Napoleon's legacy to Langues O'
In fact, Napoleon set off for Egypt, taking with him almost a hundred scientists to study Egyptian antiquities, geography, fauna and flora. Among these scientists were several Orientalists, including Pierre Amédée Jaubert, who became administrator of the École in 1838. In all, the Description consists of 23 large-format registers, some made up of plates and illustrations, others filled almost exclusively with the observations of the scholars.
While the Description was finally published in 1809, the École did not immediately receive a copy. At that time, in fact, it was still housed in a room of the Bibliothèque nationale and would struggle to keep such voluminous works. It wasn't until November 29 1881 that the École library received a copy from the Ministry of Public Instruction¹. This gift was the result of the distribution of the collections of the Ministère de l'Algérie et des Colonies, following its dissolution in 1860². This is the first edition of the Description, also known as the "imperial edition". There is another edition, in a less imposing format, published by the publisher Charles-Louis-Fleury Panckoucke, from 1820 to 1830.
These volumes thus joined the collections of the Bibliothèque de l'École and were kept within the premises at 2 rue de Lille. Following the separation of the École des langues orientales from its library, the Description legally joined the collections of the BULAC while remaining physically at Inalco, and it was in 2023 that it became the subject of a deposit agreement between the two establishments.
If you'd like to admire the engravings in the Description, they are unveiled to the public every year during the European Heritage Days. You can also consult them online free of charge on the Bibliothèque nationale de France website.
Article from the series of historical narratives Flâneries dans l'histoire de l'Inalco, which each month highlights a singular episode in the institute's history.
References
¹ Minute from the Ministry of Public Instruction addressed to the Administrator of the School of Oriental Languages, November 29, 1881, F/17/4059, Archives nationales de Pierrefitte.
² Letter from the Under-Secretary of State of the Ministry of the Interior to the Minister of Public Instruction and Worship, November 24, 1881, F/17/4059, Archives nationales de Pierrefitte.
