French Book-plates Part 12

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 Eugenie.

Severely simple as is the monogram of Napoleon III., it is ingenious, and not without a certain air of 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CIPHER ON BINDINGS OF NAPOLEON III.]

These two stamps were princ.i.p.ally 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 is that of Amedee David, Marquis de Pastoret, a politician and litterateur, 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 the _Coup d'Etat_ of Napoleon III. and to profit by it. (See p. 144.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: CIPHER ON BINDINGS OF THE EMPRESS EUGeNIE.]

He was the son of M. Pastoret, a senator and member of the Inst.i.tute of France, created a Count of the Empire by the first Napoleon, with a grant of arms thus described in the _Armorial General de l'Empire Francais_: "D'or a la bande de gueules chargee 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 a brilliant instance of a successful turncoat in the _Dictionnaire des Girouettes_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 t.i.tle of Count of the Empire from Napoleon, who also named him a knight commander in the Legion d'Honneur. On the return of Louis XVIII. he was 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."

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF THE DUC DE MOUCHY.]

The Comte de Beugnot was a Councillor of State, and Officer of the Legion d'Honneur under Napoleon 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."

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 Academie Francaise 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 d.u.c.h.ess 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 Persigny was appointed Amba.s.sador to the Court of St.

James, he unfortunately brought his wife with him. At a _bal masque_, 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, Prefet 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 ama.s.sed 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER IX.

THE FRONTIER PROVINCES.

In June, 1881, M. Auguste s...o...b..r 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 ent.i.tled "Pet.i.te Revue d'Ex-Libris Alsaciens, par Auguste s...o...b..r, avec un facsimile de l'Ex-Libris de C. Wolfhardt, dit Lycosthenes, de Rouffach." Mulhouse, Veuve Bader et Cie, 1881. M.

s...o...b..r 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. s...o...b..r 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 into _Lycosthenes_. 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 engraved on some soft metal, either lead or pewter; there is no attempt to show the tinctures on the s.h.i.+eld, which is surmounted by a death's head and hour-gla.s.s. The design is surrounded by Latin mottoes, and beneath is the inscription "Symbolum Conradi Lycosthenis Rubeaquensis."

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF MESSIEURS A. AND L. BENOIT, 1846.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF MONSIEUR BENOIT, 1894.]

M. Auguste s...o...b..r 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) designed by 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 the _Winterkappe_, 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 the _tout ensemble_ has a far more German than French character. The brothers Benoit had two other book-plates, different in design, but not more French in appearance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF ALBERT METZGER, OF MULHOUSE.]

The plates of Albert Metzger, of Mulhouse (by Ch. Delatre), 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 beautiful ex-libris bear on their faces the name of the city of _Nancy_ as their birthplace, and well-known artists for their fathers.

A few of the leading engravers of ex-libris who sign themselves as of _Nancy_ are 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 a 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF FRANcOIS DE CHANTEAU.]

The Duchy of Lorraine (formerly known as Lotharingia) was at one time an appanage of the House of Austria, but after several dynastic changes it was conferred, for life only, upon Stanislaus I., the dethroned king of Poland.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF LeON GERMAIN OF NANCY.]

Stanislaus held the t.i.tles "Duc de Lorraine et de Bar," and on the large book-plate for the public library of the city of Nancy, the inscription reads "Fondee par le Roy de Pologne, duc de Lorraine, en MDCCL," whilst the supporters of the central s.h.i.+eld 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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-engraved for 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF PETER DOBREE.]

The inscription reads "Ex Libris Serenissimi Principis DE MARSAN a Lotharingia."

The eight quarterings on the s.h.i.+eld 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF FREDERICK LE MESURIER.]

The collars around the arms are those of the French _Ordres du Roi_, namely the orders of Saint Michel and the Saint Esprit.