New Book | Revolutionary Things: Material Culture and Politics
From Yale UP:
Ashli White, Revolutionary Things: Material Culture and Politics in the Late Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2023), 392 pages, ISBN: 978-0300259018, $50.
How objects associated with the American, French, and Haitian revolutions drew diverse people throughout the Atlantic world into debates over revolutionary ideals
Historian Ashli White explores the circulation of material culture during the American, French, and Haitian revolutions, arguing that in the late eighteenth century, radical ideals were contested through objects as well as in texts. She considers how revolutionary things, as they moved throughout the Atlantic, brought people into contact with these transformative political movements in visceral, multiple, and provocative ways. Focusing on a range of objects—ceramics and furniture, garments and accessories, prints, maps, and public amusements—White shows how material culture held political meaning for diverse populations. Enslaved and free, women and men, poor and elite—all turned to things as a means to realize their varied and sometimes competing visions of revolutionary change.
Ashli White is associate professor of history at the University of Miami. She is the author of Encountering Revolution: Haiti and the Making of the Early Republic.
New Book | Nicolas-Guy Brenet (1728–1792)
From Arthena:
Marie Fournier, with a preface by Christine Gouzi, Nicolas-Guy Brenet (1728–1792) (Paris: Arthena, 2023), 360 pages, ISBN: 978-2903239718, €110.
Peintre emblématique du renouveau de la peinture d’Histoire avant la Révolution française, Nicolas-Guy Brenet fut l’élève de Charles Antoine Coypel, de François Boucher et de Carle Vanloo. Sa brillante carrière académique illustre l’ascension sociale et institutionnelle d’un homme issu d’un milieu modeste de graveurs. Après sa participation au cycle de l’histoire de Saint Louis pour la chapelle de l’École militaire en 1773, le succès des Honneurs rendus au connétable Du Guesclin par la Ville de Randon exposé au Salon de 1777 (Paris, musée du Louvre) fit de lui l’artiste le plus sollicité pour les commandes destinées à encourager la peinture d’Histoire sous le règne de Louis XVI. Ses nombreux retables peints pour les églises de province illustrent le dynamisme encore trop méconnu des commandes du clergé jusqu’à la Révolution. Professeur reconnu, il forma de nombreux élèves, dont le baron Gérard et Jean-Germain Drouais, mais demeura sans véritable postérité artistique et la critique du XIXe siècle lui reprocha d’incarner le “goût de son époque, répandu dans ses tableaux.” La découverte d’oeuvres inédites et de nouveaux documents d’archives permet d’éclairer la production d’un peintre talentueux, témoin des évolutions artistiques de la fin du siècle des Lumières.
Diplômée de l’École du Louvre et docteur en histoire de l’art de Sorbonne-Université où elle a été chargée de cours, Marie Fournier a soutenu sa thèse sur le peintre Nicolas-Guy Brenet en janvier 2022. Chercheuse indépendante, elle rédige des catalogues pour des collectionneurs et collabore scientifiquement à des projets d’expositions avec des galeries et des musées.
Call for Papers | Anna Dorothea Therbusch in Context
From the Call for Papers:
Anna Dorothea Therbusch in Context: 18th Century (Women) Artists in Berlin and Europe
Kulturforum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 26–27 September 2024
Organized by Nuria Jetter and Sarah Salomon
Proposals due by 17 September 2023
Born into the Prussian painter family Lisiewsky, Anna Dorothea Therbusch (1721–1782) achieved a remarkable international career in the 18th century, at a time when women’s access to artistic training and academies was structurally impeded. After training with her father Georg Lisiewsky and being influenced by the artistic taste of the Frederician Rococo (Watteau, Pesne, and others), Therbusch devoted herself to the education of her children for twenty years. It was not until 1761, at the age of almost forty, that she began to vigorously pursue her artistic ambitions in a professional manner.
After artistically productive stations at the courts of Stuttgart and Mannheim and admission to the academies of Stuttgart and Bologna, Anna Dorothea Therbusch spent about two years in Paris from summer 1766 to fall 1768. There, not without resistance, she was accepted into the Académie royale with a candlelight painting inspired by Dutch art. She exhibited at the Salon and socialized, among others, with the encyclopedist and art critic Denis Diderot, the engraver Johann Georg Wille, and Prince Golitsyn, who worked as an art agent for Catherine II. In 1768 Therbusch was admitted to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. She returned to Berlin via Brussels and the Netherlands.
Back in Berlin since 1769, the painter occupied a studio on Unter den Linden in 1772/73, where she worked temporarily with her brother Christoph Friedrich Reinhold Lisiewsky. She became a sought-after portraitist of Berlin high society, also working for the Russian court, and her mythological history paintings had success with Frederick II.
The Berlin Gemäldegalerie is currently conducting an art-historical and art-technological research project on Anna Dorothea Therbusch’s paintings held in the collections of the Staatliche Museen in Berlin. The resulting publication will provide new insights into the materials and working methods used by the artist and, with the participation of other public collections in Berlin and Brandenburg, will also present their holdings of Therbusch’s works. This is the occasion to further broaden the view of the artist and her work within the framework of a specialist symposium. It is to bring together researchers in order to illuminate Therbusch’s work in larger art historical contexts, to share insights, and to point out further research perspectives.
Of particular interest are proposals for presentations on the following topics:
1 Therbusch’s artistic models and her working environment
Which artists did she orientate herself on, which paintings and collections was she able to study in Prussia and on her travels? What was Therbusch’s working environment like and how did she relate to other artists?
2 Therbusch’s working methods and the thematic range of her oeuvre
What can be said about the processes of creation and execution of Therbusch’s paintings on the basis of art-technological findings and comparisons of works? Where can she be located concerning her painting technique? What were the significance and function of her genre and historical paintings? What modes of representation did she choose for her portraits?
3 Therbusch’s networks and career strategies
How did Therbusch obtain her commissions in Prussia, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Paris (and possibly beyond)? Which acquaintances and family or aristocratic connections could she have used for this purpose? Who were her clients and patrons? How did she promote herself?
4 The early reception of the painter and her work by contemporaries and up to the early 19th century
Please submit your proposal for a 20-minute presentation (preliminary title, abstract of 300 words max., short biography) in English or German by 17 September 2023 to Nuria Jetter (n.jetter@smb.spk-berlin.de) and Dr. Sarah Salomon (s.salomon@smb.spk-berlin.de). The symposium will take place on 26 and 27 September 2024 at the Kulturforum near Potsdamer Platz (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Matthäikirchplatz). If funds are available, a travel allowance will be granted.
s e l e c t e d b i b l i o g r a p h y
Reidemeister 1924
Leopold Reidemeister, “Anna Dorothea Therbusch – ihr Leben und Werk,” Dissertation Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin, unveröffentlicht (Typoskript), Berlin 1924.
Ausst.-Kat. Potsdam-Sanssouci 1971
Anna Dorothea Therbusch 1721–1782. Ausstellung zum 250. Geburtstag im Kulturhaus „Hans Marchwitza“, Ausst.-Kat. Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Potsdam-Sanssouci 1971, bearb. v. Gerd Bartoschek, Potsdam 1971.
Berckenhagen 1987
Eckhart Berckenhagen, “Anna Dorothea Therbusch,” in: Zeitschrift des deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft XLI, Heft 1, 1987, 118–160.
Dalinghaus 1987
Ruth Irmgard Dalinghaus, “Anna Dorothea Therbusch,” in: Das verborgene Museum I. Dokumentation der Kunst von Frauen in Berliner öffentlichen Sammlungen, Ausst.-Kat. Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin, 1987–88, Berlin 1987, 112–116.
Küster-Heise 1999
Katharina Küster-Heise, “Sie war in allem Betracht eine seltene und verdienstvolle Frau. Anna Dorothea Therbusch, die Berliner Porträtistin Carl Theodors,” in: Lebenslust und Frömmigkeit. Kurfürst Carl Theodor (1724–1799) zwischen Barock und Aufklärung, Bd. 1: Handbuch, Ausst.-Kat. Städtisches Reiss-Museum Mannheim 1999, hrsg. v. Alfried Wieczorek u. Hansjörg Probst, Regensburg 1999, 255–260.
Bajou 2000
Thierry Bajou, “Eine deutsche Künstlerin im Paris des 18. Jahrhunderts. Anna Dorothea Therbusch,” in: Jenseits der Grenzen. Französische und deutsche Kunst vom Ancien Régime bis zur Gegenwart. Thomas W. Gaehtgens zum 60. Geburtstag, Bd. 1: Inszenierung der Dynastien, hrsg. v. Uwe Fleckner, Martin Schieder, Michael F. Zimmermann u. Thomas W. Gaehtgens, eine Veröffentlichung des Deutschen Forums für Kunstgeschichte (Paris), Köln 2000, 149–268.
Ausst.-Kat. Ludwigsburg 2002
Der freie Blick. Anna Dorothea Therbusch und Ludovike Simanowiz. Zwei Porträtmalerinnen des 18. Jahrhunderts, Ausst.-Kat. Städtisches Museum Ludwigsburg 2002/3, bearbeitet von Katharina Küster und Beatrice Scherzer, Heidelberg 2002.
Michaelis 2002
Die Deutschen Gemälde des 18. Jahrhunderts. Kritischer Bestandskatalog, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Gemäldegalerie, Berlin 2002 [darin Eintrag zu Therbusch und ihren Gemälden der Gemäldegalerie, 224–234].
Küster-Heise 2008
Katharina Küster-Heise, “Anna Dorothea Therbusch, geb. Lisiewska 1721–1782. Eine Malerin der Aufklärung. Leben und Werk,” Dissertation Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, 2008. [Als Mikrofilm in Bibliotheken verfügbar].
Bartoschek 2010
“Gemeinsam stark? Anna Dorothea Therbusch und ihre Zusammenarbeit mit Christoph Friedrich Reinhold Lisiewsky,” in: Christoph Friedrich Reinhold Lisiewsky (1725–1794), Ausst.-Kat. Kulturstiftung DessauWörlitz/Staatliches Museum Schwerin 2010-11, Berlin/München 2010, 77–84.
Kovalevski 2010
Bärbel Kovalevski, “‘Es ist eine Ehre, sich auf dem Niveau der großen Künstler zu sehen […].’ (Barbara Rosina de Gasc, 1768). Malerinnen der Familie Lisiewsky,” in: Ausst.-Kat. Kulturstiftung DessauWörlitz/Staatliches Museum Schwerin 2010–11, Berlin/München 2010, 77–84.
Lange 2017
Justus Lange, “Ehefrau – Schwester – Lehrerin. Anna Dorothea Therbuschs Doppelbildnis in Kassel im Kontext unterschiedlicher Deutungen,” in: Künstlerinnen. Neue Perspektiven auf ein Forschungsfeld der Vormoderne, hrsg. v. Birgit Ulrike Münch, Andreas Tacke, Markwart Herzog, Sylvia Heudecker, Petersberg 2017.
Kovalevski 2022
Bärbel Kovalevski, Barbara Rosina Lisiewska (1713–1783). Hofmalerin in Berlin und Braunschweig. Bildnisse mit Geschichten, Berlin 2022.
Vogtherr 2022
Christoph Martin Vogtherr, “Anna Dorothea Therbusch’s ‘Morceau de reception’ for the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture,” in: Mélanges autour du dessin en l’honneur d’Emmanuelle Brugerolles, Mailand 2022, 213–216.
Wadsworth Atheneum Acquires a Portrait by Rosalba Carriera
From the press release (10 July 2023). . .
