This volume represents a significant bibliographical and historical artifact: the 1612 first French edition of Jan Jansz Orlers’ survey of Prince Maurice of Nassau’s military campaigns, with extensive engraved plates and maps. The Fairfax/Osterley Park copy holds substantial historical weight, marked by manuscript annotations tentatively attributed to Sir Walter Raleigh. The association stems from five distinctive first-person annotations recorded in ink, and referenced – albeit imperfectly – by bibliographer William Oldys in his 1736 biography of Raleigh.

The claim of Raleigh’s ownership arises from these marginal notes, the tone of which suggests personal commentary. Raleigh’s well-documented inconsistencies in handwriting complicate definitive attribution, yet this volume likely embodies his marginal engagement with narratives of European naval conflicts—a subject of personal and professional importance to him. Interestingly, Oldys transcribed these notes into corrected French, potentially diluting their evidentiary strength.

Adding complexity, Oldys referenced a parallel, now-lost “pencil-annotated copy” purportedly held by Thomas Brian Esq. (see addendum below) of the Inner Temple. No concrete evidence of this phantom copy exists, nor do bibliographical records substantiate Oldys’ claim beyond his biography. Notably, Oldys himself was notorious for erratic behavior and dubious scholarly methods in his later years, as he spent time in Fleet prison for debt and was described as “rarely sober in the afternoon.”

Thus, this Fairfax/Osterley Park copy, with its ink marginalia, remains the most credible candidate for direct Raleigh provenance.

Bibliographical Note:
This edition is the first French translation of Orlers’ 1610 *Den Nassauscgen Lauren-crans*, detailing Maurice of Nassau’s campaigns during the Dutch Revolt. The 43 engraved plates include a significant depiction of the Armada battle (folio 36), noted by Kraus as “one of the very rare contemporary representations of the Armada battle” (Sir Francis Drake: A Pictorial Biography, p.35).

Early Provenance:
Annotations:

• Folio 137: “mais bien arriere”
• Folio 138: “a moy seule”; “Jeay prix tous deux”
• Folio 139: “en lequelle ils m’ont trompe”; “Par la refuse nous avons *2 millions* perdu”
• Folio 136: Correction of ship numbers from printed 57 to penned 67 (not mentioned by Oldys).

All annotations appear in the same hand, likely contemporaneous, adding credibility to Raleigh’s potential ownership.

Provenance Trail:

• Sir Walter Raleigh? (1552–1618)
• Bryan Fairfax (d. 1749) & Robert Fairfax, 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
• Sold via Prestage (1756) – lot 945, entire library pre-sold
• Francis Child (d. 1763), Osterley Park Library (shelf mark X.1.3.9)
• Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey (Osterley Park sale, Sotheby’s, 1885, lot 1187)
• Bernard Quaritch (1885)
• Mary Olivia Nutting (1894), referenced in *The Days of Prince Maurice*
• George Hale Nutting; Andrew Stewart (bookplate)

Critical Reflection:
It is plausible that Oldys used this ink-annotated copy as the source for his pencil-copy claim, or was himself referencing derivative annotations. Oldys’ own scholarly unreliability casts doubt on the existence of a separate marginalia copy.

Thus, the Fairfax/Osterley Park volume stands as the most reliable artifact linking this work to Raleigh’s personal library.

References:

• Raleigh, W. (1829). The Works of Sir Walter Raleigh, Now First Collected. Oxford University Press. Vol. I, p.245.
• Oldys, W. (1736). Biography prefixed to The History of the World by Sir Walter Ralegh, Kt. London: William Jaggard.
• Oakeshott, W. (1968). “Sir Walter Ralegh’s Library.” The Library, 5th Ser. 23, pp. 285–327.
• Prestage. (1756). A Catalogue of the Library of Bryan Fairfax. London. Lot 945.
• Morell, T. (1771). Catalogus Librorum in Bibliotheca Osterleiensi.
• Sotheby’s (1885). The Osterley Park Library. Catalogue. Lot 1187.
• Quaritch, B. (1885). Rough List, No. 71.
• Nutting, M. O. (1894). The Days of Prince Maurice. Boston & Chicago.
• Kraus, H. P. (1970). Sir Francis Drake: A Pictorial Biography. p.35.

Compare Marginalia:

Marginalia folio 139

Marginalia folio 138

Marginalia folio 137

Marginalia folio 136

Addendum:

We found no verified biographical records or substantial archival references for a Thomas Brian Esq. of the Inner Temple, specifically as mentioned by William Oldys regarding the “pencil-annotated” Raleigh volume.

Critical Insight:

• Oldys references “Thomas Brian Esq. of the Inner Temple” in his 1736 biography of Raleigh, noting the ownership of a volume annotated in pencil.

