Jean-Baptiste Marie de Piquet, Marquis of Méjanes

Jean-Baptiste Marie de Piquet, Marquis of Méjanes, Lord of Albaron et Saint Vincent, was a French bibliophile, born on 5 August 1729 in Arles [Parish Saint Julien] , and dead on 5 October 1786 in Paris [Parish Saint Roch] .

Biography

A student at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, he was known from a very early age for his love of reading and of books, the purchase of which made up for most of his income.

As a First Consul of Arles between 1761 and 1774, Royal Secretary for the court of his birthtown [in 1766 for tax purposes, and again in 1784] , First Consul of Aix-en-Provence and State Prosecutor for Provence in the years 1777-1778, he diligently strove to improve the living standards of his fellow citizens [He helped set up a farming oragnisation in Arles as well as in Aix, although the latter succumbed to the French Revolution.] . He spent the last three years of his life in Paris, where he was still concerned with Provence. He was known to be a smart, honest, plain, and modest man [Letter by Jean Marie du Lau, Archbishop of Arles, 6 October 1786, and speech by Monseigneur de Boigeslin, Archbishop of Aix, 14 December 1786] .

In his will, he bequeathed all his books to Provence, i.e. from 60.000 to 80.000 books, should those books be made accessible to ordinary citizens; he also added a yearly income of 5.000 more Tours pounds for Provence. This bequest led to the public library of Aix-en-Provence (bibliothèque Méjanes).

The Marquis of Méjanes died without descendants, since his 6-month-and-a-half son Joseph Marie Marc Antoine de Piquet died on 4 August 1760. [Arles, Parish Notre-Dame-la-Principale] .

Notes

Bibliography

* Jean-Marc Chatelain, "Un cabinet d'amateur à la fin du 18e siècle : le marquis de Méjanes bibliophile". ISBN 2-910166-48-1 br
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=g5QlHfO0vR8C&pg=PA1 E. Rouard, "Notice sur la bibliothèque d'Aix, dite de Méjanes"] , 1831, pages 122-139.

ources

* Archives of Arles and regional archives of Bouches-du-Rhône.
* "Généalogie de la Maison de Piquet", by Lord Du Roure, 1907, pages 17-19
* "Nobiliaire d'Arles", by Abbey Bonnemant

External links

* [http://gw.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=fdst&lang=fr&pz=f&nz=dst&ocz=0&m=A&p=jean+baptiste+marie&n=de+piquet+de+mejanes&v=4&x=6&y=11&sosab=10&siblings=on&notes=on&src=on&t=T&marriage=on&color=&after=&before= Family tree of Jean-Baptiste de Piquet, Marquis of Méjanes]
* [http://www.citedulivre-aix.com/Typo3/fileadmin/documents/Expositions/insolite/pagesnotices/bustehoudon.htm Bust of the Marquis of Méjanes] , by Jean-Antoine Houdon