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| Vattemere, from the BPL website |
If Alexandre Vattemare were alive today he might have felt a little smug about his life’s work but, unfortunately, his ideas about cultural exchange were about a century and a half ahead of their time and he is only now getting some of the recognition he deserved.
Vattemare was a Frenchman, born in 1796, and a founding father of the Boston Public Library. BPL’s website notes that he was an, “ advocate of the establishment of a public library in Boston...after 1827 devoted his time and private fortune to the promotion of a system of international exchange of books.” While this is true, there is a little more to the story, revealed in a biographical article written by Suzanne Nash, entitled Alexandre Vattemare: A 19th Century Story.
Vattemare’s dream was to set up a public institution for the “universal dissemination” of culture. For 25 years, he travelled around the world sharing his obsession of linking cultural institutions together to share their prized possessions and, hopefully, spread a little understanding.
Vattemare was a Frenchman, born in 1796, and a founding father of the Boston Public Library. BPL’s website notes that he was an, “ advocate of the establishment of a public library in Boston...after 1827 devoted his time and private fortune to the promotion of a system of international exchange of books.” While this is true, there is a little more to the story, revealed in a biographical article written by Suzanne Nash, entitled Alexandre Vattemare: A 19th Century Story.
Vattemare’s dream was to set up a public institution for the “universal dissemination” of culture. For 25 years, he travelled around the world sharing his obsession of linking cultural institutions together to share their prized possessions and, hopefully, spread a little understanding.
At first he travelled around Europe and got letters of agreement from Prussia, Bavaria, Austria, Holland, Belgium and Russia, but in his home country of France, they only agreed with his vision on paper. He was brushed off and stalled by the French Government so many times that he finally set up a private office and took off on his own to share and collect.
But he found the most receptive group in the United States and Canada. All thirteen original colonies were eager to share the documents that represented their culture and handed over books, maps, artwork and cultural objects along with money to support his mission. Philadelphia presented him with a copy of the Constitution and John S. Meehan, head Librarian of Congress, said that Vattemare’s "legacy would be honored and respected by countries around the world." Vattemare hauled his treasures back to Paris to create an American Library in Paris.
This was the quest that led Vattemare to Boston in 1840 where he encouraged the small, separate libraries of Boston to come together as one to serve the public and eliminate duplicate books and treasures (that could then be shared with other places!). The libraries weren’t interested, while it was a nice idea, they were happy with the status quo and weren’t that interested in sharing their hallowed grounds with the unwashed masses.
But the Mayor of Boston, Josiah Quincy, was interested. Josiah and his family became close friends of Vattemare, who stayed at Quincy’s home while in Boston. Josiah Quincy believed enough to make the first donation to begin a public library, $5,000, contingent on a $10,000 donation by the city and the requirement that “the library should be as fully used by all, as may be consistent with the safe-keeping of the property."
Quincy’s contribution and Vattemare’s exchange of French books in 1843, 1847 and 1849 were catalysts that led to the birth of the Boston Public Library on March 20, 1854. It was Quincy’s son who was responsible, twenty years after Vattemare’s death, for a plaque commemorating Vattemare’s founding role in the BPL in the entrance hall.
By the time BPL was lending out books, Vattemare’s project was finding success. Thousands of books, coins, engravings, letters, official documents and drawings had been exchanged between the U.S., France and Canada. In 1848 Vattemare received the backing of the Congress who agreed to pay him almost $6,000 a year to continue his work and by 1860 he was responsible for 300,000 volumes of material travelling to new lands.
But Vattemare’s story is not a simple one...he was not the average philanthropist on a mission to “do good”, and his fortune did not come as a result of banking, railroads or nobility but as a world famous ventriloquist...
But he found the most receptive group in the United States and Canada. All thirteen original colonies were eager to share the documents that represented their culture and handed over books, maps, artwork and cultural objects along with money to support his mission. Philadelphia presented him with a copy of the Constitution and John S. Meehan, head Librarian of Congress, said that Vattemare’s "legacy would be honored and respected by countries around the world." Vattemare hauled his treasures back to Paris to create an American Library in Paris.
This was the quest that led Vattemare to Boston in 1840 where he encouraged the small, separate libraries of Boston to come together as one to serve the public and eliminate duplicate books and treasures (that could then be shared with other places!). The libraries weren’t interested, while it was a nice idea, they were happy with the status quo and weren’t that interested in sharing their hallowed grounds with the unwashed masses.
But the Mayor of Boston, Josiah Quincy, was interested. Josiah and his family became close friends of Vattemare, who stayed at Quincy’s home while in Boston. Josiah Quincy believed enough to make the first donation to begin a public library, $5,000, contingent on a $10,000 donation by the city and the requirement that “the library should be as fully used by all, as may be consistent with the safe-keeping of the property."
Quincy’s contribution and Vattemare’s exchange of French books in 1843, 1847 and 1849 were catalysts that led to the birth of the Boston Public Library on March 20, 1854. It was Quincy’s son who was responsible, twenty years after Vattemare’s death, for a plaque commemorating Vattemare’s founding role in the BPL in the entrance hall.
By the time BPL was lending out books, Vattemare’s project was finding success. Thousands of books, coins, engravings, letters, official documents and drawings had been exchanged between the U.S., France and Canada. In 1848 Vattemare received the backing of the Congress who agreed to pay him almost $6,000 a year to continue his work and by 1860 he was responsible for 300,000 volumes of material travelling to new lands.
But Vattemare’s story is not a simple one...he was not the average philanthropist on a mission to “do good”, and his fortune did not come as a result of banking, railroads or nobility but as a world famous ventriloquist...
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