Rosalba Carriera, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1730, pastel on paper, laid down on canvas, 24 × 18 inches (Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Charles H. Schwartz Endowment Fund).
The Wadsworth Atheneum has acquired an outstanding work by Rosalba Carriera (widely known as ‘Rosalba’), the most famous woman artist working in the eighteenth century and admired as a pioneering and brilliant pastellist. Portrait of a Gentleman (ca. 1730), was created when she reached the height of her career, portraying the upper echelons of society with a deft hand and observational sensitivity. It is the first example of the artist’s work in the Wadsworth Atheneum’s collection.
Rosalba (1675–1757) started her career as a miniaturist, but she became best known for her skill with pastels—her technical and artistic innovations elevating the uniquely powdery medium to great popularity among artists and collectors. Royalty, cardinals, and cognoscenti across Europe commissioned portraits and allegories from her. It quickly attracted admirers and younger followers such as Jean-Étienne Liotard and Maurice Quentin de la Tour.
“Portrait of a Gentleman is a work of rare elegance and grace—it is also an exemplary work by Rosalba. The freshness and radiance of the colors as well as the vaporous quality of the surface truly distinguish this work and lend to its liveliness. That we are as yet unable to definitively identify the sitter is secondary to the captivating beauty of this portrait,” said Oliver Tostmann, Susan Morse Hilles Curator of European Art at the Wadsworth.
The figure depicted was first identified as the legendary art collector Pierre Crozat, and later as Louis Armand II de Bourbon, Prince de Conti; neither suggestion, however, has been verified. The sitter poses with torso in profile and his head positioned toward the viewer, nearly achieving contact while maintaining a slight aloofness. With his magnificent shoulder length wig, damask justaucorps coat, and splendid red vest embellished with gold embroidery and buttons, this handsome sitter was clearly someone of status and rank.
“This breathtaking portrait will greatly enrich our growing collection of works on paper. Not only is it a work of the highest quality, but it is also from the hand of the most celebrated pastellist of the eighteenth century. We are proud to welcome Portrait of a Gentleman into the Wadsworth’s collection and look forward to sharing Rosalba Carriera’s brilliance with our visitors very soon,” said Matthew Hargraves, Director of the Wadsworth Atheneum.
Exhibition | New Nation, Many Hands
Unidentified maker, Powder Horn, 1802, Lisbon, Connecticut, cow horn, pine, and iron (Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, James L. Goodwin Art Purchase Fund, 2023.22.1).
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Now on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum:
New Nation, Many Hands
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, June 29–ongoing
Curated by Philippe Halbert
Political independence from Great Britain in 1783 transformed American society, and citizens celebrated the promise of their young republic through art. Acknowledging the complexities and contradictions of the era, New Nation, Many Hands presents a cross-section of objects from the permanent collection that shaped emerging American identities and the ongoing fight for freedom. Household goods, from ceramics and furniture to metalwork and textiles, combined practicality with patriotism in the early years of the United States. Some of the objects reflect changing fashions, distinct regional styles, and expanded trade networks. Others express pride in the new nation and hope for its future. All reveal stories of the people who created, used, cherished, and benefited from them during a formative moment in American history.
New Book | French Silver in the J. Paul Getty Museum
From the Getty:
Charissa Bremer-David, with contributions by Jessica Chasen, Arlen Heginbotham, and Julie Wolfe, French Silver in the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2023), 178 pages, ISBN: 978-1606068281, $55, with digital copies available free.
Vividly illustrated, this is the first comprehensive catalogue of the J. Paul Getty Museum’s celebrated collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French silver.
The collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French silver at the J. Paul Getty Museum is of exceptional quality and state of preservation. Each piece is remarkable for its beauty, inventive form, skillful execution, illustrious provenance, and the renown of its maker. This volume is the first complete study of these exquisite objects, with more than 250 color photographs bringing into focus extraordinary details such as minuscule makers’ marks, inscriptions, and heraldic armorials. The publication details the formation of the Museum’s collection of French silver, several pieces of which were selected by J. Paul Getty himself, and discusses the regulations of the historic Parisian guild of gold- and silversmiths that set quality controls and consumer protections. Comprehensive entries catalogue a total of thirty-three pieces with descriptions, provenance, exhibition history, and technical information. The related commentaries shed light on the function of these objects and the roles they played in the daily lives of their prosperous owners. The book also includes maker biographies and a full bibliography.
