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THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN n° 722, 11-17 JULY, 2014
NAPOLEONIC HOLIDAYS AT HOME
This week, the Île-de-France's Comité Régionale du Tourisme announced what we've long suspected – that Napoleon Bonaparte is not only the most famous figure in French history, but also one of the biggest draws for tourists visiting the Parisian region. Our bulletin this week, therefore, takes as its subject Napoleonic tourism at home and abroad. As well as the latest in our “Summer Series” of Napoleonic sites – which this time takes us to Malmaison and to Martinique – we've compiled a list of some of our favourite virtual itineraries and online Napoleonic tours, so that you can enjoy a taste of the First Empire wherever you find yourself this summer. And if all this only begins to whet your appetite, there's our Article of the Month (in which Georges Poisson explores the great exhibitions of the nineteenth century), our Summer Reading List (with all this year's major Napoleonic publications), and the latest issue of Napoleonica.La Revue (a special “focus on” 1814 and the French Campaign) to be getting on with too.
Enjoy!
Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
Web Editor
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ARCHIVAL AND DIGITAL COOPERATION BETWEEN THE FONDATION NAPOLEON AND THE BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE
The catalogue of the Fondation Napoléon's library, the Bibliothèque Martial-Lapeyre, has now been integrated into the “Base Patrimoine” (heritage database) of the Catalogue Collectif de France (CCFr). The CCFr allows users to locate more than 30 million documents (such as printed texts, video and audio, manuscripts, and sheet music) and to find both practical and academic information on almost 5,000 French institutions and their collections. The Bibliothèque Martial-Lapeyre joins more than 130 libraries in the “Base Patrimoine” (specialist and municipal libraries). 6,529 items from the Bibliothèque Martial-Lapeyre's general collection have already been integrated, and its Special Collections will follow this summer. For more information or to the use the CCFr, click here (external link, in French).
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ARTICLE OF THE MONTH > “1855: FRANCE'S FIRST INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION,” BY GEORGES POISSON
Since it's summer and we're feeling a bit festive, our article of the month this month is “1855: France's First International Exhibition”, by Georges Poisson. The Universal Exhibition of 1855 was a major triumph for the Second Empire – a bold proclamation of its economic, industrial and artistic successes – and Georges Poisson's commentary sheds valuable light on the Exhibition, its organizers, and exhibits. And don't forget, we've published lots more information on the great British and French universal exhibitions of the Second Empire in a special "focus on" dossier, which compares the successes of the London and Paris exhibitions.
> And if you fancy exercising your linguistic neurones, our French article of the month is on the dark side of glory - fear... “L'envers de la gloire: La peur au combat sous l'Empire,” by François Houdecek.
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NAPOLEON, “EMPEROR OF TOURISM”
It's not just the readers of our weekly newsletter who think Napoleon Bonaparte deserves more attention. A study recently carried out by the Île-de-France's Comité Regional du Tourisme found that Bonaparte is a major draw for tourists to the Parisian region, with 74% of international visitors considering him the most important figure in French history! Read more about these findings and the “Emperor of Tourism” here (external link, in French). In Belgium, too, institutions and individuals are turning towards Napoleonic tourism. In addition to an exhibition and re-enactment, a “Route de Grouchy” is being planned between Wavre and Givet to commemorate the path of the French retreat. More details (external link, in French) here.
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HOLIDAYS AT HOME > VIRTUAL NAPOLEONIC ITINERARIES
If you're not able to visit any Napoleonic sites yourself this summer, don't panic! This week we're bringing you a Napoleonic “holiday at home”, flagging up some of our favourite online Napoleonic resources. Why not take an imaginary stroll through the parks and gardens of the Second Empire with our virtual itinerary, or meander through the streets of Napoleon's Corsica? If you're a Josephine fan, we've plenty of material for you: our descriptive itinerary lets you visit the Empress at home at Malmaison, while our brand new biography has everything you need to know about Josephine's life, and the Château de Malmaison itself has launched a virtual visit on its website (external link). Elsewhere, the Château de Fontainebleau has just launched an iPhone/iPad app (external link) that guides you through eleven rooms of the Château, from the time of François I to Napoleon III, and the Château of Versailles has a huge range of virtual visits and multimedia activities available (external link) so you can explore these remarkable royal residences from the comfort of your armchair!
