Spencer Napoleonica collection
Collection
Identifier: Modern-MS-Spencer
Scope and Content of the Collection
Autograph documents and prints relating to Napoleon I and his contemporaries.
The documents consist largely of letters to and from Napoleon and his military & political associates, letters between Napoleon and members of his family and among family members, and a few autograph documents of artistic and literary notables of the Napoleonic era. Important materials concern Napoleon’s exile and death at St. Helena; the marriage of Pauline Bonaparte and Camillo Borghese; and correspondence between Napoleon’s legitimate son, Francois, and his mother Marie-Louise of Austria. There is scant material related to Napoleon's exile on Elba (see his letter to his mistress, Countess Marie Walewska, Box 12, Folder 1158). The prints are mostly images of people and places represented in the autograph collection.
Narrative descriptions of the subject matter, types of material, and arrangement of each series are available through the Organization section of the finding aid.
The documents consist largely of letters to and from Napoleon and his military & political associates, letters between Napoleon and members of his family and among family members, and a few autograph documents of artistic and literary notables of the Napoleonic era. Important materials concern Napoleon’s exile and death at St. Helena; the marriage of Pauline Bonaparte and Camillo Borghese; and correspondence between Napoleon’s legitimate son, Francois, and his mother Marie-Louise of Austria. There is scant material related to Napoleon's exile on Elba (see his letter to his mistress, Countess Marie Walewska, Box 12, Folder 1158). The prints are mostly images of people and places represented in the autograph collection.
Narrative descriptions of the subject matter, types of material, and arrangement of each series are available through the Organization section of the finding aid.
Dates
- 1756-1975
Creator
- Spencer, William Marvin (Person)
Language
Materials are in French.
Conditions Governing Access
The Spencer Napoleonica collection is open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum, and items in each folder will be counted before and after delivery to the patron (Priority I).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Spencer Napoleonica collection is the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Biography of William M. Spencer
Chicago businessman and collector of materials relating to the Napoleonic Era.
William Marvin Spencer was a Chicago businessman and civic leader. He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on May 14, 1892 and died in Chicago, Illinois on October 3, 1984. He served as an officer in the American Expeditionary Force in France during WW I. Around 1930, Spencer started to collect material relating to Napoleon I and his circle of military and political associates; eventually he also included autographs of Napoleon's family members, mistresses, and favorites. In 1956 and 1957, Spencer donated 234 items from his collection to the University of Chicago Library. In the early 1970's, Spencer offered to sell his collection to the French National Archives, but they could not meet his asking price. Spencer's own thoughts about his collection and collecting in general are summarized in a talk housed in Box 17, Folder 1720.
William Marvin Spencer was a Chicago businessman and civic leader. He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on May 14, 1892 and died in Chicago, Illinois on October 3, 1984. He served as an officer in the American Expeditionary Force in France during WW I. Around 1930, Spencer started to collect material relating to Napoleon I and his circle of military and political associates; eventually he also included autographs of Napoleon's family members, mistresses, and favorites. In 1956 and 1957, Spencer donated 234 items from his collection to the University of Chicago Library. In the early 1970's, Spencer offered to sell his collection to the French National Archives, but they could not meet his asking price. Spencer's own thoughts about his collection and collecting in general are summarized in a talk housed in Box 17, Folder 1720.
Extent
12 Linear Feet (2,892 items in 23 boxes and 2 albums)
Abstract
A collection of materials, chiefly autographs, relating to the Napoleonic Era. Military orders, political and personal correspondence, legal documents, receipts, portraits, and images are included.
Organization
Papers are organized in the following series
- Series 1: Autograph documents, chronological, 1756-1975
- Boxes 1-20, 26-27
- Series 2: Prints, alphabetical by subject, 1797-1920
- Boxes 21-25
Collection Stack Location
Vault 40 6-7
Provenance
Gift, William M. Spencer, 1979 & 1981; Spencer heirs, 1991.
Processed by
Robert P. Carlson, May 2010
- Baciocchi, Felix
- Beauharnais, Eugène de
- Berthier, Louis-Alexandre
- Bonaparte family
- Bonaparte, Carlo Maria
- Bonaparte, François-Charles-Joseph, Herzog von Reichstadt
- Bonaparte, Letizia
- Bonaparte, Lucien, prince de Canino
- Bonaparte, Paolina
- Borghese, Camillo
- Caroline Bonaparte, consort of Joachim Murat, King of Naples
- Charles XIV John, King of Sweden and Norway
- Clarke, Henri Jacques Guillaume
- Collectors and collecting -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Davout, Louis Nicolas, duc d'Auerstædt et prince d'Eckmühl
- Desaix, Louis-Charles-Antoine
- Elphinstone, George Keith
- Fesch, Joseph
- France -- History -- 1789-1815 -- Pictorial works
- France -- History -- 1789-1815 -- Sources
- Francis I, Emperor of Austria
- Hortense, Queen, consort of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland
- Joachim Murat, King of Naples
- Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain
- Josephine, Empress, consort of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French
- Jourdan, Jean-Baptiste
- Junot, Jean Andoche, duc d’Abrantès
- Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia
- Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland
- Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Manuscripts, French
- Marie Louise, Empress, consort of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French
- Mortier, Adolphe
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French -- Captivity, 1815-1821
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French -- Campaigns
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French -- Family
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French -- Death and burial
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French -- Correspondence
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French -- Marriage
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French -- Friends and associates
- Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 -- Campaigns -- Sources
- Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 -- Pictorial works
- Ney, Michel, duc d'Elchingen
- Piombino, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, principessa di
Creator
- Spencer, William Marvin (Person)
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French (Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Spencer Napoleonica collection, 1756-1975
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Robert P. Carlson
- Date
- ©2011.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org