French Pamphlet Collection
The French Pamphlet Collection contains approximately 12,000 pieces dating from 1620 to 1966, covering many key episodes in the history of France. The largest part of the collection is made up of 7000 pamphlets from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, 1788-1815. These include government publications from the first ten years of the French Revolution, 1790-1799; over 1700 decrees and laws published from 1789 to 1795; and sixty-four Revolutionary journals in a series by Jacques-Rene Hebert of Pére Duchesne fame. Beginning with the call by Louis XVI for a national discussion of the agenda of the Estates General in 1788, pamphlets became a major form of expression during a period of uninhibited debate in France. Pamphlets and other printed ephemera also became more common on the eve of the Revolution when the old system of royal regulation of printing and book selling collapsed.
In addition to the Revolutionary era, major strengths in the collection include pamphlets produced during the Fronde (1649-1652), as well as 19th century French plays. Oversize posters and broadsides from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries can be found in the collection as well. Some of these materials also chronicle France's involvement with the Middle East, centering on the conflict with the Ottoman Empire, 1900-1924.
An inventory of this collection is available in the Maryland Room .
Items in the French Pamphlet Collection are non-circulating. Researchers may view the collection in the Maryland Room on the first floor of Hornbake Library, Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For Saturday usage of this collection, all materials must be reserved by 3:00 p.m. on Friday.
Email the subject area specialist or call (301) 405-9210 for more information.