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SUMMER SERIES > NAPOLEONIC SITES
Since we're very excited to share our new biography of Josephine, we thought we'd share this week two Napoleonic sites relating to the Empress: the Château de Malmaison and the Domaine de la Pagerie. Purchased by Josephine in 1799, Malmaison was – together with the Tuileries Palace – the headquarters of the French government between 1800 and 1802. It was to Malmaison that Josephine repaired after her “separation” from Napoleon, and here that she died on 29 May 1814. If you can't enjoy Malmaison's sumptuously decorated interiors and world-famous rose garden yourself this summer, why not take a virtual tour (external link)? If Malmaison marks the end of Josephine's life, the Domaine de la Pagerie marks the beginning: it was in this beautiful spot looking over the Caribbean Sea that Josephine was born, and anyone visiting Martinique this summer should be sure to look out for the commemorative plaque in the church of Trois-Islets, where Josephine was baptised on 27 July 1763.
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE > “NAPOLEON ON ELBA – AN EXILE OF CONSENT,” BY PETER HICKS
Hot off the press in the newly-published 19th issue of Napoleonica.La Revue, which is devoted to 1814 and the French Campaign, Peter Hicks's article looks at the administration and Court that Napoleon established on Elba during his ten-month exile. It is also a reflection upon Napoleon in terms of his legitimacy and kingship, and the way in which he dealt with his exile.
200 YEARS AGO > MADAME MERE AND PAULINE AFTER THE ABDICATION
Letizia Bonaparte, Madame Mère, had already lost her château at Pont-Sur-Seine, which had been burnt down on the orders of the Crown Prince William of Wurtemberg. Having fled to the capital, she was again forced to leave her residence on the Rue Saint-Dominique in Paris on 30 March, the same day as Marie-Louise and the Roi de Rome, before the unstoppable advance of the Allies. Letizia met her daughter-in-law and grandson at Blois shortly before their departure for Austria. The Emperor advised his mother by letter to join Pauline in Nice, and from there to travel together to Rome: the idea was to seek sanctuary at the Palais Falconieri with Letizia's half-brother, Cardinal Fesch. Pope Pius VII received Madame Mère with kindness, because Pauline had already lobbied the Pontiff in favour of her brother when he passed through Nice on his return to Rome. Meanwhile, Napoleon had negotiated on 12 April for a payment of 300,000 francs to be paid to his mother before he left Fontainebleau for Elba. Letizia tried to consolidate this revenue by selling her estates in France. And while Napoleon was en route to Elba, he met his sister, who had been waiting for him since 15 April in Le Luc, in the province of Var. On 1 June, Pauline arrived in Elba on the Letizia (!) and established herself at the Domaine de San Martino… only to leave immediately with her sister Caroline and her brother-in-law, the “would-be” King of Naples. Pauline settled in Portici and re-established her correspondence with Lucien, who had installed himself in Rome. Once her financial affairs had been more or less settled, Letizia undertook the voyage to Elba, between 26 July and 2 August, where the fallen emperor had prepared her a room. Eventually Letizia established herself in the Casa Vantini, next to I Mulini, and spent the following months alongside her son. During this time, Pauline also tried to separate herself from her properties in France, with little success, other than the sale of the Hôtel de Charost on 24 October to the new English ambassador to the court of Louis XVIII: Wellington. Pauline rejoined Napoleon and Letizia shortly afterwards, occupying the apartment that Napoleon had prepared in vain for Marie-Louise and the Roi de Rome. Their arrival would never happen, especially after Marie Walewska travelled to Elba in September. The winter passed in a state of boredom that both Napoleon's mother and sister tried to brighten… until Napoleon thought his moment had come. The news from France seemed to indicate a reversal in Louis XVIII's fortunes, and the emperor confided in his mother than he would not be staying on Elba…
150 YEARS AGO > THE DIFFICULTIES OF EDITING NAPOLEON'S CORRESPONDENCE
