Testament olographe d'Esprit Calvet

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Handwritten last will of Esprit-Claude-François CALVET from 10 January 1810

Of the determining considerations, among which I place, in first position, the obligations imposed on me by new laws and a firm desire to make myself even more useful to my country, which commit me and allow me to make a few additions and changes to the previously mentioned arrangements for my estate.

To this end, with this last will, written by my own hand, after having recommended my soul to its Creator and renewed my submission to the dogma of the Catholic faith, I nullify, revoke and cancel all my previous wills, regardless of their date or with whichever notary, or in whatever book, they are found, and I dispose of my estate and its income as follows.

[...]

Bequests from his library to the City of Avignon; formation of a council of eight for the organisation of his library

Driven by a taste for study and celibacy, I proposed myself, at the age of fifteen, to spend the rest of my days creating a public library, something which was lacking in my country; I did so at an age which allowed me to test it myself. The Government, a friend of Letters, has recognised the utility of this institution for many years; thus, without doubting my idea, it finally decided to deal with this matter in our country’s main cities.

The library in Avignon was one of the best provided-for in books, because of the many Religious and Seminary Libraries which had been removed; a huge and monstrous collection was formed. But, with this library, not having been in service for very long, owing to a variety of obstacles, I bequeath, leave behind and donate my own library to the City of Avignon for it to be opened to the public, with its manuscripts, to which I dare to associate my own autographical manuscripts in six, folio, partially bound volumes. To this I also attach all the quarto and octavo manuscripts, bound, or ready to be so, a total of thirty volumes of letters, which I have kept, received from scholars and other outstanding personalities, which, nevertheless, defend the idea that reading is harmful to military study and work, under the strict condition that the books and manuscripts from my collection will be for my library only and will never be combined with those of the library set up by the Government, from which it would propitious to remove a large number of the books. My library will be organised in detail by eight citizens, people of letters, among whom will always be present my three executors and their successors. It will be the role of the Town Council to appoint the five other people.

Ordinarily, the drawing up of good rules ensures the success of a public library: patent letters, devised for the library in Grenoble, awarded in November 1780 and others in May 1789, provide the first known rules: they may serve as a model for my own library, although it is still in its early stages: these documents may be found among my books.

The inclusion of his medal cabinets in the library

Today, my collections of ancient or modern, gold, silver and bronze medals, are contained in the two cabinets in my winter bedroom and belong to my library; these items will never be donated, sold or exchanged neither individually nor as a whole. The other medals, of which there are many, contained in a cabinet overlooking the street, may be removed and sold for the library. The first collection represents a considerable sum of money; some intentions I have had on this subject would appear to be criminal, depriving my country of a pleasure, because this treasure is the first of its kind which has ever been seen within its borders.

The ancient and modern items of different materials, shapes and sizes, contained in my cabinets, of which, I believe, there are approximately four thousand (not including the medals, of which there are approximately twelve thousand), and, in general, all the ancient items which have been catalogued, with only a few omissions, will be housed in my library; even the two large marble statues requiring repair, which used to belong to the tomb of Adrian in Rome; the stones and marble bearing inscriptions will also be part of this. These items, nor the marine organisms and fossils, will never be entered into the library, or the ornithological cabinet which is currently being created.

The inclusion of his natural history collection in the library

My large natural history collection will also be part of my library and will be housed there. It will be necessary to draw up a detailed catalogue of this collection and of the shells: my books, my manuscripts and other ad hoc notes will be of sufficient help for this work, which my present age no longer permits me to take care of.

Bequest of his bust to the library

I also bequeath and leave to my library: 1. my marble bust, a work of art, and the bronze square which forms part of it. The initials, H. B. F. D. Q. stand for Hanc bibliothecam fundavit dotavitque. 2. A small portrait, painted on canvas, in present-day dress. 3. A few original paintings chosen by Mr Dalbouin de Villeneuve. 4. A good copy of a painting, found last century in the baths of Tite, the original of which has been lost, representing the tombs of all the states, in particular, the one which, according to me, our ancestors, especially from our own countries, dedicated sub abscia, and which appear never to have been drawn on the antique; a painting in my own hand, based on Manglart, of a sailor with a triumphal arch will also be attached.

Bequest to the City of Avignon of the library, etc., and for its maintenance, bequest to the same body of all his other belongings not already specifically bequeathed; the City is prohibited from appropriating any of his belongings and income for its own use.

