The Fondation Napoleon

Napoleonic Newsdesk

by Paul Chamberlain

This venue is a place of research concerning the First and Second Empires, and encourages research projects that expand our knowledge and interest in all things Napoleonic. The Fondation owns a significant collection of Napoleonica including memorabilia, art, images (including a large and rare collection of post cards) and a collection of rare books. A large part of this collection was bequeathed by Martial Lapeyre, the famous industrialist and Napoleonic history enthusiast. The Foridation awards research grants and literary prizes, and publishes works itself. It is certainly a very important research tool for the serious Napoleonic historian.

The Bibliothique 'Martial Lapeyre' is a library for the two Empires which is open to all, allowing access to the complete collection of the Moniteur and the Journal de l'Empire, more than 800 memoirs, 5,000 works on the two Empires, nearly 35 current history periodicals, the most recent bibliographical works in English, German and Italian, access to the Multimedia room, research assistance from the Fondation's staff, and a digital catalogue for the library.

There is only one condition for entry and that is that you must have an interest in, or be researching a particular aspect of, the history of the First or Second Empires. The Bibliotheque 'Martial Lapeyre' is situated at 148 boulevard Haussmann, 75008, Paris, and is open Monday Ipm-6pm, Tuesday 4pm-9pm, Wednesday Ipm-6pni and Thursday 10am-3pm. Email: infonnation@napoleon.org

The Fondation Napoleon has two websites. The general interest site may be found at www.napoleon.org and consists of over 20,000 pages presenting the history of the two Empires. It is bilingual (French and English) and offers a free weekly email newsletter that visitors may sign up for. This provides information on Napoleonic events taking place around the world plus new articles on the period. The site for Napoleonic primary sources on line may be found at www.napoleonica.org and here may be seen rare or previously unpublished documents of the period. The site currently presents 4000 documents taken from the archives of the Conseil d'Etat. New documents are added every six months. A highpowered search engine and detailed introductions to the collections aid users in their search for information.

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