoted his life. The library ofBesançon is particularly rich in unique early printed books, and in MSS. It contains no less than 985 volumes or pamphlets, printed during the fifteenth century, amongst which are examples of the rarest works from the early printing offices of Germany, Italy, France, and Switzerland.
BOOK-PLATE OF J. F. JANNART.
These are all fully described by Mons. Castan, who gives biographical accounts of their printers, the watermarks on their paper, their bindings, notes concerning their former owners, and, what is more to our purpose, descriptions of the ex-libris found in them.
Of these there appear to be about 500, all being carefully indexed, but the confusing French practice is adopted of including manuscript entries of ownership amongst what we term book-plates.
BOOK-PLATE OF JOAN DE MONTMEAU.
Several fine old armorials are reproduced, such as those of the “Bibliothèques des Grands-Carmes de Besançon, Claud Boisot Canon Cantoris Maj. Bisuntini Prioris Commen De Calce 1749.” (Two varieties.) Nameless armorial of Laurent Chiflet, and a few typographical “Ex Bibliotheca” and book-stamps. The plate inscribed “Bibliothèque des Grands-Carmes de Besançon” is one of the reproductions; it was found in a folio, printed in Venice, dated 1481, in which was also a written inscription “fr. B. Bouchier, Conventus Vallenceynarum 1522”—by which was meant the Convent of the Carmelites at Valenciennes. (See next page.)
BOOK-PLATE OF THE CARMELITES OF BESANÇON.
BOOK-PLATE OF DR. FRANÇOIS ROBERT SECOUSSE.
Those who have been educated in France will remember the solemn annual distribution of prizes. The preparations that were made for weeks beforehand; the erection of the grand stand in the courtyard of the college for the authorities and visitors; the excitement of the day itself; the arrivals of the proud mothers and sisters; the stately processionof the principal, the under principals, the professors, and last of all, the poor, wretched, badgeredpions(resident class masters) up to the entrance to receive the Préfet of the Department and his staff, resplendent in court dresses stiff with gold embroidery; the prosy speeches, full of platitudes and truisms, addressed to the four or five hundred youngsters simmering in the August sun in closely buttoned-up military uniforms; the report of the principal that the conduct of all had been most exemplary, with other stereotyped phrases equally stale and devoid of truth; and then the solemn march up of the successful prize-winners, andtheir return laden with books (destined never to be read), gorgeously bound in purple and gold, or blue and silver. In each book was carefully inserted a book-plate, giving the name of thelycée, or college, the date, name of prize-winner, and nature of the examination.
PRIZE LABEL OF DIEPPE COLLEGE.
The custom is so universal, and has been so long established, both in lay and clerical seminaries, that no class of book-plates is so common in France as these.
BOOK-PLATE OF ALEXANDER LA MILLIERE.
MEMBERS of the Reformed Church in France had to submit to persecutions similar to those endured by their co-religionists in other European countries.
It is as well to remember that living as we do in a Protestant country, our historians have been strongly biassed in their favour, and that whilst the horrors of St. Bartholomew’s Day are always depicted in the most lurid manner, little or nothing is said about the bloodshed and cruelties inflicted by the Calvinists on the Catholics in those parts of the country where they happened to be numerous and powerful. The two factions hated one another for the love of God; it was a cruel period, and, as Baron Rothschild remarks in his “Characteristics from French History,” “There was nothing to choose between Protestants and Catholics in their savage hatred of each other. The Protestants butchered the Catholics whenever they had an opportunity, and all that happened at St. Bartholomew was that the Catholics made a good score.” And this view naturally presents itself to any unprejudiced reader of the history of the period.
After frightful massacres and civil wars, the accession of Henry IV. (himself a Calvinist) to the throne of France in 1589, gave promise of a more tolerant spirit, and in April, 1598, he promulgated the famous Edict of Nantes giving the Protestants a certain amount of religious freedom. This wise measure was confirmed by his successors Louis XIII. in 1610, and Louis XIV. in 1652. But later on, Louis XIV., under the influence of Madame de Montespan and the Romish Church, saw fit to revoke the Edict of Nantes in October, 1658, an act which was in its consequences one of the most disastrous for the commerce and prosperity of France.
It was the aim of Louis, and his ministers, to compel the members of the Reformed Church to abjure their heresies, and return to the Catholic Church, and in some remote country districts, or places where the Huguenots were few and isolated, the plan succeeded. But in the main it failed, as all forced religious conversions ever have failed, a lesson which kings and priests have always before them, and yet never seem to learn.
The forced exile of the Huguenot Ministers, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, was the signal for flight to thousands of French Protestants of both sexes, and of all classes and ages, and in spite of the penalties proclaimed against emigration, and the punishments inflicted upon those who were arrested in the attempt to leave their country, an enormous number of persons did effect theirescape to the various Protestant States in Europe, and even to the then newly-settled American colonies, but principally to our shores.