Théophile Marion Dumersan (4 January 1780, Plou, Cher – 13 April 1849, Paris) was a French writer of plays,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

s, poetry, novels,

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

collections,

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

s, and novels, as well as a

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

attached to the Cabinet des médailles et antiques of the Bibliothèque royale.

Life

The family's real surname was Marion but – to distinguish himself from his brothers – Théophile's brother altered his surname to "du Mersan", after the name of one of its lands. The young Théophile had already found a taste for the theatre by 1795 by learning to read

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

and

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

. In that year, aged 16, whilst his family was distressed by the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...

, Théophile found work under Aubin-Louis Millin de Grandmaison, curator of the Cabinet des médailles et antiques de la Bibliothèque royale. With his colleague Théodore-Edme Mionnet, future member of the

Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

, he perfected a new system for classifying medals into geographical and chronological order, and protected the collection from dispersal by the allies after Napoleon's defeat. He then published at his own expense a history of the collection and description, as newly rearranged according to historical principles, in 1838Théophile Marion Dumersan, ''Histoire de Cabinet des Médailles, antiques et pierres gravées, avec une notice sur la Bibliothèque Royale et une description des objets exposés dans cet établissement.'' Paris, chez l'auteur, 1838.. His earlier ''Notice des monuments exposés dans le cabinet des médailles et antiques de la bibliothèque du Roi'' in several editions, concentrated on the antiquities and

engraved gems An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a major lux ...

. All this led to his being named curator of the Cabinet in 1842. At the age of 18, he put on his first play, titled ''Arlequin perruquier, ou Les Têtes à la Titus'', a critique of the fashions and

mores Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...

of the day, and soon began supplying the '' théâtres de boulevard''. In two years, he wrote no less than 18 plays, including ''L'Ange et le diable'' in 1799 (a 5-act drama which was produced more than 5 times, a remarkable number for that era). In total, he produced 238 pieces, more than 50 of which he wrote without a collaborator. The others were the result of a collaboration with better Parisian vaudevillistes, including Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, Nicolas Brazier, Pierre-Frédéric-Adolphe Carmouche, Marc-Antoine Désaugiers,

Mélesville Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier, pen-name Mélesville (13 December 1787 in Paris – 7 November 1865 in Marly-le-Roi) was a French dramatist. The playwright Mélesville fils was his son. Life The son of Honoré-Nicolas-Marie Duveyrier, M� ...

and

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of ma ...

. His greatest success was ''Les Saltimbanques'', written with Charles Varin, a "

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

désopilante" according to the ''Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle'', put on at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

in 1838. Amidst all these productions, Dumersan also found time to write works on

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inc ...

and the history of the theatre, including the ''Manuel des coulisses'', a lexicon of theatrical expressions and actors' slang. Towards the end of his life, he published several collections of

s, notably the ''Chansons nationales et populaires de France'', published in two volumes in 1866.

Selected works

;Théâtre *''Le Nécessaire et le superflu'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Armand d'Artois, Paris,

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

, 10 July 181
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*''Les Cochers'', tableau grivois, mêlé de vaudevilles, in 1 act, with Gabriel de Lurieu and Nicolas Brazier, Paris, Théâtre du Vaudeville, 10 October 182
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*''La Chambre de Suzon'', comédie in 1 act, mix of couplets, with Pierre-Frédéric-Adolphe Carmouche and Charles-Augustin de Bassompierre Sewrin, Paris,

, 15 December 182
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*''Les Paysans, ou L'Ambition au village'', comédie in 1 act, mix of couplets, with Nicolas Brazier and Mélesville, Paris, Théâtre des Variétés, 28 February 182
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*''L'Auvergnate, ou La Principale Locataire'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Nicolas Brazier and Gabriel de Lurieu, Paris, Théâtre du Vaudeville, 26 April 182
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*''Les Écoliers en promenade'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Nicolas Brazier and Gabriel de Lurieu, Paris, Théâtre des Variétés, 5 July 182
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*''Les Petites Biographies'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Nicolas Brazier and Gabriel de Lurieu, Paris, Théâtre des Variétés, 29 August 182
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*''Les Passages et les rues, ou La Guerre déclarée'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Nicolas Brazier and Gabriel de Lurieu, Paris, Théâtre des Variétés, 7 March 182
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*''Les Saltimbanques'', comédie-parade in 3 acts, mixed-couplets, with Charles Voirin, Paris, Théâtre des Variétés, 23 January 183
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;Chansons *''Chants et chansons populaires de la France'' (3 volumes, 1843–1844) *''Chansons et rondes enfantines, recueillies et accompagnées de contes, notices, historiettes et dialogues, par Du Mersan, enrichies de la musique en regard par Gustave Jeane-Julien'' (1846) *''Chansons sentimentales et romances d'amour, avec notices historiques et littéraires'' (1846) *''Chansons bachiques, grivoises et épicuriennes, avec notices historiques et littéraires'' (1846) *''Chansons nationales et républicaines, de 1789 à 1848, avec des notices historiques'' (1848) *''Chansons nationales et populaires de France, accompagnées de notes historiques et littéraires'', avec Noël Ségur (2 volumes, 1866
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;Numismatique *''Notice des monuments exposés dans le Cabinet des médailles et antiques de la Bibliothèque du roi, suivie d'une description des objets les plus curieux que renferme cet établissement, de notes historiques sur fondation, ses accroissements et d'un catalogue d'empreintes de pierres gravées'' (1819) *''Description des médailles antiques du cabinet de feu M. Allier de Hauteroche'' (1829) *''Éléments de numismatique, ou Introduction à la connaissance des médailles antiques, suivis de quelques détails sur la manière de supputer les monnaies anciennes et sur leur valeur'' (1833) *''Histoire du cabinet des médailles, antiques et pierres gravées, avec une notice sur la Bibliothèque royale, et une description des objets exposés dans cet établissement'' (1838) ;Other *''Poésies diverses'' (1822) *''Le Soldat laboureur'', philosophical novel (3 volumes, 1822) *''L'Homme à deux têtes, histoire de Fernand-Carlos de Vargas'', novel (2 volumes, 1825) *''Manuel des coulisses, ou Guide de l'amateur'' (1826) *''Histoire du théâtre de l'Odéon'' (1841) *''Mémoires de Mlle Flore'' orvée ''artiste du théâtre des Variétés'' (collaboration, 3 volumes, 1845)

Popular French chansons

Image:Théophile Marion Dumersan - Chansons nationales et populaires de France.jpg, Frontispice Image:Théophile Marion Dumersan - Les Chansonniers 1.jpg, The chansonniers (1)
Centre : Béranger.
Top left : Dumersan.
Bottom left :

Brazier A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or cultural rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet. Its elevation helps circulate air, feeding oxygen to the fire. Braziers h ...

.
Bottom right : Favart. Image:Théophile Marion Dumersan - Les Chansonniers 2.jpg, The chansonniers (2)
Centre :

Rouget de Lisle Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (), sometimes spelled de l'Isle or de Lile (10 May 1760 – 26 June 1836), was a French army officer of the French Revolutionary Wars. He is known for writing the words and music of the ''Chant de guerre pour l'armé ...

.
Left : Delavigne. Image:Théophile Marion Dumersan - Les Chansonniers 2.jpg, The chansonniers (3)
Top : Désaugiers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumersan, Theophile Marion 1780 births 1849 deaths People from Cher (department) French numismatists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French songwriters Male songwriters French curators French opera librettists 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French poets French male novelists French male poets 19th-century French male writers