• No known Inner Temple membership records, probate inventories, or bibliophilic collections substantiate a bibliophile or collector by that exact name and title.

• It is possible that:

  • Oldys confused the surname (possibly meaning Bryan/Bryan rather than Brian).

  • The reference was fabricated or based on erroneous second-hand information.

Historical Implication:

Given Oldys’ known lapses in scholarly rigor (including inebriation and inconsistent record-keeping), his attribution of the “pencil-noted” volume to this individual should be approached skeptically. The absence of corroborating documentation for “Thomas Brian Esq.” strengthens the argument that the Fairfax/Osterley Park copy is the most likely source of the annotations Oldys described.

Concerning Blasphemy.  (Hagenau, Th[omas] Anshelm 1520).
Separate printing of Ferdinand’s ordinance, issued as imperial governor in Württemberg during the exile of Duke Ulrich.

A two page placard spelling the punishments for blasphemy, For adults and children.

“Whoever swears by God three times, shall, as soon as this becomes known, be immediately arrested, and without any further justification be handed over to the executioner, who shall then publicly at the free market nail his tongue and pierce it with a nail, and while he is thus fastened, give him a knife in his hand, and the choice to tear himself free, or to cut off his tongue, short or long.”

SOLD

An accounting book of significant historical importance

Chrétienne d’Aguerre (1553-1611), comtesse de Sault, fut une figure influente durant les guerres de Religion en France. Originaire de Lorraine, elle épousa en premières noces Antoine de Blanchefort, avec qui elle eut un fils, Charles. Veuve, elle se remaria en 1578 avec François-Louis de Montauban d’Agoult, comte de Sault, et s’installa en Provence. Après la mort de son second époux en 1586, elle devint tutrice de ses enfants et s’engagea activement dans la Ligue catholique, dirigeant la Ligue aixoise et s’alliant avec le duc de Savoie pour contrer les protestants. Son influence politique et ses actions militaires marquèrent l’histoire provençale de cette époque. ​

The first entry is for the Comte de Sault, dated May first 1584, mentioning a sum of 5400 florins to be arranged over a period of four years.

On page 105, is an entry for Madame la Comtesse de Sault, dated April 25, 1588, allocating the sum of 6060 florins to be arranged also within a four years period.

There are 127 leaves in the manuscript, written on both sides

Chrétienne d’Aguerre, comtesse de Sault (1553–1611), played a pivotal role in the French Wars of Religion, particularly in Provence between 1584 and 1590. Born to Claude d’Aguerre and Jeanne de Hangest-Moyencourt, Chrétienne was deeply embedded in the Catholic nobility. Her first marriage to Antoine de Blanchefort produced a son, Charles de Blanchefort-Créquy. Following Antoine’s death, she married François-Louis de Montauban d’Agoult, comte de Sault, in 1578, with whom she had several children, including Jeanne and Louis.  

After François-Louis’s death in 1586, Chrétienne assumed control of the family’s estates and became a staunch leader of the Catholic League in Provence. Residing in Aix-en-Provence, she orchestrated military and political strategies against Protestant forces. Her influence was so profound that she convinced local leaders to appoint Charles-Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, as governor of Provence. However, disagreements led to her imprisonment by the Duke; she later escaped, reportedly disguised as a gardener.  

Chrétienne’s leadership during this tumultuous period underscores the significant roles women could play in early modern European politics, especially within the context of religious conflicts.

Exact list of one hundred masterpieces of art chosen by French Commissioners to be transported from Rome to Paris, following the Treaty of Bologna(*), of 3 Messidor, Year 4 [June 21, 1796]

(*) An armistice was signed in that city; but the Peace Treaty was negotiated and signed at Tolentino on 1st Ventose Year 5 (February 19, 1797.)

Art. 7. The Pope renounces in perpetuity, cedes and transfers to the French Republic all his rights over the territories of the legations of Bologna, Ferrara and Romagna… Art. 13. Article 8 of the armistice treaty signed at Bologna concerning manuscripts and art objects will have its complete and most prompt execution possible.

From the Vatican Museum

Apollo (Apollo Belvedere)
Laocoön (Laocoön and His Sons)
Torso (Belvedere Torso)
Mercury called the Antinous
Hercules with a child in his arms
Demosthenes seated
Trajan seated
Menander seated
Posidonius seated
A warrior, called the Phocion
Ariadne called the Cleopatra
Two cupids, half-figure
A Philosopher believed to be Sextus of Chaeronea
Health (Hygieia)
Juno
Venus crouching
Adonis
Paris
Discobolus
Another Discobolus
Bearded Bacchus, called the Sardanapalus
Augustus
A veiled Roman
The Cybele of Capri
Meleager
The Nile (colossal figure)
The Tiber (colossal figure)
Ceres, colossal
Melpomene, colossal
Apollo musagetes
The nine Muses found at Tivoli (items 31-39)
A small seated Urania
A small Clio

