Editing Antoine Alexandre Barbier

{{Short description|French librarian and bibliographer (1765 – 1825)}}
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{{Expand French|Antoine-Alexandre Barbier|topic=bio|date=January 2011}}

[[File:A bibliographical, antiquarian and picturesque tour in France and Germany (1821) (14758323836).jpg|thumb]]

'''Antoine Alexandre Barbier''' (11 January 1765 – 5 December 1825) was a French [[librarian]] and [[bibliographer]].

He was born in [[Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne|Coulommiers]] ([[Seine-et-Marne]]). He took priest's orders, from which, however, he was finally released by the [[pope]] 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]] the books that had been confiscated during the [[French Revolution]]. In the execution of this task he discovered the letters of [[Pierre Daniel Huet|Huet]], [[bishop of Avranches]], and the manuscripts of the works of [[Fénelon]].

He became librarian successively to the [[French Directory]], to the [[Council of State (France)|Conseil d'Etat]], and in 1807 to [[Napoleon]], from whom he carried out a number of commissions.<ref>A. Dobi. 1974. “For the Emperor-Bibliophile, Only the Very Best.” ''Wilson Library Bulletin'' 49 (November): 229–33.</ref>   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]], of [[Fontainebleau]], of [[Compiègne]] and [[Saint-Cloud]]; under [[Louis XVIII of France|Louis XVIII]] he became administrator of the king's private libraries, but in 1822 he was deprived of all his offices. Barbier died in [[Paris]], aged 60.

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Barbier, Antoine Alexandre}}

== External links ==
* [[Jean Chrétien Ferdinand Hoefer]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dsjMBKIISB0C Nouvelle biographie générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours]. Vol. 4 (BAA-BEA). 1859. {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://data.bnf.fr/11890148/antoine-alexandre_barbier/ Antoine Alexandre Barbier] on [[data.bnf.fr]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbier, Antoine Alexandre}}
[[Category:1765 births]]
[[Category:1825 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Coulommiers]]
[[Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:French bibliographers]]
[[Category:French librarians]]
[[Category:French male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:French encyclopedists]]
[[Category:École Normale Supérieure alumni]]