Historic note on the Calvet Museum
The end of the Municipal Library
Historic note on the Calvet Museum of Avignon by F. DIGONNET, Administrator of the Calvet Museum
Avignon, 1901.
After returning to the churches the paintings which, for many years, formed the Municipal Museum of Avignon, the Municipality was left with ownership of the Municipal Library, created by the Government from the books confiscated from religious establishments during the Revolutionary period.
These were, almost exclusively, volumes on theology, history and ecclesiastical exegesis or civil and canonical law, much of which was in four or five copies. An “immense and monstrous collection” said Calvet in his will, “from which it would be propitious to remove a large number of the books.”
The Municipality, with its lack of resources, despaired of being able to add enough books to this old ecclesiastical collection to interest scholars and most readers. Furthermore, it believed that the two public libraries were an excessive luxury for Avignon and, thus, decided to donate its own library to the Calvet Museum.
But, the administrators of this establishment refused this donation because Calvet had prohibited formally that his public library be combined with any other.
The Municipality repeated its request and was curious to see the arguments by which it could succeed in convincing the Administration of the Calvet Museum.
On 31 July 1820, the Municipal Council of Avignon convened an extraordinary council session and the reporter insisted on demonstrating that the prohibition laid down by Calvet stating that his books and art objects should not be combined with other collections was not an obstacle to the project.
“Mr Calvet”, he said, *“no doubt wanted to explain, through man’s natural instinct for survival, that he feared that by arbitrarily leaving others the leisure to move, combine and introduce his books into other establishments, the fixed and long-lasting nature which he wished to give to his foundation would not be known and, also, that his memory would be forgotten; that, if this prohibitive clause was explained differently it would not mean that doing so would be a shocking contradiction; that, effectively, Mr Calvet having planned the eventuality that the donation of the books would be made to his library and, in advance, applauded this means to increase its value, it should be concluded that the City of Avignon could, as simple private individuals, make use of its right to make a donation…"
“That not only is it possible to do so… but that we must do so:"
“1 In memory of the founder and to give greater credence and fame to his establishment;"
“2 Because it is not necessary for Avignon to have two public libraries;"
“3 Because by remaining separate from the City’s library, the Calvet library will not achieve sufficiently quickly the importance of being an establishment of this nature.*"
“The Municipal Council, In view of the will of Mr Calvet, Adopting the decision of the Commission for the reasons developed in the report above, Has decided to give to the Calvet Museum, the Library and the Natural History Cabinet belonging to the Municipality of Avignon; to combine, by means of this donation, in the premises of St-Martial, these two establishments under one roof under the name of the Calvet Museum."
"* … Thus decided upon and agreed in the session at which were present Messrs Soulier, Mayor; de Renoard; Guintrandy; Verger; de Blanchetti; Besse; Denis Michel; Chabran; de la Batie; Test; Lesourd; de Bertrand; Michaëlis; Deleutre; Roque; Rolland; Clément; Poncet; Moutte, Dérat, municipal councillors who signed the present record.*”
It would appear that such an explicit decision would remove any difficulties.
Nevertheless, it was only six years later that during another meeting of the Municipal Council, presided over by a different Mayor and comprising different councillors, the offer of the donation by the City was reiterated in the session of 12 March 1826, and the administration of the Calvet Museum decided to accept the following decision:
Extract from the Registry of Decisions of the administration of the Calvet Museum
Session of the 8 January 1826.
The Baron of Montfaucon, the Mayor of this City, explained that the Municipal Council, in the sessions of 31 July 1820 and 12 March 1826, decided to give to the Calvet Museum and Calvet library, the library and the natural history cabinet belonging to the city and to combine the two establishments in one single institution under the name of the Calvet Museum. After having read these decisions, he proposed to vote on the acceptance of this donation.
The administration, welcoming the proposal of the Mayor,
Considering that the will of Mr Calvet authorises it to accept donations which may be made to it in the form of books, manuscripts, money and precious objects;
That for all the reasons mentioned in the decisions of the Council, the donation offered presents a considerable asset for the Calvet Museum;
That, in consequence, there is reason to request, under the terms of article 937 of the Civil Code, the authorisation to accept it; …
For these reasons,
The Administration decided to request from the government the authorisation to accept the donation from the Municipal Council of the City’s library and natural history cabinet, reserving the right to sell or exchange any existing works which existed in several copies in the library…
And the members who signed were.
Jules Teste; de Michel-Beaulieu; the Baron of Montfaucon; Tempier; Requien.
Six months later, the City and the administration of the Calvet Museum received official approval:
Minister for the Interior
Order:
We, Minister, Secretary of State to the Department for the Interior, In accordance with the wishes expressed by the Municipal Council of the City of Avignon, Decide the following:
Article 1
The City of Avignon is authorised to combine the Municipal Library with the Calvet Museum.
Article 2
Any copies of books found in this Library may be sold to buy new works.
Paris, 20 July 1826.
Signed: CORBIÈRE.
For approval:
- The Councillor for State, Secretary General,
- Signed: Baron CAPELLE.
The affair followed all the legal and administrative procedures:
1 Offer of donation made by the Municipal Council, not in an unconsidered manner, but repeated twice in a six year period by two Mayors and two different Municipal Councils;
2 Acceptance of the Board of Directors of the Calvet Museum;
3 Governmental authorisation.
Despite the administrative formalities, the importance of this donation of the Municipal Library must not be exaggerated.
Its main impact was to add to the Calvet Museum the large number of books and manuscripts from the convents and seminaries removed during the Revolution. Today, its library forms one of the largest theological collections in France, as Abbot Danguy, Director of the Grand-Seminary of Avignon, said recently.
Although this category of book many not be consulted by the majority of readers, it, nevertheless, forms an interesting complement for research conducted by theologians and scholars.
As for the natural history cabinet, also donated to the Calvet Museum, it contained absolutely nothing of any importance.
Here is what the naturalist Requien said about it in the act with which he formed the collections of the Museum which bears his name:
“The City, by combining the library and its annexes with the Calvet Museum, has given us only a few birds, badly stuffed by Mr Costaing, in such a bad state of conservation that they fell prey to insects and it was necessary to dispose of them; the few minerals and shells are not even worth mentioning.”
But, what was important in the City’s donation was the fact that after the disappearance of the Municipal Museum, as a result of the return of paintings to the churches, this Municipal Library was closed, after having remained in an embryonic state, with books, without readers, which had fallen prey to irremediable mould, a fact which was noted and deplored by the Municipal Council in its decision of 11 March 1820.
From that point on, in Avignon, there was no longer a Municipal Museum, or a Municipal Library, but one museum and one public library, which has always paid honour to its founder through its official name, the Calvet Museum.