As a result of these preliminaries, I repeat here, loudly and clearly, that I leave, bequest and donate, in perpetuity, to the City of Avignon, my library to be opened to the public, as well as my natural history and antiques cabinets, under the direction of eight men of Letters, of whom I have already spoken; and since it is vital to continue to feed and enrich my library above all, I bequest, leave and donate to the afore-mentioned City for this purpose in perpetuity, as well as for adding to these cabinets, all the belongings which appear below, with the exception of that which I will devote to the poor, which will be verified and recognised by the commissioners appointed ad hoc and presided over by the Mayor, without the afore-mentioned City being able to appropriate any of my funds or income, neither by borrowing, nor in any other way; the remaining money, after the necessary expenses have been deducted, must be invested in land, especially near the City and always for the benefit of my library and its cabinets and must never be used as capital for constituting private income, which I forbid.

My golden bronze clock with a green background, isdevoted to my library; but, a chiming alarm clock, today lying next to my iron bed, is for the bedside of the Director of my library, for as long as he holds the position and fulfils his functions; my smallest bronze clock under glass, will also be for one of the tables in my library.

Nothing from the cabinets and my library will be loaned, sold or transported to another collection, not even any books appearing in double; nobody will be allowed to remove or transcribe any page of manuscript, and no novels will ever be introduced, nor, even more so, any works opposing religious and moral standards. The catalogue of my books can be found in the 3rd volume of my autobiographical manuscripts.

Attribution to the council of eight of the definition of expenses

Since it is important to preserve the income from these establishments for the purchases they require, expenses for them will be defined by the council of eight with the greatest of parsimony.

House to be supplied by the City, man of labour to be paid by the City

The town will supply, at no cost, the house destined to receive the books and objects concerning nature and art; a convent, or even the house and garden occupied by Mr Favier, would appear to be the best suited to this purpose. The Manager or Librarian will reside there with the books for which he will be responsible, the same as for the objects. Service staff will also receive their own residence, as well as the man of labour, who will not be married, to whom the City will pay wages and who will be responsible for any heavy work in the garden; no women will be lodged there.

Sale of his house

Notwithstanding any resolution on this point, I expressly order that none of the books or the cabinets in my home at no. 16, rue Pugelle be sold. This building, along with its furniture, will be sold by auction and their price, with the remaining money, will be placed, after payment of all fees, in cultivable land in the area, free of any buildings, chosen by the majority of the council of eight, to be rented out.

Bequest of 240 pounds to the botanical garden

I bequest, leave and donate for eternity, an annual sum of two hundred and forty pounds to the botanical garden, which will be established at Saint-Martial, if these premises are considered to be sufficiently spacious; this pension will be used to buy plants and trees and never to buy buildings; this garden may, at very little cost, become a public park; botanical lessons, as well as the garden’s management will be entrusted to Mr Guérin, the eldest son, at the expense of the City.

Honorary distinctions to donors

I recommend that the administrators confer honorary distinctions on those who enrich the collections: for example, a gift of books or ancient manuscripts, money or precious objects of a given value, chosen neither arbitrarily nor unreasonably, of six thousand pounds, will earn the donor, even living, his skilfully sculpted bust, if possible in stone from Pernes… If the price of the given object is only three thousand francs, an oil-painted portrait on canvas, with a gold frame, hung with distinction, will suffice… If the donation was greatly higher than this, the administrators will acknowledge it either with an honourable mention in the register, or with the name of the benefactor engraved in copper and exhibited in pride of place.

Recommendations to the executors for supervising the carrying out of the wishes in the present document

I place my trust in the wisdom and zeal of my executors to respect the present will, in which an old age pension is of interest to all their citizens and may, as I wish, become a personal debt for them, contributing to treating illness and encouraging the respect for old age in all its states and providing assistance at an age when one often lacks help. What joy if the protection of the authorities could go so far as to make my debtors pay, without trial, with the same facility that the nation is paid by its own! This attention would be all the more just, considering that the interested parties form a very large and much respected branch of this nation.

