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In this week's letter...
we have a feast of multimedia, headed by the Fondation Napoléon's digital library, with 50 new titles. Two of these will be of especial interest to our English readers, and are highlighted below. We then have details of a newly digitised map of Paris, which really let's you get a flavour of the city during the time of Napoleon I. We also have a new object of the month, a remarkable piece of Second Empire tableware by Christofle. Then there's a new recipe for sweet corn juice - a sugar substitute at the time of the blockade. On a more sombre note, this week's 200 years ago looks at the beginning of the end of the Spanish inquisition, whilst 150 years ago focuses on the typhoid epidemic at the military school of Saint Cyr. And as ever, there is news about upcoming events - this week an exhibition and news of a re-enactment. On the right-hand side we have details of new publications, and links to interesting content seen on the web, including a rare video from inside the Kremlin, in case you've ever wondered what Napoleon might've seen in September 1812, and a link to the Napoleonic objects in the Royal Collection held at Windsor Castle.
Enjoy!
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The Fondation Napoléon Digital Library
The Fondation is delighted to announce the addition of 50 new titles to its digital library, thus enriching this powerful resource. The majority of the books, theses and almanacs are in French, though two English publications have been added which we would like to draw your attention to. The first is Napoleon in his own Defence by Clement Shorter, a collection of essays and Napoleon's own letters by the founder of Tatler. The other is the catalogue of the remarkably early Napoleonic collection of John Sainsbury (1840), which was unparalleled in its day.
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Map of Paris
Amongst the recently digitised books, there is a work by Nicolas Maire, a topographical engineer, who created a map of Paris. Not content with just rendering topographical information, he also created a work which reads like a guidebook. The work proved exceedingly popular and enjoyed a print run of four editions. You can discover it here and visit Paris at the time of Napoleon I! (The map is on p.85)
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Object of the Month
The 'Surtout de Table' Garniture for the Hundred-Piece Table Service: "France Distributing Wreaths of Glory", by Christofle
This garniture for the hundred-piece table service, today exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the gallery dedicated to the Universal Exhibitions, is a fine example of the virtuosity of Second Empire industrial art. The Prince President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte commissioned the garniture from the celebrated jewellers Christofle in 1852, and it was to be used for formal banquets at the Tuileries Palace. Charles Christofle (1805-1863) began working as a jeweller in 1830, and he was to become the world's largest jeweller as a result of the patents which he possessed for electrolytic gilding (both gold and silver) – indeed, he was to have a monopoly on the process until 1854.
A New Recipe
This week we also have another new recipe for you, for sweet corn juice. This was developed when France was suffering privations during the military blockade and was used as a substitute for sugar. Though not undergoing the same privations (hopefully!) and with turkish corn not quite as near to hand as it was in 1804, this one might not be so easy to make at home - but let us know if you do!
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What's On
“Towards a new world”: Revolutions, freedoms and independences in Spain and America. 1808 – 1814, Seville (Spain)
This exhibition is organised in twelve thematic sections and it deals with the beginnings of the Spanish uprising against Napoleon, the return of Fernando VII and the restoration of absolutism, and almost everything else that that happened between the two dates.
Loan institutions include the Seville Military History Museum, the city Cathedral, the archive itself, and included in the 116 objects on show are paintings by Mariano Salvador Maella, José María Arango, Octavien d'Alvimar and Joaquín Cortés, objects, coins, small wax sculptures, jewelry and the sabre of the Mexican Agustín de Iturbide.
Bicentenary of the Battle of Lützen
A reconstruction of the great victory of the French on 2 May, 1813, organised The 9th Regiment of Light Infantry and the Napoleonic Society of Saxony. The reconstructions will take place 1-5 May, 2013 outside the town of Lützen.
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200 Years Ago
On 22 January, 1813 after a meeting of the Cortes of Cadiz, the Spanish inquisition was officially abolished. The Cortes of Cadiz was the liberal parliamentary body in exile at Cadiz, the heavily fortified southern city, which, following the failure of the battle of Barrosa in 1811, was relatively safe from French aggression. The Inquisition had also been banned by Joseph Bonaparte for the rest of Spain during his brief reign in 1808, although full cessation of its activities was not to come until 1834.
150 Years Ago
On 28 January, 1863, Randon, Marshal of France and Napoleon III's Minister of War, gave an account of his official visit to the Ecole imperiale militaire speciale at Saint Cyr. Many students there were ill with typhoid fever, and the epidemic was so serious that Minister had been compelled to visit. He ordered the reorganisation of the site and the construction of a new conduit which would provide the 345m2 of water from the Seine to the student officers. A vaccine against typhoid fever was not to be developed (theoretically) until 1888 by André Chantemesse and Fernand Widal; the real thing was finally to be developed and used by Sir Almroth Wright in 1896.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Andrew Miles
Historians and web editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N0 655, 25-31 JANUARY, 2013
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© This Napoleon.org weekly bulletin is published by the Fondation Napoléon. Reproduction or all or part of this bulletin is forbidden, without prior agreement of the Fondation Napoléon
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OPERATION ST HELENA
The Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien , in association with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have announced the prolongation of its international fund-raising campaign to restore and save Napoleon I's residence on the island of St Helena. All the details regarding the campaign as well as donation forms and advice for donating from outside France, can be found on napoleon.org.
You can still donate online to the project via the Friends of the Fondation de France in the US here
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MAGAZINE
Just Published (from the publishers?)
- The Organization of the German State Forces in 1866, by Stuart Sutherland
- Wars, Pestilence and the Surgeon's Blade: The Evolution of British Military Medicine and Surgery during the Nineteenth Century, Thomas Scotland and Steven hayes (eds.)
- The Napoleonic Wars: A Very Short Introduction, by Mike Rapport
Seen on the web (external links)
- A video from inside the Kremlin.
- Napoleonica in the Windsor Collection
Press Review
- The Legacy of the Napoleonic Wars
- Het kleine vaderland. Het gezin en de Staat in de code civile des Français (1804)
- La Batalla de Valls de 1809. El Punt de Vista Militar.
EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Exhibitions
- “Towards a new world”: Revolutions, freedoms and independences in Spain and America. 1808 – 1814 [21/11/2012 - 31/03/2013]
Reenactments
- Bicentenary of the Battle of Lutzen [01/05/2013-05/05/2013]
NAPOLEON.ORG
The best of the month:
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- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
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