Antoine Alexandre Barbier (11 January 1765 – 5 December 1825) was a French

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

and

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

. He was born in Coulommiers ( Seine-et-Marne). He took priest's orders, from which, however, he was finally released by the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

in 1801. In 1794 he became a member of the temporary commission of the arts, and was charged with the duty of distributing among the various libraries of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

the books that had been confiscated during the French Revolution. In the execution of this task he discovered the letters of Huet, bishop of Avranches, and the manuscripts of the works of Fénelon. He became librarian successively to the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...

, to the Conseil d'Etat, and in 1807 to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, from whom he carried out a number of commissions.A. Dobi. 1974. “For the Emperor-Bibliophile, Only the Very Best.” ''Wilson Library Bulletin'' 49 (November): 229–33. He produced a standard work in his ''Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes et pseudonymes'' (4 vols., 1806—1809). Only the first part of his ''Examen critique des dictionnaires historiques'' (1820) was published. He had a share in the foundation of the libraries of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, of Fontainebleau, of

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

and Saint-Cloud; under Louis XVIII he became administrator of the king's private libraries, but in 1822 he was deprived of all his offices. Barbier died in

, aged 60.

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External links

* Jean Chrétien Ferdinand Hoefer
Nouvelle biographie générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours
Vol. 4 (BAA-BEA). 1859.
Antoine Alexandre Barbier
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbier, Antoine Alexandre 1765 births 1825 deaths People from Coulommiers Knights of the Legion of Honour French bibliographers French librarians French male non-fiction writers French encyclopedists École Normale Supérieure alumni