Monday, October 15, 2012

FYI France : Voltaire & Du Châtelet, 4 Sale? a digital appeal...


O
ne of the greatest opportunities provided by digital libraries is preservation -- of digital versions of printed and manuscript works, and of the originals themselves. Herewith, then, a last-minute appeal for saving an extraordinary collection of originals, one going on-sale the week after next: a collection well-worth protecting from commercial dispersal... in proper archival-order... with finding-aids... and global public access via online digitized copies... and meticulous HVAC etc. preservation of the originals for careful scholarship... we don't want to find these framed as individual "collectibles" sheets of old paper on the scattered walls of some global "Voltaire-Châtelet Hotels" chain, someday...

 

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The appeal itself appears below: shortcut -- http://fonds-voltaire.org/edc1/

First here, though, a description: of Voltaire and Du Châtelet and their life together at Cirey, an era productive of so many topics of interest -- from The Enlightenment to The French Revolution to The Industrial Revolution, The Role of Women, and the private lives of this remarkable pair -- all described in invaluable detail by these documents now being put up for sale -- the following translated by me from,

http://fonds-voltaire.org/index.php/patrimoine/cirey

 

> Among the lieux de mémoires embodying the Enlightenment, few names resonate more than does the Château de Cirey in Champagne, where for fifteen years Voltaire lived with Émilie Du Châtelet, after the publication and the censorship of his, Lettres philosophiques.

> The site still evokes the legendary couple, a rare combination of heart and soul, the intellectual intensity of an exceptional encounter.

> It was at Cirey that Voltaire wrote his, Éléments de la philosophie de Newton, his, Traité de métaphysique, his, Discours en vers sur l'homme. Other works which would distinguish his career were begun here, as well : le Siècle de Louis XIV, l'Essai sur les mœurs, La Pucelle, among others.

> Émilie studied, at Cirey, the sciences, math and physics above all, with the passion she devoted to everything she undertook, producing for example the first annotated French translation of the famous Principia mathematica of Newton, which she finished a few days before her death in 1749.

> In 1765 ownership of the château passed to the son of Émilie, Louis-Marie-Florent, who in 1789, just before the taking of the Bastille, gave it to his niece, Diane-Adélaïde de Damas, Mme de Simiane. After this Cirey would remain in the Damas family until the end of the 19th century.

> The chateau was emptied during the Revolution: when Mme de Dimiane re-took possession of it she was unable to find a single chair. One would think the archives of the Du Châtelets and the library of Cirey would have been dispersed or destroyed, but this was not the case, and in 2010 we found that the library and archives from the château still existed, having survived the Revolution.

> In 1892 the library was installed in the new house of the Damas family, built for them in the countryside north of Cirey, and the archives were stored in the attic in ten large wooden cases. They may be found there today, a century later...

> The actual archives of the family, a vast collection dating from the 13th c. to the Revolution, were deposited in August 2012 with the Archives départementales de la Haute-Marne at Chaumont.

> The scientific and personal manuscripts of Émilie Du Châtelet and Voltaire, however, will be sold at auction at Paris on October 29, 2012.

> Among these are many documents of exceptional interest:

  • A manuscript of, Éléments de la philosophie de Newton, the very one presented by Voltaire to Émilie Du Châtelet, inscribed with the handwritten notes of both;

  • The manuscripts of the, Exposition abrégée du système du monde selon les principes de monsieur Newton, abundantly hand-corrected by Mme Du Châtelet, which was missing when her translation was deposited at the Bibliothèque du Roi, just before her death;

  • Two manuscripts of her intensive and unknown study on the optics of Newton;

  • Various notes in the handwriting of Voltaire;

  • Workbooks of Mme Du Châtelet on geometry, arithmetic, optics;

  • Documents about the furnishing of the chateau in 1746;

  • Émilie's account-books, offering an incomparable record of life-at-Cirey;

  • Her correspondance with her estate manager, another precious source of historical information;

  • A volume of notes on the history of religion, used by Mme Du Châtelet, both for her own studies and for work in collaboration with Voltaire.

>The national government authorities, Archives Nationales, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, all immediately were advised of these discoveries, and all are doing their best. Pre-emptive interventions are being studied -- but it is clear that the safeguarding of this exceptional patrimonial collection will depend in great part on the welcome which you accord to this public appeal by the Fonds De Dotation Voltaire.

> It is urgent to move on this, to alert others whom you know, and to donate, even modestly...

> To contribute to the safeguarding of the manuscripts of Émilie Du Châtelet, please follow this link --

> http://fonds-voltaire.org/edc1/

> This appeal for donations has been launched by the Fonds De Dotation Voltaire with the approval of the Archives de France and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

> All contributions received will be turned over to the public organizations which acquire the manuscripts of the October 29 sale. The donations turned over will not be cashed until after the sale has been held.

 

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The appeal itself --

> From: Andrew Brown
> To: exlibris-l@list.indiana.edu
> Sent: Sun, 30 Sep 2012 05:02:17 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: ["EXLIBRIS-L"] Du Châtelet manuscripts -- appeal for donations

> May I encourage members of the list to drawn the attention of their contacts to the appeal for donations that has been launched to help the French State acquire the manuscripts of Émilie Du Châtelet and Voltaire that will be sold at auction in Paris by Christie's on 29 October?

> The appeal, undertaken with the approval of the Archives de France and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, aims to assist public libraries and archives in France to preempt at the sale. All contributions received will be made over to the public bodies able to make purchases on 29 October. Payments made will not be banked until after the sale.

> Substantial tax credits are available to those paying tax in France and all donors may appear, if they wish, on the published list of donors.

> Donations play a double role, financial and moral. All contributions, at whatever level, support the decisions that must soon be taken by those who will determine the public funding available.

> Donations can be made by French cheque, Visa or Mastercard, bank transfer (all charges at the expense of the donor, please) and by Pay Pal.

> These links may be useful:

> With thanks for all that you can do to pass the word.

 

> Andrew Brown, Président
> Fonds de dotation Voltaire
> 26 Grand'rue
> F-01210 Ferney-Voltaire

> Téléphone: 04 50 28 06 08
> Fax: 09 59 34 42 11
> Courriel: contact@fonds-voltaire.org
> W3: http://fonds-voltaire.org

 

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Note [by JK]:

One of the greatest opportunities provided by digital libraries is preservation, as I said initially here. Sometimes, amid the sound & fury of our daily lives... -- personal & professional &, this Fall in the US anyway, political -- it's an inundation, I know -- but unique opportunities still do arise to Make A Difference.

Saving this collection and archiving it is one-such, I suggest... So much the better, then, if the online digital and preservation and scholarly skills particularly-represented among readers here are particularly-relevant to the tasks needed for this.

I earnestly hope a Mæcenas or 3 might emerge -- see the links and other contacts information shown above, and please use them.

In addition, there is vindication available here for so much that so many of us have worked so hard on: let's conserve and preserve and make accessible these fascinating things -- that is what we are good at, and it's what "digital libraries" are all about.

 

Jack Kessler, kessler@well.com