Napoleon Seminar Exhibition

Under the direction of Scott Lerner, the Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of Humanities and French and Italian, eight students have curated a bilingual exhibition titled Napoléon représente/Napoleon Represents in the Nissley Gallery. The exhibition is the result of the students’ work last semester in Lerner’s French 373 course, during which the classmates examined the theme of representation and propaganda by and about the Emperor of the French.

Lerner and his students marked the opening of the exhibition on Tuesday, Jan. 31, with a reception and gallery talk. The show, which will be on display in the Nissley Gallery through March 9, includes rare books from the College’s 1,890-volume Napoleon Collection and original furniture that once belonged to Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother.

For more information, please see the full F&M Diplomat article online at http://thediplomat.fandm.edu/article/939

Napoleon Collection Exhibition

One of the largest and most distinct rare book collections held by Franklin and Marshall is the 1,890 volume Watts de Peyster Collection: Napoleon Buonaparte assembled by General John Watts de Peyster (1821-1907).

Originally gifted to the Smithsonian Institution, the collection was transferred to Franklin and Marshall College in 1957 in recognition of General de Peyster's historical relationship as a major benefactor to the College Library. The collection consists of books, pamphlets and maps focusing on the Napoleonic era in Europe from the French Revolution of 1789 until the death of Napoleon in 1821. General de Peyster collected many of the items while traveling in Europe conducting research for his own biography of Napoleon, entitled Napoleone di Buonaparte (1896).

The exhibit will run through October 31, 2008. Enjoy, and please post your comments!

Napoleon Collection Descriptive Bibliography

The library's 1,182 title Watts de Peyster Collection: Napoleon Buonaparte is rich in 19th century imprints about Napoleon and the Napoleonic era. This past semester, a comprehensive collection analysis and descriptive bibliography was compiled by senior French major Nick Way. The 310 page bibliography contains an introduction, scope and content note, statistical analysis, and listing of additional resources on Napoleon. To view the bibliography, please link to the .pdf document below:

Watts de Peyster Collection: Napoleon Bounaparte