Brown Dog in Paris, part 1
Brown Dog Press went on the road last month for some R & R in Paris. The road part took us to an airport and from there we made our way to France. The pandemic had kept us close to home for any trips we made. We were ready to head further out, and get some big city time. Several of our projects have a Paris connection, so, you know, it seemed like a good idea to go there. The trip gave us a chance to combine adventure with some research.
The grand lawn of the Jardin de Plantes
Our flight wasn’t too bad. Our original flight to Charles de Gaulle was canceled but the airline found us a slightly later one that only delayed our arrival by a few hours. Once we were on the ground and settled in with our friend just outside the city, we set about making plans. Our first stop was at the Museum of Natural History, home of the Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Gardens) and their library. The Library holds manuscripts and letters going back pretty far. Our interest was in several nineteenth century botanists whose work we are translating. Independent researchers are allowed to access the library holdings after completing a registration process. Before arriving, we sent a request for the documents we hoped to review. Once there, we completed a simple registration process, got a library card and were then able to review the items we had requested.
Library of the Natural History Museum
One item in particular proved to be worth the effort. The library holds an original letter from Antoine Guillemin to a friend in Paris written just before Guillemin left Brazil to return to France at the end of his mission to collect tea plants. His report on that mission is our first publication. The letter itself was amazing. Three pages, handwritten by Guillemin with gossipy comments, observations not included in his report, edits and corrections, a post script and his flourishing signature. We are asked quite often why we bother resurrecting obscure books from obscure authors. Our stock answer is that we are bringing interesting but forgotten people and their ideas back to life. Actually we want to know what they had to say about subjects that interest us. We hope their work will deepen our understanding of the subject. Holding a personal object like Guillemin’s letter makes him more real and brings the work he did back to life. It was quite a boost to keep us focused on our work. Our French-English communication with the library staff wasn’t always effective, but the librarians helping us understood when we said that seeing the letter was like having “Christmas in March!”
Viewing Guillemin’s letter
Guillemin’s signature
We photographed the letter along with several letters written by François Mérat from the same time period. Mérat’s report on the possibility of growing tea in France is the subject of an upcoming publication from the Brown Dog. His letters were not quite as revelatory as Guillemin’s but did include one letter to the director of the British Botanical Garden in Calcutta requesting samples of tea plants. We have transcribed the letters with the help of our friend and host in France (and her cat). Formal translations will be ready soon. Guillemin’s letter is significant enough that we are going to our revise our edition of his report to include the full text of the letter (along with some corrections to the original text). The information in Mérat’s letter will be included as supplemental information in the publication of his report on growing tea in France.
The library also held a copy of an article on black tea production written in the early 20th century by the Scientific Officer of the Indian Tea Assocation. Ukers references the article in All About Tea. It looked interesting but we could only locate two copies held in libraries – both in Europe. Lucky for us the Bibliothèque du Jardin des Plantes held a copy. The Ferment of the Tea Leaf by Harold Mann is a fun read. It was written when the chemical processes that caused tea to brown (“ferment” but really oxidize) were starting to be understood.
After our screaming success at the library we headed across the street for lunch and mint tea at the Grand Mosque of Paris. From there, more exploring.
The cat Virgule helping transcribe Mérat’s letter