Reflecting Getty’s commitment to open content, the free online edition of this publication is available here, with 360-degree views and zoomable high-resolution photography. Also available are free PDF and EPUB downloads of the book, and JPG downloads of the main catalogue images. For readers who wish to have a bound reference copy, this paperback edition is available for sale.
Charissa Bremer-David retired in 2020 from her role as curator in the Department of Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Jessica Chasen is an associate objects conservator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Previously, she was an assistant conservator in Decorative Arts and Sculpture Conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum and in Science at the Getty Conservation Institute.
Arlen Heginbotham is conservator of decorative arts and sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Julie Wolfe is conservator of decorative arts and sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
c o n t e n t s
Foreword by Timothy Potts
Acknowledgments
Introduction: J. Paul Getty as a Silver Collector and the Formation of the Museum’s French Silver Collection
Note to the Reader I: Stamps and Marks
Note to the Reader II: Historic Units of Measure and Currency
Catalogue
1 Water Fountain (Fontaine), transformed from a Water Flagon (Buire), with Technical Summary by Jessica Chasen
2 Lidded Bowl (Écuelle couverte)
3 Pair of Tureens, Liners, and Stands (Paire de terrines, doublures et plateaux)
4 Pair of Decorative Bronzes: Sugar Casters in the Form of Cane Field Laborers (Sucriers à poudre en forme d’ouvriers des champs de canne)
5 Two Sugar Casters (Deux sucriers à poudre)
6 Pair of Lidded Tureens, Liners, and Stands (Paire de pots à oille couverts, doublures et plateaux)
7 Tray for Lidded Beakers (Gantière pour gobelets couverts)
8 La Machine d’Argent, or Centerpiece for a Table (Surtout de table)
9 Sauceboat on Stand (Saucière sur support)
10 Two Girandoles (Deux girandoles)
• Maker Biographies
• Appendix: Silver Alloy Analysis by X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy — Jessica Chasen, Arlen Heginbotham, and Julie Wolfe
Bibliography
About the Authors
Exhibition | Porcelain from Versailles: Vases for a King & Queen
Five Lidded Vases, 1781, Sèvres porcelain manufactory; soft-paste porcelain. A set of vases des âges (‘vases of the ages’), this garniture of five vases, originally owned by King Louis XVI, includes three sizes referencing different stages of life: a large central vase with handles in the shape of bearded male heads, a pair of smaller vases with heads of young women, and a pair of still smaller vases with the heads of boys. The scenes painted on the fronts of the vases show episodes from The Adventures of Telemachus, one of the king’s favorite books. The Getty Museum owns three of the original five vases, while the two smallest now belong to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. More information is available here»
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Now on view at The Getty:
Porcelain from Versailles: Vases for a King & Queen
Getty Center, Los Angeles, 14 February 2023 — 3 March 2024
Lidded Vase, 1775–76, Sèvres porcelain manufactory; hard-paste porcelain with gilt-bronze mounts (National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon). This is the center vase from a garniture of three vessels owned by Queen Marie-Antoinette.
This exhibition brings together two of the most extraordinary surviving sets of vases owned by King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette of France during the late 1700s. The vases are among the highest achievements of the Sèvres porcelain manufactory made before the French Revolution, becoming personal treasures of the royal family at the time. They were initially kept at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, the royal family’s primary residence, and are a testament to the exemplary skills of the artists who took part in their creation. This exhibition reunites all eight vases, which were separated during the Revolution, offering the rare opportunity to appreciate the craftsmanship and design of the ensembles.