Bequest of 1505 francs to the library and charitable works

Every year, all of the income from rent will provide solid and abundant revenue for the payments laid out above; the rest will remain in my library. With regard to the perpetual and inerasable annual consolidated third paid by the nation, this sum of fifteen hundred and five francs, exempts the afore-mentioned revenue from any tax forever, in compensation for my very considerable pensions lost to communes; this third and any of its increases, will be shared forever between my library and charitable works in the town in such a way that, after my death, the first beneficiaries will be the new library and the second, the poor, with the express clause, for this second half-year, of the non-guarantee of my other possessions, which gives rise to the imperative need to supervise this income, as well as any other, and, in particular, annuities from the capital, which are always the most at risk.

Provision to be made by the library

The books to be bought for my library will be chosen by the Council of Eight; the books on medicine will suffice for the present time, excepting any opportunities; they will be chosen, some of them will be expensive and they will be of sufficient number; my library will supply, within reason, ink and paper to known readers who wish to make extracts from books.

Prohibition to sell land, but right to use capital for buying books

If a large library became available for sale, such as that of Mr de Mazaugues and, more recently, the one belonging to Mr de Cambis and Mr d'Aubaïs, containing a large number of major works, especially academic works, efforts will be made to purchase it; but this acquisition may not be possible without using the money from my own property. In this case, cash and capital will be used and land will not be sold.

Appointment of Mr Guérin and Mr Costaing to show the cabinets

For presenting the cabinets on open days, I wish Mr Joseph-Benezet-Xavier Guérin, Doctor and Professor in Botany, or Mr Jean-Joseph-François Costaing, to be chosen, being the two people the most experienced in these objects in the town; their fees will be allocated and paid by the town.

Objects to be conserved

For my cabinets, my two large gold snuffboxes will be conserved, one of which is oval and the other square. It is likely that while I am alive, I will make arrangements for the third one which belonged to my mother. My engraved stones, whether mounted or not, will also be conserved after selection. The largest agate, which bears a Greek inscription in relief, known as the stone of erudition, is at the top of the list of antique items to be identified as a priority; it would be advisable to place under lock and key the glasses and other small precious items. My silverware, after bequests, will be sold for the benefit of my library and its cabinets.

Bequests to charitable works

All types of debts, capital, pensions, returns, etc, which I have not disposed of above and which I will provide details of in what follows, will be devoted, in perpetuity, to charitable works in the town of Avignon, without any guarantees, either for the funds or pensions, or for liquidation costs in the event of a trial; cash will never be included in these donations, nor any bills of exchange and promissory notes. I donate these to my library and cabinets. Since it is possible that charitable administrations may refuse to liquidate some of this capital, in this event, I break and revoke the donation to those whose inclination will be not to proceed with the liquidation; I bequeath and leave these, without notice, to the City of Avignon for some well-chosen poor souls; despite this change, if necessary, half of the consolidated third will remain for the benefit of charitable works, still without eviction or guarantee.

[...]

I limit the present will to the conditions laid out above, never ceasing to insist that the funds and incomes from possessions are applied, without reserve, to their destination and never, for any reason, to a specific individual, whether parent or not, academic body, high school or other, and above all, for no works other than the afore-mentioned.

Prohibition to name the testator in certain documents

I forbid my name to be used in any inscriptions, posters, newspapers, gazettes, printed documents or adverts indicating these donations, declaring that I would have preferred to have kept my former fortune in order to have given to more than the few benefactors mentioned in the present will; at least I would have been able to have saved myself from not having mentioned some noteworthy friends either from this town or from elsewhere.

I wish to point out that the successive events over the past sixteen or seventeen years, having deprived me of all my family possessions, excluding my house, and meant that I have lost money, with these last wishes I only give back to the public that which it has given me during my long years in the exercise of my profession, and, in consequence, this gesture of gratitude should be seen rather as a debt paid to my country, for the trust with which it has honoured me as a doctor over the past forty years; which is why I am able to promise that these present conditions will authorised and maintained without change.

Appointment of my executors

As my executors, I appoint Mr Bertrand, the present Mayor, even if he has ceased to be so; Mr Tempier, Councillor for the Prefecture and Mr de Boutet the Elder, hoping that these virtuous citizens are prepared to reach a common agreement to prevent or resolve any obstacles which may prevent the carrying out of these firm and last wishes.

