Saturday 26 October 2024

Marie-Antoinette's library

Here is an interesting article, just published in a local US newspaper, with some useful references to Marie-Antoinette's libraries.


 Hidden libraries from around the world (classiccitynews.com)

The Palace of Versailles, once the home of French monarchs Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (among others), has many lavish spaces full of large-scale paintings, ostentatious decor, and gilded finishes. It’s also home to multiple libraries, some more obvious than others. Marie Antoinette had one built just for her, but it wasn’t in her grand, ceremonial apartment — it was in the small back rooms reserved for her and her ladies-in-waiting.

Despite a reputation for frivolity, Marie Antoinette was a prolific collector of books, including several volumes that her own husband had banned. Her collection exceeded 10,000 books, and was so large that, despite having another library in her second residence, the Petit Trianon, she eventually had to expand this library into an adjoining room just a couple of years after the original library was finished.

Rodama: a blog of 18th-century & Revolutionary France: Not all frocks and cakes! Marie-Antoinette's library (rodama1789.blogspot.com)

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