July 1864 found Prince Jerome Napoleon writing to his cousin, Napoleon III, about the difficulties he faced as sole editor of their illustrious uncle's correspondence. Writing from Le Havre, Jerome is quick to praise “the help I am receiving from all the members of the Commission”, with the exception of Monsieur de Laborde. Laborde, Director of the Imperial Archives, had refused to allow one of Jerome's assistants to enter the Archives, in spite of Napoleon III's express orders to do so. Jerome himself has been refused entry “without an order from Marshal Vaillant.” Jerome's complaints are familiar to anyone whose research has led them down the winding path of archival research, on the trail of elusive, potentially essential sheets of paper: “How am I to direct this publication,” he writes, “when I am unable to collect the data?” “How can an employee at the Archives best select and choose the documents likely to interest an author unless the person who is doing the research indicates what seems to be useful for his purpose?” Here at the Fondation Napoleon we are only too aware of the lengthy and meticulous research work required in the editing of Napoleon's correspondence. Jerome was a particularly censorious editor, removing absolutely any material which could cast a negative light on the first emperor, and the volumes for which he was sole editor were not to appear until 1870. This selective approach was the major reason for our undertaking to publish the correspondence in its entirety. In the capable hands of François Houdecek and his dedicated team, the 10th volume of the General Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte for the period March 1810 to March 1811 is scheduled to appear on 29 October this year. Stay tuned for more information on this groundbreaking publication!
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 722, 11-17 JULY, 2014
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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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EVENTS
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
WHAT'S ON
- Niagara 1812 Legacy Council Programme of Commemorative Events [14/04/2014 - 19/10/2014]
- Germany: The House of Hanover on the British throne 1714-1837 [17/05/2014 - 05/10/2014]
- Napoléon Who?! Prince, Prisoner, President, Emperor. Louis Napoléon (1808-1873) [10/06/2014 - 10/10/2014]
- Models of the Imperial Navy: the collections of the Musée de la Marine at the Château de Versailles [17/06/2014 - 14/09/2014]
- The Mound of Vendôme at the Canadian Centre for Architecture [19/06/2014 - 14/09/2014]
- Carpeaux (1827-1875), a Sculptor for the Empire at the Musée d'Orsay [24/06/2014 - 28/09/2014]
- Napoleon's Bivouac: Imperial Luxury in the Countryside [28/06/2014 - 15/10/2014]
- Performance of Thomas Hardy's Wessex Scenes in Dorchester [11/07/2014 - 27/09/2014]
PRESS REVIEW
- William Cook, “How Napoleon won at Waterloo”, in The Spectator
- Amanda Foreman, “The British view the War of 1812 quite differently than Americans do,” in Smithsonian Magazine
JUST PUBLISHED
- CLERENS, Josée, Buying Louisiana: An Eyewitness's Account of the Louisiana Purchase (New York, 2014)
- LEEPSON, Marc, What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life (New York, 2014)
- MUILWIJK, Erwin, Standing Firm at Waterloo (Lulu, 2014)
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Artnet - Monaco selling off Napoleon Museum Collection
- How to make an Emperor's Julep
- In Cape Vincent, Napoleon Bonaparte is still a star
WAR OF 1812
- Artrain recognized for collaboration in War of 1812 commemoration
- Battle of Malcolm's Mills commemorated
- Little Known Characters in America: William Hull
- Battle of Chippawa's bicentennial
- The War of 1812 + 2: Mainers mark 200th anniversary of British invasion that led to statehood
- Get fit with the War of 1812!
- 1812 Legacy Council, Treaty of Ghent delegation to plant peace rose 200 years after War of 1812
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Between 30 June and 29 August, the library will operate its summer opening hours: Mondays and Tuesdays between 1pm-5pm and Thursdays 10am-3pm.
Online database catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
NAPOLEONICA LES ARCHIVES
Site of digitised Napoleonic archival material:
The working papers or 'imprimés' of the Napoleonic Conseil d'Etat, the correspondence of Vivant Denon, etc.
http://www.napoleonica.org
Contact: napoleonica@napoleon.org
NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE
International peer-review interdisciplinary e-review on the history of the two Empires, bilingual French-English, 3 issues per year, free access.
Read the review on Cairn.info
Contact: napoleonicalarevue@napoleon.org
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