From the Capitoline Museum

Equestrian statue, the large one
Antinous
Apollo with a griffin
Cupid and Psyche
A dying Gladiator
A Faun playing the flute
A young woman holding an urn in her hands
Juno
Venus
Flora
Antinous
The philosopher Zeno

From the Palace of the Conservators

The young man pulling a thorn from his foot (Spinario)
From the Pio-Clementine Museum – Busts

Hadrian
Antinous
Serapis radiant
Jupiter of Otricoli
Triton of the Ocean
Comedy
Tragedy
Demeter
The Menelaus called Pasquino
The Minerva of Castel Angelo

From the Capitoline Museum – Additional Busts

A bust of M. Brutus
The Ariadne
The head of the Sun called the Alexander
One of the four Dominars

From the Palace of the Conservators

The bronze bust of Titus Brutus

Monuments of Another Kind – Pio-Clementine Museum

A two-handled vase with masks and lyres
A sepulchral altar placed in the portico before Antinous
A tripod on which emblems of Apollo are engraved
An altar with bas-relief sculpture found in the gallery of the Candelabra
A large Candelabrum having a circle in the middle with bas relief
Another Candelabrum whose base is four-sided
Another with small atlases or small Atlantids on the pedestal
Two Sphinxes of red granite (items 77-78)
Two seats of white marble sculptured, taken from the door of the Museum of candelabra (items 79-80)
Sarcophagus with the nine Muses
Another with a marine Divinity
Marble tripod
Paintings

The Transfiguration by Raphael
Communion of Saint Jerome by Domenichino
Saint Romuald by Domenichino
Entombment of Christ by Michelangelo
The Dead Christ
Saint Petronilla

From the Vatican Gallery

Crucifixion of Saint Peter
Miracle of Saint Gregory by Annibale Sacchi
The Saint Thomas
The Martyrdom of Two Saints by Valentin
The Saint Erasmus by Poussin
Saint Cecilia by Pierre Vanni
The Holy Family by Poussin
Fortune

Outside of Rome

Coronation of the Virgin by Raphael
The Ascension
The Coronation of the Virgin
Supplement – Additional Works

Note: These precious objects followed the first hundred closely.

A Saint Jerome by Le Sueur, life-size
Descent from the Cross by Rubens
Battle of Zama won by Scipio
Actium, or the Last Sigh of Rome by Raphael

Additional Collections Mentioned

Collection of Forty-Two Roman Emperors

Volume 1
Introduction

Durand’s recorded movements—from Lodi in December 1796 to Leoben and Klagenfurt in the spring of 1797, then through Castelfranco and Verona into Venice by November, and finally westward to Brescia—place him at the center of French civil, military, and cultural operations during a year of profound transition in northern Italy. His presence in Venice on 3 November 1797 coincides exactly with the completion of the French art seizures, providing essential historical context for the extensive list of artworks he later preserved in his manuscript.

Among the manuscripts comprising this first volume of Amusemens littéraires by J.-B. Adrien Durand lies an extraordinary historical record: a French infantry officer’s eyewitness documentation of the cultural landscape of northern Italy at the very moment when Napoleon Bonaparte’s army was systematically confiscating artworks, antiquities, natural history specimens, manuscripts, and scientific collections.

Durand was not an art historian or commissioner. He was a cultivated officer with direct access to the Commission des Sciences et des Arts, moving among Italian elites while observing, at close range, the removal of their cultural patrimony. His correspondence, written between April and November 1797, traces his emotional arc from anticipation to participation to documentation, mirroring the broader trajectory of French involvement in Italy.

Spring 1797: Anticipation and Disappointment

Durand’s earliest letters from Italy—written at Leoben (20–21 April 1797) and Klagenfurt (May 1797)—reveal his longing to experience Italy’s artistic wonders. One of the most striking passages captures his disappointment:

“…Rome, Florence, Venice… I could have promised myself to pause for a moment to regard, more curious than connoisseur, the masterpieces in all genres that fill these places. But imagine, my dear friend, that instead of resting from our long fatigues, we are to be scattered across the fortified towns of the Venetian state and the Milanese. Instead of hearing, beside some pretty and spiritual woman, the enchanting music of Vinci, Pergolesi, Paisiello, we will spend our days on burning ground, repeating formation drills in clouds of dust…”

This establishes Durand as a cultivated observer, keenly aware of the artistic and musical riches around him, yet prevented by military duties from accessing them.