In recognition of the good work of my executors, I wish for each of them to accept one or more items of his choosing from my collection of silverware, equivalent to a weight of four hundred pounds, representing a total of twelve hundred pounds for all three, distributed between them once only, this first year, when the library will be opened and their management will have commenced. I am well aware that this donation is not very large, but I believe that these generous citizens will be willing to carry out this service for their country, with a lack of personal gain, which is so worthy of them. My library will not be able to provide fees to their successors.

If the important affairs of Mr Bertrand, Mayor, do not leave him enough time to fulfill this new mission, Mr Guérin the father, Health Officer, will be requested to take his place.

Allocation of powers to the executors

My executors, as well as their successors, whom they will appoint in detail, will represent me; they will have the right to receive income from all the possessions bequeathed to my library. The management of the books and cabinets will be decided upon by them; they will preside over the choice and the purchase of books; they will provide payment for the pensions which have been bequeathed and will have at their disposal the revenue required for fulfilling my commitments according to the conditions defined. I also request that, with the Council of Eight, or with some of its members, they renew the farm leases at their respective periods, and pay the fees and taxes, as well as placing any superfluous sums in land investments for the benefit of my library. In the event of the death or the refusal of one of them, the two others will choose a new colleague from the town, a man of letters, not a trader nor a businessman and without calling upon any members of Government, already far too occupied by more important business; this is an attentive and respectable reserve which we owe our leaders.

[...]

It can be seen that the present conditions, apart from the bequests, are solely directed towards my library and charitable works; I believe that I have set up enough measures to ensure and strengthen the distribution of my possessions; therefore, as a final point, I authorise, confirm and ratify this double wish for all time, against the pretensions of any persons, and especially those acting as parents, whether paternal or maternal, to whatever degree or title there is.

A will previously sent to the public library in Marseilles, stitched in canvas, is declared null, as well as another previous document dating from 9 December 1788, two copies of which were given to the notaries, Chambeau the father and Collet the father, on 6 March 1789. In the possible event of the total abandonment of my library, the books and manuscripts, the statues of all sizes, the busts, medals, ancient and modern artifacts, inscribed and engraved stones, rings, selected paintings, as well as the natural history collection with its families of shells, gold snuff boxes and any other objects, will be entrusted, after an arbitrated and commonly used inventory, to the Municipality of Avignon, which, following the advice of the Council of Eight, will place it in a suitable location, far from any other cabinet of books or other objects, which is easily accessible; the land in Avignon and Cavaillon and the capital from these lands for enriching the collections, will be kept for the necessary costs for caring for the botanical collection. After these costs, a specious sum will be kept from the remaining revenue for acquisitions to be made, still favouring relatively ill-established men of letters, studies and the poor; and, without altering, suspending or inhibiting the payment of the bequests and pensions, and, above all, without according any pension, however small, to any other pious work other than charitable works, as defined in the present will.

I warn that having had the greatest of reasons to keep secret the content of this will, I have not allowed myself to consult any businessmen or any other person as to the manner of drawing up this document; as a result of this much-considered omission, it is possible that I have not employed some common formalities. I beg forgiveness for this fault, wishing only that attention be given to the simple expression of the wishes laid out above, without consideration for the form which has been used.

Extracts will be supplied from the present will, in a relevant format, to all companies, charitable houses, administrations and, even, all museums, offices, as well as any interested private individuals, at their own cost, unless, in order to save money, more prompt and simple means are chosen; these signed and certified extracts will be deposited, in perpetuity, in their archives.

Here ends my last and only valid will, dated on the tenth of January, one thousand eight hundred and ten; the details which follow on loose sheets of paper have been added for the convenience of my executors; nevertheless wishing and intending that everything which is named in what follows with my signature is carried out in due form and scale.

Completed and signed the present will, tenth January one thousand eight hundred and ten, in Avignon, at my research office;

Signed: Esprit-Claude-François CALVET, born in Avignon on twenty-eighth of Novmber 1728.

Signature of Esprit-Claude-François CALVET

calvet-signature

Note. I proposed, as stated above, to place here a detailed list of my remaining possessions, but when I started on the work, I fear that my age, the state of my eyesight and my weak condition, did not allow me to complete the task. Therefore, I am forced to renounce this project; my book of reason will compensate for this as well as, in greater length, my original business papers; I ask only and I warmly beg, at the cost of the works which have been named, to proceed with the liquidation of the large and considerable capital destined for charitable works, according to the meaning given in my book of reason.