Books with Royal Bookplates

Louis Joseph de France

Louis Joseph de France (Louis Joseph Xavier François de France; 1781-1789) was the second child and elder son of King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, Louis XVIII's nephew and Carl X. As the eldest son and heir apparent, he was Dauphin of France until his death. He died at the age of seven from tuberculosis. Death overtook the Dauphin during the general assembly representing the French estates of the realm. On the occasion of the death of the heir to the throne, their session was interrupted, but contemporaries misapprehend it as an attempt to dissolute the assembly. As a result, the representatives of the Third Estate met separately, renamed themselves the National Constituent Assembly and swore to establish the French Constitution. These events served as the impetus for the beginning of the revolution.

Chamousset, Claude-Humbert Piarron de (1717-1773).

Œuvres de M. de Chamousset, contenant ses projets d'humanité, de bienfaisance et de patriotisme: Précédées de son Éloge, dans lequel on trouve une analyse suivie de ses ouvrages; par M. l'abbé Cotton Des-Houssayes, Docteur & ancien bibliothécaire de la maison & société de Sorbonne, chanoine de l'église métropolitaine de Rouen, membre de l'académie de la même ville, associé de celles de Lyon & de Caen. — A Paris : de l'imprimerie de Ph.-D. Pierres, 1783. — 2 vols.

8° (128 Ñ… 202 mm). A red marocain binding with gold embossing. the first volume contains the super ex libris of Charles, Count of Artois (future of Charles X) — Count's coat of arms is placed on the front and back covers (is established by: OHR, pl. 2550, no.6). The second volume has the super ex libris of Louis Joseph de France — the Dauphine's coat of arms is placed on the front and back covers, (is established by: OHR, pl. 2530, no.1).

Shelf mark: 16.68.9.23

The first volume «Works of Claude Humbert Piarron de Chamousset» contains the super ex libris of Charles, Count of Artois (future of Charles X), the second volume of the same edition has the super ex libris of Louis Joseph de France, died at the age of seven (1781-1789). It is not known how exactly these two volumes were connected with their two owners.

Claude Humbert Piarron de Chamousset (1717-1773) was a noted philanthropist of pre-revolutionary France, who devoted his life to improving society, he was the originator of numerous projects. Most of them now seem naive-utopian, but some were successfully implemented, for example, he established mutual benefit societies, hospitals for the poor, a new postal system. In the 19th century, the activities of Claude Humbert Piarron de Chamousset with his associates was regarded as an unrealized alternative to a better organization of civil society.