Joseph-Marie Quérard

Joseph-Marie Quérard
Name	Joseph-Marie Quérard
Birth date	3 November 1797
Birth place	Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, France
Death date	8 February 1865
Death place	Paris, France
Occupation	Bibliographer, librarian, editor
Notable works	Les supercheries littéraires dévoilées; La France littéraire; Bibliographie catholique

Joseph-Marie Quérard was a French bibliographer and librarian noted for pioneering systematic bibliographical cataloguing in 19th-century France. His compilations sought to organize knowledge on French literature, periodicals, religious publications, and pseudonymous works, influencing librarianship, publishing, and literary scholarship across Parisian, Breton, and European institutions. Quérard's work intersected with prominent figures and bodies in French letters, jurisprudence, and the Catholic press.

Early life and education

Born in Rennes in the region of Brittany during the Directory period, Quérard grew up amid the aftermath of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. He studied locally before moving to Paris where he encountered the libraries of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the collections of private bibliophiles such as Gérard de Nerval (collector contacts), and the book trade centered around the Rue de Richelieu. Influences included the bibliographic traditions of Denis Diderot and the cataloguing practices of the Bibliothèque nationale de France under successive administrators like Henri-Jean-Baptiste Molé and contemporaries in antiquarian circles such as Gustave Brunet and Pierre-Simon Ballanche.

Bibliographical career and major works

Quérard published extensive bibliographies ambitious in scope, notably La France littéraire, which mapped authors, pseudonyms, and publications across French letters and periodicals of the Restoration and July Monarchy. His project paralleled bibliographic undertakings like Bibliothèque universelle productions and rivaled compilations such as Élie Père's lists and the cataloguing efforts of the Société des Bibliophiles Français. He compiled Les supercheries littéraires dévoilées to expose false attributions and pseudonymous works, engaging with the output of figures like Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Stendhal, Alexandre Dumas père, and editors at Le Figaro and La Revue des Deux Mondes. Quérard also produced the Bibliographie catholique addressing publications connected to Pius IX, the Holy See, and ultramontane circles, cross-referencing imprints from presses in Lyon, Rouen, and Toulouse.

Lexicographic methods and sources

Quérard's methodology combined hands-on consultation of holdings at the Bibliothèque Mazarine, auction catalogues circulating among dealers on the Boulevard des Italiens, and correspondence with provincial printers in Bordeaux, Marseille, and Lille. He extracted collation data from title pages, prefaces, and periodical indices such as those in Le Moniteur Universel and the Gazette de France, and inventoried works listed in commercial catalogues from booksellers like Didier, Leclercq, and Jannet. His cross-referencing practices engaged the card-index traditions later institutionalized by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and echoed in contemporary reference works compiled by staff at institutions including the Louvre's documentation offices and university libraries at Sorbonne University.

Controversies and legal disputes

Quérard's exposés of pseudonymous authorship and critical attributions provoked disputes with authors and publishers such as François Guizot allies and the circle around Alphonse de Lamartine, leading to libel suits and pamphlet exchanges in journals including La Presse and Le Constitutionnel. His professional rivalry with bibliographers like Gustave Brunet and conflicts with booksellers brought Quérard into legal entanglements adjudicated in courts influenced by the Code Civil and presided over by magistrates in Paris. Financial difficulties stemming from delayed government contracts and contested royalties prompted appeals to ministries under ministers like François Guizot and administrators in the Ministry of Public Instruction.

Influence and legacy

Quérard's systematic bibliographies informed later reference works produced by institutions such as the Bibliothèque nationale de France and inspired bibliographers like Jules Trousset, Marie-Luise Goy, and compilers at the Société des Bibliophiles. His methods impacted cataloguing practices adopted by libraries at Université de Strasbourg, the municipal libraries of Lyon, and ecclesiastical archives in Chartres and Reims. The detective-like unmasking of pseudonyms influenced literary historians researching Alexandre Dumas fils, George Sand, Jules Verne, and contributors to La Revue des Deux Mondes. Quérard's work also shaped scholarly editions produced by publishing houses such as Didot and later bibliographic scholarship at institutions like the École Nationale des Chartes.

Personal life and death

Quérard maintained contacts with cultural figures in Parisian salons frequented by writers connected to Victor Hugo's associates and corresponded with provincial bibliophiles in Rennes and Nantes. He struggled financially in later years despite recognition from scholars at the Académie Française and efforts by bibliophile societies such as the Société des Bibliophiles de France to preserve his legacy. He died in Paris in 1865, leaving manuscripts and card indexes that influenced subsequent cataloguers at the Bibliothèque nationale de France and private collectors in Brittany.

Category:1797 births Category:1865 deaths Category:French bibliographers