Archives
This archive contains materials related to scientific developments in France, and specifically in relation to the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers in Paris.
Gallica is the home of the digitized collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Digitized materials on Gallica include letters, journals, scientific and medical books, literature, poetry, and music published or written pre-copyright. Gallica is an essential source for anyone studying music, science, or sound in interwar France.
The Bibliothèque Musicale LaGrange-Fleuret is a library and archive that contains materials on late-19th-century and early- to mid-20th century musicians. In addition to housing a sizable library of published books, the Bibliothèque Musicale LaGrange-Fleuret also houses archives of photographs, correspondence, music, memoirs, newspaper and journal articles, and a whole host of additional materials relevant to scholars studying late-19th- and early-20th-century French musicians.
The Bibliothèque Nationale de France, or BnF, is one of the largest libraries of materials related to French history, life, and culture in the world. Located in Paris, the BnF has multiple branches, including (most importantly for this project) a Département de la Musique and a Département des Arts et Spectacles.
In 1916, French fashion designer Jacques Doucet began collecting materials for what would become this rich archive of materials relating to French art, literature, music, and dance from the 19th and 20th centuries. Doucet was well-connected to many artists and musicians of the early- to mid-20th century, making this an incredibly important collection for anyone studying French arts and culture of the period.
This incredible archive houses, amongst other important collections, the Fond Jean Cocteau. Because Cocteau was well-connected with so many significant personalities in 20th-century France, this collection remains essential for anyone studying not just Cocteau, but also Satie, Apollinaire, the composers of Les Six, and a great number of musicians, dancers, artists, and writers active in Cocteau's lifetime.