Item 61: Autograph by A[lexandre] Vattemare, ca. 1834-1864
Item — Box: 2, Folder: 61
Dates
- Created: ca. 1834-1864
Creator
- Vattemare, Alexandre, 1796-1864 (Person)
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Autograph
Condition Note:
Fair.
Measurements:
3 in. x 1 ⅛ in. (first); 2 ¾ in. x 1 ⅜ in. (second)
Description:
The following is an autograph from A[lexandre] Vattemare signed “A Vattemare, ‘International Exchanges.’” Vattemare was raised and trained as a medical surgeon in France, but he never earned his diploma because he would use cadavers as puppets and make them speak during surgery exercises. During the War of the Sixth Coalition during the Napoleonic Wars, Vattemare served as a doctor to the Prussian prisoners of war, who convinced him to leave Paris and move to Berlin, where he became a traveling ventriloquist for twenty years, eventually performing for royalty such as Queen Victoria, Nicolas I, and Charles X. He spent the next 25 years famous and wealthy, advocating for public libraries and he established article exchange among museums and libraries. His idea was not well received, so he traveled to North America to spread the idea. The City of Philadelphia presented him with a signed copy of the U. S. Constitution, and the U. S. Congress paid him the equivalent of $240,000 (2024) yearly for him to spread his idea and to expand his literature, coin, and specimen collections. He helped found the Boston Public Library, created the American Library of Paris, and provided several cases of items to what would become the Smithsonian before dying in 1864. This autograph was likely made between the years 1834 to 1864, when he campaigned for the “International Exchanges” written below his signature on the document.
Transcription:
[front]
Alexander Vattemare “International Exchanges”
[back] A Vattemare
Alexander Vattemare “International Exchanges”
[back] A Vattemare
Creator
- Vattemare, Alexandre, 1796-1864 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu