Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2005 Issue
500 Years of Books from Helen Kahn Rare Books
A page from Darwin's The Descent of Man.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Dickens had it right. The French Revolution was a glorious battle for freedom that quickly devolved into chaos and killing. A couple of pamphlets offered in this catalogue picture that sad deterioration. Item 44 is titled Convention Nationale. Report du Ministre de l'Interieur a la Convention nationale, du 30 Septembre 1792... This pamphlet speaks of the difficulties in maintaining law and order in Paris after the insurrection of August 10, 1792, which overthrew the monarchy. It was written by Jean Marie Roland de la Platiere. Roland, primarily through his wife's influence, had just been restored to the position of Minister of the Interior, from which the King had earlier dismissed him. However, in the excesses of the Revolution, Roland would be accused of being a monarchist within a year and forced to flee to the countryside. His wife was not so fortunate. She was captured and guillotined, her last words being said to be, "O liberty, how they have played with you." On learning of his wife's death, M. Roland committed suicide. $200.
Another such pamphlet comes from Henri Baptiste (Abbe) Gregoire. This is a 1793 pamphlet about vandalism in Paris during the Revolution and how it was destroying public monuments and buildings, as well as leading to the looting of works of art and other national treasures. The Abbe Gregoire was a most remarkable man of the Revolution. He remained loyal and dedicated to the Church and yet was strongly supportive of the republican aims of the Revolution. Few who strongly supported the Church believed in the revolutionary ideals of liberty, while few in the Revolution trusted the authority of the Church. Ultimately, it would cost him his standing with both sides, but his strong and unwavering principles would lead him through times when it looked like he too would be executed, and later through rejection by authorities of his Church. He would survive both the Revolution and Napoleonic era, dying in 1831 at age 81. As this pamphlet implies, the Abbe was also a great proponent of historic preservation. The title is Convention Nationale. Instruction publique. Report sur les destructions operees par le Vandalisme... Item 42. $250.
Now you are invited into the homes of some of the most renowned authors of the 19th century. The book is Homes of American Authors; comprising Anecdotical Personal, and descriptive Sketches, of various writers. This is a D. Appleton edition from 1857. The book includes images of the homes, biographies, and other "anecdotical" information about celebrated writers such as Audubon, Irving, Cooper, Emerson, Hawthorne and Longfellow. Item 3. $450.
