October 15, 2002 issue. This file presents an archive copy of the issue of the FYI France ejournal, ISSN 1071-5916, which was distributed via email on October 15, 2002.
Versions of the following have appeared online regularly, since 1992, as a feature of the FYI France ejournal, ISSN 1071-5916, which is distributed for free via email every month except August. Ejournal subscriptions may be obtained via email request to: kessler@well.sf.ca.us
Here this file is one of a number made available -- hopefully
attractively, all in one place, and relevant to libraries and online
digital information work in France and Europe -- as part of FYI France
(sm)(tm), an online service to which anyone can subscribe for 12
months by postal mailing a check for US $45, payable to Jack Kessler, to
PO Box 460668, San Francisco, California, USA 94146 (site licenses also
are available): please write your email address on the front of your
check. Please email suggestions for improvements to me at kessler@well.sf.ca.us
--oOo--
Two sets of very useful online data resources have been mounted, and are being maintained and expanded, at the Institut d'Histoire du Livre and the Ecole des Chartes:
The IHL offers,
"The Itinéraire du Livre database offers, to anyone with interests in the history of the book and of graphics techniques, an entrée into the collections of over 150 museums of the book in Europe.
"One can find here museums of the book, of printing, and of paper, but also libraries offering permanent and temporary exhibitions to the public, workshops which are open to the public, and even a certain number of semi - private resources which only may be seen by appointment. Each institution is represented by an entry giving its address, a short description of the establishment (type of resource, date of creation, size, conditions for access), and a profile of its collections (manuscripts, books, machinery and tools, rare items, exceptional pieces...).
"To build this database, the partners in the project -- the Consortium of European Research Libraries / CERL, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de l'Information et de la Bibliothèque / ENSSIB, and the Institut d'Histoire du Livre / IHL -- sent a questionnaire to some 450 museums, libraries, and other sites in Europe where specialists and non - specialists are able to study the European book patrimony. The initial percentage of responses was very encouraging -- around 30% -- and the database continues to grow.
"At the same time, the Itinéraire Culturel du Livre is calling upon the expertise of
numerous European specialists for the development of additional regional, national and
international 'itinéraires'. A first such itinéraire already exists for the
region of Emilia - Romagna in Italy, and others are under development in Spain, in France, and
in Great Britain."
And also, from the IHL,
"Query our database of 500 links, to Web sites which deal with the history of the book, of writing, and of graphics techniques."
A fascinating typology: among the "history of the book" resources which they have listed on here -- you'll never dream there are so many possibilities -- are the following,
And the renowned Ecole des Chartes recently announced,
"Book sale catalogs are an essential resource for the study of private libraries ; their use must be accompanied with a certain number of methodological precautions, presented during conferences for which the proceedings have been published in 'Etudes et rencontres de l'Ecole des chartes'.
"Book auctions first appeared toward the end of the 16th century in the Netherlands, and developed in Paris during the first years of the 18th century -- at the same time as the rare book trade was being organized, and the fashion for collecting rare books first appeared. The sale catalogs have essentially a commercial significance ; the point is to attract the attention of the book lover or merchant who often is located far from the premises, and to attract him to the auction.
"These documents could be included in the Catalogue Collectif de France / CCF, and in the catalog of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, but their bibliographic records are short and often incomplete, notably on two points, the status of the owner and the particular characteristics of the item: mentions of the price, names of buyers, lists of accompanying manuscripts... More complete cataloging, including information of this type, was assembled for the collections of the Bibliothe`que nationale de France from its origins until 1750 by Françoise Bléchet ; for the subsequent period up to 1770, the inventory is being done by Nicole Masson, who is professor at the Université de Poitiers. We would point out, also, the database of the Institut d'histoire du livre / IHL which shows 344 sale catalogs held by the bibliothèques municipales of Lyon and of Grenoble.
"It is against this background that the Ecole des chartes undertook, in 1998, a union catalog of book sale catalogs, from prior to the 19th century, held by Parisian libraries other than the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The records, developed by students in the third - year course on the history of the book and of libraries, are presented on the site once they have been checked. The 200 sale catalogs of the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève are included, as well as the 20 catalogs held by the Bibliothèque de Fels of the Institut Catholique -- work on the 275 catalogs of the Bibliothèque de l'Institut is under way. To this collection was added, in 2002, the 5 catalogs held in the fonds ancien of the Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Chartes."
-- and also, at the Ecole des Chartes,
"The prints collection of the Ecole des Chartes was established to support courses on the printed image, which are part of the study of the history of the book. The collection is the result of gifts and purchases made by Henri - Jean Martin and other professors of the Ecole.
"700 original prints from the 15th to the 20th centuries, conserved in seven containers and three moving cases, are made available to professors and students to provide a first contact with the engraved image. All of the techniques of engraving are represented, from the oldest (wood - block and copper - plate) up to the lithographic and photo - mechanical processes of the 19th century, including certain technical experiments in color engraving of the 18th century.
"Most of the pieces in the collection were engraved for books. 16th and 17th century titles are well - represented, and 18th century themes form the greatest part of the collection (over 200 pieces). In addition, the collection includes some original prints, notably the works of Claude Melland and of Jacques Callot, and some reproductions. In large formats, several beautiful engravings done for the King, notably on architectural things, ought to be mentioned; one can find complete works among these, for example 'les Grandes Conquêtes de Louis le grand' engraved by Sébastien Leclerc and Louis de Châtillon."
and,
Real French theses, on these history of the book etc. subjects, now easily available for online reading everywhere: the magic -- sometimes... often... -- of French academic prose -- i.e.,
"Catherine d'Amboise (1481-1550), dame de Lignières, prosatrice et poétesse de la première moitié du XVIe siècle, reste inconnue du grand public et peu connue du public lettré..."
Many are in online fulltext -- not all, yet, but presumably this is a work - in progress -- currently back to several from 1999...
And finally, a "bonus":
An outstanding site, Conscience et Combats, 1802 - 2002, including:
So... useful and interesting and sometimes very beautiful viewing and reading, from the French...
--oOo--
FYI France (sm)(tm) e-journal ISSN 1071 - 5916
*
| FYI France (sm)(tm) is a monthly electronic
| journal published since 1992 as a small-scale,
| personal experiment, in the creation of large-
| scale "information overload", by Jack Kessler.
/ \ Any material written by me which appears in
----- FYI France may be copied and used by anyone for
// \\ any good purpose, so long as, a) they give me
--------- credit and show my email address, and, b) it
// \\ isn't going to make them money: if it is going
to make them money, they must get my permission
in advance, and share some of the money which they get with me.
Use of material written by others requires their permission.
FYI France archives may be found at http://infolib.berkeley.edu
(search fyifrance), or http://www.cru.fr/listes/biblio-fr@cru.fr/
(BIBLIO-FR archive), or http://listserv.uh.edu/archives/pacs-l.html
(PACS-L archive) or http://www.fyifrance.com . Suggestions,
reactions, criticisms, praise, and poison-pen letters all will be
gratefully received at kessler@well.sf.ca.us .
Copyright 1992- , by Jack Kessler,
all rights reserved except as indicated above.
--hjlm--
or you can link / jump over to: