A variety of catalogs and reference tools provide access to the French Revolution Collection. All items in this collection should be requested from Special Collections, 4th floor.
Pamphlets with known authors
Pamphlets with known authors are not included in the Newberry Library’s online and card catalogs. The Martin and Walter catalog from the Bibliothèque Nationale (Catalog de l’histoire de la Révolution française, Call # Ref Z2179 P27 and Special Collections Reference area) is annotated to reflect Newberry holdings. In order to request particular pamphlets, use the following formula:
FRC [Martin and Walter volume # . item #]
Thus, for item #2218, listed in Vol. 1 of Martin and Walter, you would request FRC 1.2218.
Authored pamphlets owned by the Newberry Library but not owned by the Bibliothèque Nationale are not indicated in the Martin and Walter catalog. You must request the entire range of Martin and Walter numbers for a particular author in order to see all of the items attributed to that author and held by the Newberry.
Pamphlets with anonymous authors
Anonymously authored pamphlets are included in the Newberry's online catalog with “Case FRC” call numbers. Note: In order to search the online catalog by call number, you must omit the word “Case.”
Vol. 4(2) of Martin and Walter in the SC Reference Collection includes the Case FRC call numbers as well. Note: The Case FRC call numbers do not match the Martin and Walter numbers.
In addition, the anonymously authored pamphlets can be searched chronologically in a separate card file in the 3rd floor Reference area. Shelf lists for cataloged Case FRC items are located in the 3rd floor Reference area and Special Collections.
Periodicals
The FRC collection includes more than 23,000 issues of 180 periodicals. There are complete runs of well-known journals, as well as many rare and unknown publications.
FRC periodicals are included in the Newberry’s online catalog. The call numbers for the Newberry’s FRC periodicals are also listed in Vol. 5 of Martin and Walter. In order to request particular periodicals, use the following formula:
FRC [Martin and Walter volume # . periodical #]
Thus, for periodical #832, listed in Vol. 5 of Martin and Walter, you would request FRC 5.832.
In addition, there is an FRC periodical shelf list in the 3rd floor Reference area at the beginning of the chronological card file of anonymously authored pamphlets.
The Newberry has about 3,000 French political pamphlets published from 1560 to 1653. Nearly all of these pamphlets are individually cataloged in the Newberry’s online catalog.
Doris Welsh’s Checklist of French Political Pamphlets, 1560-1644, in the Newberry Library and A Second Checklist, 1560-1653… may also be used to identify pamphlets in the Newberry. The Welsh checklists are located in the 3rd floor Reference checklist area and in the Special Collections Reference area. The pamphlets included in Welsh have the same basic call number (Case F 39.326, plus year and letters). Consult the Welsh checklists or the catalog for the full call numbers. A Second Checklist, 1560-1653… includes an author/title index for both volumes.
Additional Resource: Lindsay and Neu’s publication French Political Pamphlets, 1547-1648: A Catalog of Major Collections in American Libraries (Call # Ref Z2177.5 L54 and Special Collections Reference area) is annotated with some Newberry holdings.
Jansenist Collection: In the 1970s, the Newberry acquired a Jansenist collection from seminary libraries of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands. A number of pamphlets may be found in this collection. These items are included in the online catalog. There is also a printed catalog for the Newberry Jansenist collection that features chronological, subject, and alphabetical indexes. Copies are available in the checklist area in the 3rd floor Reference area and in the Special Collections Reference area. The Newberry owns additional Jansenist materials not listed in this checklist; please consult the online catalog.
French Laws on Censorship: The John M. Wing Collection contains a collection of French laws concerning regulation of the press from 1513-1829 (around 1,200 items separately listed in the online catalog). Most of the items are royal and parliamentary proclamations that share the same basic call number (Case Wing folio Z144.A1, plus volume and number). These items are arranged chronologically, so the Special Collections shelf list can also be helpful. Additional materials relating to censorship in France may be located using subject and keyword searches.
Trial and Execution of Louis XVI: The Newberry owns a collection of pamphlets (533 items) centered on the trial and execution of Louis XVI. The title of this collection is French Revolutionary pamphlets concerning the trial and execution of Louis XVI (Call # Case Wing DC137.08. F73).
Saint-Sulpice Collection: This recently purchased collection is largely, but not exclusively, French. The assigned title for this collection is Recueil de pieces historiques (Call # sc2762). It comprises 2,566 pamphlets assembled at the end of the eighteenth century for the Sulpician Order. The collection is organized alphabetically by the name of the person described in the individual pamphlet.
Publishers' Prospectuses and Catalogs: Also in the John M. Wing Collection, there are more than 700 book prospectuses in pamphlet form. Most of these prospectuses are French. They date from approximately 1700-1850. An inventory is available (Call # Case Wing Z45.18, microfilm), but most of the individual items are not analyzed in the card or online catalogs. These items share the basic call number (Case Wing Z45.18, plus series and number), so the Special Collections shelf list may also be helpful in identifying titles.
In addition, many catalogs of book dealers and auctions area in pamphlet form. For example, the Newberry owns a small collection of early 19th-century Paris bookseller’s catalogs (Call # Wing Z1036 .S55 1808, with 21 items in one volume). Search the online catalog for these items. The subject heading “Catalogs Booksellers” may be helpful.
Email us at reference@newberry.org