Léon-Honoré Labande (1867-1939) was a French museum curator, historian and archivist. He was the curator of the

Calvet Museum The Calvet Museum (''musée Calvet'') is the main museum in Avignon. Since the 1980s the collection has been split between two buildings, with the fine arts housed in an 18th-century hôtel particulier and a separate Lapidary Museum in the forme ...

in Avignon from 1890 to 1906. He was the archivist of the

Prince's Palace of Monaco The Prince's Palace of Monaco ( French: ''Palais princier de Monaco'') is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besi ...

from 1906 to 1939. He was the author of many books about prominent families from

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, the city of Avignon, and the principality of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Early life

Léon-Honoré Labande was born on 17 September 1867 in

Orrouy Orrouy () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. See also *Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 679 communes of the Oise department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunal ...

, France. His father was a schoolteacher. He was mentored from an early age by Count

Armand Doria Count Armand Doria (1824-1896) was a French aristocrat, art collector and patron. He served as the mayor of Orrouy from 1864 to 1896. He acquired a significant collection of impressionist works, including paintings subsequently exhibited in museum ...

, an aristocrat and art collector. Labande was educated at the Saint-Lucien Seminary in Beauvais. He graduated from the

École Nationale des Chartes The École Nationale des Chartes (, literally National School of Charters) is a French ''grande école'' and a constituent college of Université PSL, specialising in the historical sciences. It was founded in 1821, and was located initially at ...

in 1890.

Career

Labande was an archivist in Cheltenham, England, and in

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, France. He was the curator of the Avignon Library and the Calvet Museum in Avignon from 1890 to 1906. He was elected as the secretary of the Académie de Vaucluse in 1892. He was the president of the ''Société vauclusienne des amis des arts''. Labande was appointed as the archivist of the

on 1 April 1906, replacing

Gustave Saige Gustave Saige (1838-1905) was a French archivist. He was the archivist of the Prince's Palace of Monaco from 1881 to 1905. Early life Gustave Saige was born on 20 August 1838 in Paris, France. He graduated from the École Nationale des Chartes in ...

. He served as archivist for the next three decades. He assisted Louis II, Prince of Monaco in refurbishing the palace, retrieving old paintings, carpets and

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major a ...

acquired by

Honoré II, Prince of Monaco Honoré II (24 December 1597 – 10 January 1662) was Prince of Monaco from 1604 to 1662. He was the first to be called Prince (in 1612), but started his reign as Lord of Monaco. Early life Honoré II was born on 24 December 1597. He was the so ...

and lost during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

and

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

. Moreover, following the prince's wishes to turn Monaco into a cultural center, he organised conferences about the arts annually. Meanwhile, Labande was appointed as the director of the

Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology The Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology is located within the Jardin Exotique de Monaco. It was opened in 1902 and contains a collection of fossils and other excavated artifacts relating to the prehistory of Monaco and areas nearby. See also * List ...

. Additionally, he served as a member and subsequently president of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. Labande authored many books about prominent families from

, the city of Avignon, and the principality of

. He served on the editorial board of the '' Revue d'histoire de l'Église de France''. Labande was appointed as a member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

in 1927, replacing Henry Cochin. He was Grand Officer of the

Order of Saint-Charles The Order of Saint Charles (french: Ordre de Saint Charles) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in Monaco on 15 March 1858. Award This order rewards service to the State or Prince. In particular cases, it may be granted to foreign ...

and Knight 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 Napoleon ...

. He was also a recipient of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

from Sweden.

Personal life

Labande was married with two daughters.

Death

Labande died on 21 September 1939 in

Villeneuve-lès-Avignon Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (; Provençal: ''Vilanòva d’Avinhon'') is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It can also be spelled ''Villeneuve-lez-Avignon''. History In the 6th century the Benedictine abbey of St André was foun ...

Bibliography

*''Les Doria de France : Provence, Avignon et Comté Venaissin, Bretagne, Ile-de-France'' (1899). *''Étude historique et archéologique sur St. Trophime d'Arles du ive au xiiie siècle'' (1904). *''La Cathédrale de Vaison : étude historique et archéologique'' (1905). *''Avignon au xiiie siècle'' (Paris, 1908). *''Le Palais des papes d’Avignon et les monuments historiques d’Avignon au xive siècle'' (1925). *''Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Henry Cochin, membre de l'Académie'' (1928). *''Les Primitifs français; Peintres et peintres-verriers de la Provence occidentale'' (Marseille: Librairie Tacussel, 1932). *''Histoire de la Principauté de Monaco'' (1934). *''Les Bréa, peintres niçois des xve et xvie siècles en Provence et en Ligurie'' (Nice: Éditions des Amis du Musée Masséna, 1937).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labande, Leon-Honore 1867 births 1939 deaths People from Oise Writers from Avignon French archivists 19th-century French historians Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Grand Officers of the Order of Saint-Charles Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of Vasa École Nationale des Chartes alumni 20th-century French historians