e-Reader devices will let you carry hundreds and thousands of e-books without getting overwhelmed by the size or weight of the collection. That is almost an entire library that you have at your disposal at all times. Unfortunately, things weren’t that easy for book lovers a couple of centuries ago. They either had to keep a select few or make special arrangements – of the likes of the Jacobean Traveling Library – just in case they needed more books while on the move. Take for instance Napolean who had a special case created just for carrying a select few titles that he perhaps couldn’t do without. This would have kept him entertained and informed during his military campaigns that stretched far and beyond.
“Many of Napoleon’s biographers have incidentally mentioned that he […] used to carry about a certain number of favorite books wherever he went, whether traveling or camping,” the website OpenCulture revealed citing an article by Austin Kleon who, in turn, referred to a Sacramento Daily Union post on this that dates back to 1885. The primary source of the information has been a Louvre librarian who in turn has been the son of one of Napoleon’s librarians.
Austin stated: “For a long time Napoleon used to carry about the books he required in several boxes holding about sixty volumes each. These volumes, which were either octavo or duodecimo, stood upon shelves inside the boxes, which were supplied by the well-known cabinetmaker, Jacob. They were made of mahogany at first, but as it was found that this was not strong enough for the knocking about they had to sustain, M. Barbier bad them made of oak and covered with leather. The inside was lined with green leather or velvet, and the books were bound in morocco. There was a catalogue for each case, with a corresponding number upon every volume, so that there was never a moment’s delay in picking out any book that was wanted.”
What has also come to the fore is that Napolean once missed some books while he was on the move. To ensure such titles were part of his mobile library, the general issued special orders in 1803 to his librarian to have those books specially printed as per his exact size requirements to be part his library.
This is what Napolean ordered to his librarian on July 8, 1803.
“The Emperor wishes you to form a traveling library of one thousand volumes in small 12mo and printed in handsome type. It is his Majesty’s intention to have these works printed for his special use, and in order to economize space there is to be no margin to them. They should contain from five hundred to six hundred pages, and be bound in covers as flexible as possible and with spring backs. There should be forty works on religion, forty dramatic works, forty volumes of epic and sixty of other poetry, one hundred novels and sixty volumes of history, the remainder being historical memoirs of every period.”
All of this sheds light on what might be a hidden nature of someone whom we have known to be more inclined towards wars and conquests. Apart from that, the emperor also took time off to indulge in some serious reading as well and made sure he always had the content available to him that he wished.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.