Jacques Charles Brunet (2 November 1780 – 14 November 1867) was a French
bibliographer
Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
.
Biography
He was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, the son of a bookseller. He began his bibliographical career by the preparation of several auction catalogues, notable examples being that of the Comte d'Ourches (Paris, 1811) and an 1802 supplement to the 1790 ''Dictionnaire bibliographique de livres rares'' of Duclos and
Cailleau. In 1810 the first edition of his
bibliographical
Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
dictionary, ''Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur des livres'' (3 vols.), appeared. Brunet published successive editions of the dictionary, which rapidly came to be recognized as the first book of its class in
European literature
Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, an ...
. The last of the 6 volumes of the 5th edition (1860–1865) of the ''Manuel du libraire'' contained a classified catalogue (french: Table Méthodique) in which the works are arranged in classes according to their subjects. A supplement to this edition was published (1878–1880) by P. Deschamps and G. Brunet.
Among Brunet's other works are ''Nouvelles Recherches bibliographiques'' (1834), ''Recherches sur les éditions originales des cinq livres du roman satirique de
Rabelais'' (1852), and an edition of the French poems of J.G. Alione d'Asti, dating from the beginning of the 16th century (1836). Brunet has been praised as a worthy successor to
Guillaume-François Debure. In 1848 he received the decoration of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...
.
See also the notice by
Antoine Le Roux de Lincy
Antoine Le Roux de Lincy (Paris, 22 August 1806 – Paris, 13 May 1869) was a 19th-century French librarian, romanist and medievalist.
After graduating from the École Nationale des Chartes (promotion 1831-1832), Le Roux was appointed at the bib ...
prefixed to the catalogue (1868) of his own valuable library.
Brunet's classification of works
In the ''Manuel du libraire'' Brunet employed a topical classification of his own devising, used in volume 6 of his bibliography. He attributed to
Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preser ...
the first such bibliographic organization in his "Libri Greci Impressi" where the works were divided into "Grammatica, Poetica, Logica, Philosophia, Sacra Scriptura" (Grammar, Poesy, Logic, Philosophy, Sacred Scripture). Brunet also referenced the classified arrangement of
Conrad Gessner
Conrad Gessner (; la, Conradus Gesnerus 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his tale ...
's
Bibliotheca universalis
''Bibliotheca universalis'' (1545–49) was the first truly comprehensive "universal" listing of all the books of the first century of printing. It was an alphabetical bibliography that listed all the known books printed in Latin, Greek, o ...
. Brunet's classification was cited as the inspiration for some library classifications of the 19th century.
The classification, referred to as the "French System", had five main classes:
:: I. Theology
:: II. Jurisprundence
:: III. Sciences and Arts
:: IV. Polite Literature
:: V. History
Each of these had subheadings. For example, Theology had, among others, ''Holy scriptures'', ''Liturgy'', ''Theologians'' and ''Singular opinions''.
Works
*''Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres'', contenant 1° : un nouveau dictionnaire bibliographique... 2° : une table en forme de catalogue raisonné..., Paris : Brunet, 1810, 3 vol. in-8°.
*''Nouvelles Recherches bibliographiques pour servir de supplément au Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres'', Paris : Silvestre, 1834, 3 vol. in-8°.
*
v.2v.3* Poésies françoises de J. G. Alione (d'Asti) (it)3, composées de 1494 à 1520, publiées pour la première fois en France, avec une notice biographique et bibliographique, par J.-C. Brunet, Paris : Silvestre, 1836, In-8°4
*''Recherches bibliographiques et critiques sur les éditions originales des cinq livres du roman satirique de
Rabelais et sur les différences de texte qui se font remarquer particulièrement dans le premier livre du "Pantagruel" et dans le "Gargantua"'', Paris : L. Potier, 1852, In-8°, 144 et 58 p.
*
Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres' 4th ed. Paris : Silvestre, 1842-44.
* . 6 vol. ; in-8 et son supplément
Deschamps, Pierre (1821-1906)
e
Brunet, Pierre-Gustave (1805-1896)
Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres : supplément..., Paris : F. Didot, 1878-1880, 2 vol. (XV p.-1138 col., 1226 col.) ; 25 cm
FRBNF37065021
/ref
Vol. IVol. IIVol. IIIVol. IVVol. VVol. VI
Notes
References
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External links
Jacques Charles Brunet
on data.bnf.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunet, Jacques Charles
French bibliographers
1780 births
1867 deaths
Writers from Paris
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
French male non-fiction writers