The Choiseul Snuffbox

The Louvre has acquired the famous "Choiseul snuffbox" from the Rothschild family for the unprecedented sum of €3.9 M,  €1,200,000 of which has been raised by a major public appeal.

Château d’Ermenonville - for sale

Rousseau's last refuge, now run as a hotel and conference centre - is currently on the market   All yours, should you happen to have €12 million to spare!

Madame du Châtelet (article)

The latest edition of Philosophy Now includes a summary biography of  Madame du Châtelet by Andrea Reichenberger, who has also recently contributed a more detailed article to the  Digital Encyclopedia of European History.

The Marquis de Sade's scroll (book)

A well-received new book by the American writer Joel Warner, The Curse of the Marquis de Sade, traces the colourful history of the famous scroll which contains the manuscript of 120 Days of Sodom. 

Living with Kings - a Versailles project

An article in today's Times newspaper showcases the Immersailles Project which maps residents of the Palace of Versailles at three key dates in the 18th century.

Marie-Antoinette mania

An article of 10th February in Town & Country asks the pertinent question, why the obsession with Marie-Antoinette. There is a useful summary of recent auction highlights. 

Jacques Garcia - upcoming sale

Sotheby's in Paris gives advance notice of what promises to be one of the sales of the year...On 16th May, the designer and collector Jacques Garcia offers for auction 75 works of art, many of which once belonged to royalty and nobility...

Letters of Marie-Antoinette - digitisation

The Centre de Recherche at Versailles has launched a new project to find, digitise and publish the complete correspondence of Marie-Antoinette.

New Tom Paine museum in Thetford

The Tom Paine hotel in Thetford unveils ambitious plans for a new £70,000 museum dedicated to the town's most famous son. 

Vaincre et mourir - the dossier

 The film Vaincre et mourir is accompanied by "dossier pédagogique" intended as a guide for teachers. Jean-Clément Martin offers his criticisms in a blog post of 23/01.

Charette movie - thumbs down!

Vaincre ou Mourir!, the film from Puy de Fou on the life of Charette,  is now on general release in France. Predictably it has been caned for its Right-wing bias.  Equally predictably,  "most cinema critics agree that the movie is … bad."  Shame!

A new drawing of Robespierre

 Among the most noteworthy lots items from the collection of  Doctor André Bernheim, auctioned by Giquello et associés on 21st January,  is this remarkable drawing of Robespierre, signed by the pupil of David, Claude Gautherot (Paris, 1769-1825).