The loan of the queen’s vases is part of an artistic exchange between the J. Paul Getty Museum and Versailles, where an important desk made for Louis XVI from the Museum’s collection is currently on long-term loan. This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Esta exhibición se presenta en inglés y en español.
Exhibition | The Petit Trianon during the Empire
Installation view of The Petit Trianon during the Empire, 2023
(Photo by Sebastien Giles)
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On view this summer at the Château de Versailles:
The Petit Trianon during the Empire
Petit Trianon, Château de Versailles, 13 May — 17 September 2023
Presented by the Palace of Versailles, The Petit Trianon during the Empire tells the story of the restoration undertaken to turn Trianon into a country residence for Napoleon and Marie-Louise. The exhibition explains the work ordered by the emperor to restore the houses in the Hamlet, the farm, and the orangery—work that had become essential after twenty years of neglect.
During the Empire, the Petit Trianon was chosen as a country residence by Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Marie-Louise of Habsburg. Two decades of neglect, however, had left the houses in the Hamlet, the farm, and the orangery in urgent need of restoration. The work was carried out between 1805 and 1811, overseen by the architect Guillaume Trepsat and his assistant, Alexandre Dufour.
Installation view of The Petit Trianon during the Empire, 2023 (Photo by Sebastien Giles).
The working dairy, the barn, and the farmer’s cottage were all demolished. The farm was converted into a guard house, while the rest of the structures were restored and the thatched rooves repaired. The external staircases were removed, apart from the spiral staircase on the Queen’s House, which was replaced by a straight, covered staircase. The houses in the Hamlet reverted to the same use as under the Ancien Régime, with all the furniture and wall hangings replaced by classical, Empire-style pieces made by the cabinet-makers Jacob-Desmalter and Marcion, and the bronze-worker Galle.
Napoleon and Marie-Louise hosted several parties at the theatre and in the French Garden between 2 and 11 August 1810, and again, the following year, on 25 August, in the English Garden and the restored Hamlet, to celebrate the birth of their son. These parties harked back to the wonderful celebrations organised by Marie-Antoinette. The restoration work meant the heritage of the Petit Trianon was both protected and revived.
The Petit Trianon with the French Pavilion in the foreground at the left (Photo: Thomas Garnier).
During the French Revolution, from 1792, the Petit Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet were emptied of their inhabitants and all their contents. The furniture, artworks, and everyday household items, such as mattresses, sheets, and cookware, as well as the fish in the lakes, were all auctioned off. The palace was rented to a restaurateur, while the garden became a public recreation area. The French Pavilion was turned into a café, the farm was rented to and worked by a farmer, and another restaurateur moved into the Queen’s House in the Hamlet.
By the beginning of the 19th century, the Hamlet was overgrown and decrepit. The roofs of several of the houses had collapsed and the external staircases were rotten. Two of the agricultural buildings—the barn and the working dairy—lay in ruins and the farm had been partially destroyed by fire. Sketches made by the English traveller and draughtsman John Claude Nattes in 1802 illustrate this state of neglect.
Exhibition | 1923 —The Domaine de Sceaux: Origins of a Renaissance
From Silvana Editoriale:
1923 — The Domaine de Sceaux: Origins of a Renaissance
Musée du Domaine départemental de Sceaux, 10 March — 9 July 2023
The Domaine de Sceaux was acquired in 1923 by the Hauts-de-Seine department, leading to the estate’s restoration and its opening to the public. This exhibition (installed in the former stables) brings together archival documents, posters, photographs, drawings, and paintings to tell the story of the place during this last eventful century. The exhibition traces the history of the estate from its first major transformation to the 1950s.
L’histoire du Domaine de Sceaux entre 1850 et 1950 reste peu connue du grand public. Après la Révolution, la propriété traversa plusieurs phases de déclin et de renouveau. Les aménagements d’aujourd’hui s’inspirent donc à la fois du parc ancien et des ouvrages classés du XVIIe s., et ils intègrent aussi le décor du XIXe s., introduit par les ducs de Trévise. Si vous êtes familier des lieux ou en quête d’histoire sur le Grand Paris, vous ressentirez d’autant plus cette métamorphose : celle d’un somptueux château à la campagne devenu un site muséal préservé et ouvert à tous.