Summer 1797: Verona Under French Occupation

By June 1797, Durand had been transferred to Verona—one of the richest artistic centers of northern Italy and an early target for French commissioners. His letters reflect the delicate balance between his duty as an occupying officer and his admiration for the city’s culture. He formed friendships with the Spranzi and Calvi families, corresponded with scholars and clergy, and described social life, theaters, churches, and collections in vivid detail.

13 July 1797: Eyewitness to French Confiscation

Durand’s letter of 13 July 1797 (25 Messidor an 5) to Victor Daumier is one of the most important firsthand accounts of French confiscation. He writes:

“Yesterday I accompanied an artist named Blésimare, one of those appointed by the General-in-Chief to select masterpieces to enrich France. We entered the house of Doctor Barbieri, who showed us a numerous collection of petrified fish belonging to M. Ronconi, noble Florentine, deceased several months ago.
These had been taken from Monte Bolca, between Verona and Vicenza.”

This account is extraordinary. It identifies a French commissioner, a targeted collector, the material seized, and the inspection procedure. It confirms that French confiscations extended beyond art to natural history and science.

Autumn 1797: Venice and Bonaparte’s Presence

By 3 November 1797, Durand was stationed in Venice during the final moments of French occupation. He describes Bonaparte’s arrival in Vincenza near Venice:

“The General-in-Chief arrived yesterday at noon. He reviewed the troops on the Champ de Mars and presented soldiers distinguished in combat with rifles and sabers of honor… ‘It is not enough that you be brave,’ I heard him say, ‘everyone must know it!’”

This scene places Durand at the center of political and cultural events in Venice during the transition imposed by the Treaty of Campo Formio.

Durand transcribed an extraordinary passage from a speech delivered by Bonaparte in Vicenza during the spring of 1797, a moment when French authority had only just been imposed over the former Venetian territories. According to Durand, the General addressed the assembled troops with these words:

“Frenchmen! he said, you refused to recognize the French Republic; yet behold, it has recognized the Cisalpine Republic! And had we continued on this course, it would soon have recognized the Hungarian Republic as well. But the blood of Frenchmen is too precious. This glorious peace makes France more powerful than she was in the very time of Charlemagne. Mayence, that invincible obstacle which prevented our brave comrades from advancing as far as we have, now belongs to the Republic. Mantua belongs to the Cisalpine Republic; we have but one enemy left, and he is irreconcilable. It is not on the seas, nor in the Indies, that we may hope to defeat him; we lack ships and seamen. It is in London that we must go to seek out the perfidious Englishman, to make him repent of the obstacles he ceaselessly places in the way of our commerce and of the general pacification of Europe. This war, to which we are forced, must end with the total ruin of that ferocious islander. You will spend, I hope, the Carnival in France. A small number of you will remain in Italy to consolidate our work; for them, receive in advance the embraces of  your families and their congratulations. But at the call of the Fatherland, I like to believe that each of you will rejoin his flag. Long live the Republic!”
Durand concludes that this represents the substance of the discourse he heard in Vicenza—an account unique today, absent from official sources, yet entirely coherent with Bonaparte’s rhetoric and strategic aims in 1797.

24 November 1797: Cultural Inventory of Verona

Durand’s letter from Brescia on 24 November 1797 is effectively a cultural inventory of Verona. He lists artworks by Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Guercino, and others; describes the Maffei Museum; the city’s social assemblies and theaters; and its intellectual lineage from Catullus to Fracastoro.

This letter stands as a rare snapshot of Verona at the precise moment French commissioners were evaluating and removing its treasures.

Durand’s Intellectual and Moral Position

Durand records events without explicit approval or condemnation. His tone is factual—suggesting confiscation had become normalized within military culture, even as he personally admired the art. His writings reveal the human dimension of cultural loss.

Historical Significance of the Letters

• Names individuals involved in confiscations (e.g., Blésimare)
• Describes seizure of scientific and natural history objects
• Documents Verona’s cultural landscape before French removal
• Contains details absent from official records
• Reveals how cultural plunder was justified and executed

Extraordinary Discovery: The Official French Confiscation Inventory (Rome, 1796–1797)

Durand’s manuscript contains a complete transcription of the official French government inventory of artworks and antiquities confiscated from Rome and the Vatican under the Armistice of Bologna (20 June 1796) and the Treaty of Tolentino (19 February 1797). This list would form the foundation of the Musée Napoléon (now the Louvre).

Complete list of confiscated Artworks

Conclusion

Durand’s letters and the unofficial inventory together form the most complete surviving picture of the French confiscation of Italian art during the campaign of 1796–1797. They trace a progression from expectation to participation to documentation, revealing both the machinery of occupation and the fragile cultural worlds caught within it.

Through these documents, Durand becomes an indispensable witness to one of the most significant episodes of cultural displacement in European history.

Volume two:

Unpublished manuscript of Adrien Durand, French prisoner of war in Hungary in 1793