Site historique et patrimonial majeur de la région parisienne, le Domaine départemental de Sceaux fut créé en 1670 par Jean-Baptiste Colbert, qui y appela les plus grands artistes de son temps, d’André Le Nôtre à Charles Le Brun, de Jules Hardouin-Mansart à Antoine Coysevox. Passé entre les mains du marquis de Seignelay, fils du ministre de Louis XIV, puis entre celles du duc et de la duchesse du Maine, du duc de Penthièvre et enfin du duc et de la duchesse de Trévise, cet ensemble remarquable, bientôt menacé par l’extension galopante de la banlieue, était appelé à une disparition quasi certaine lorsqu’en 1923, à la suggestion du maire de Sceaux, il fut acquis in extremis par le département de la Seine à la princesse de Cystria, née Trévise, dernière propriétaire. 2023 marque ainsi le centenaire du passage de ce domaine exceptionnel du statut de propriété privée à celui de bien public, devenu en 1970 l’un des fleurons du département des Hauts-de-Seine qui en assure depuis l’entretien et la valorisation. L’exposition revient sur le contexte, sur les raisons et sur les conditions de cette acquisition qui permit l’heureuse renaissance du domaine de Sceaux.
David Baurain and Céline Barbin, eds., 1923 — Le Domaine de Sceaux: Aux origines d’une renaissance (Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2023), 208 pages, ISBN: 978-8836654239, €30.
New Book | The Coming of the Railway
From Yale UP:
David Gwyn, The Coming of the Railway: A New Global History, 1750–1850 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2023), 416 pages, ISBN: 978-0300267891, $35.
The first global history of the epic early days of the iron railway.
Railways, in simple wooden or stone form, have existed since prehistory. But from the 1750s onward the introduction of iron rails led to a dramatic technological evolution—one that would truly change the world. In this rich new history, David Gwyn tells the neglected story of the early iron railway from a global perspective. Driven by a combination of ruthless enterprise, brilliant experimenters, and international cooperation, railway construction began to expand across the world with astonishing rapidity. From Britain to Australia, Russia to America, railways would bind together cities, nations, and entire continents. Rail was a tool of industry and empire as well as, eventually, passenger transport, and developments in technology occurred at breakneck speed—even if the first locomotive in America could muster only 6 mph. The Coming of the Railway explores these fascinating developments, documenting the early railway’s outsize social, political, and economic impact—carving out the shape of the global economy as we know it today.
David Gwyn is a historian of the industrial and modern period. He is actively involved in the railway heritage movement, serving as a trustee of the Ffestiniog Railway and as chairman of the Bala Lake Railway Company.
c o n t e n t s
List of Illustration and Maps
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Trade, Transport, and Coal, 1767–1815
2 ‘Rails Best Adapted to the Road’: Cast-iron Rails and Their Alternatives in Britain, 1762–1832
3 Canal Feeders, Quarry Railways, and Construction Sites
4 ‘Art Has Supplied the Place of Horses’: Traction, 1767–1815
5 War and Peace, 1814–1834
6 ‘Geometrical Precision: Wrought-Iron Rails, 1808–1834
7 ‘Most Suitable for Hilly Countries’: Rope and Chain Haulage, 1815–1834
8 ‘That Truly Astonishing Machine’: Locomotives, 1815–1834
9 Coal Carriers, 1815–1834
10 Internal Communications, 1815–1834
11 The First Main Lines, 1824–1834
12 Coming of Age: The Public Railway, 1830–1834
13 ‘The New Avenues of Iron Road’, 1834–1850
14 ‘You Can’t Hinder the Railroad’
A Note on Sources and Terminology
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Enfilade 
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