Marcel Bouteron

Marcel Bouteron ( born August 3, 1877 in Le Mans, † July 9, 1962 in Vence ) was a French librarian, linguist and literary theorist.

Life and work

The Librarian

Bouteron first studied law ( with Licence 1900), then at the École Nationale des Chartes, where he graduated in 1905 with the work Arnoul, evêque de Lisieux from 1141 to 1184. Etudes sur les lettres de ses manuscrits, poésies et sur ​​quelques points de sermons et sa biographie ( Macon, 1905). He entered the library of the Institut de France ( then director was the historian Alfred Rébelliau ) and stayed there 36 years. In 1934, he was ( as the successor of Henri Deherain ) its director until 1941 (successor: Jean Tremblot de la Croix ).

1941 Bouteron (as successor to the historian Charles Schmidt) Inspector General of French libraries and archives. From 1944 to 1946 he was head of the entire French libraries (successor: Julien Cain ). In addition, he was from 1913 to 1952 (succeeding Georges Vicaire ) responsible for the literary history major collection Charles de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul (successor: Jean Pommier ).

The Balzacspezialist

On the initiative of Louis Conrad developed ( by publishing house Editions Conard ) Bouteron (along with his younger colleague Henri Longnon ) the mighty complete edition ( Oeuvres complètes ) of the works of Honoré de Balzac, which appeared from 1912 to 1940 in 40 volumes ( illustrating by Charles Huard ). The contained therein Comédie humaine of Balzac, he was also in 11 volumes in the " Bibliothèque de la Pléiade " out (Paris 1935-1937, 1952-1964, Vol 11, 1964 by Roger Pierrot ). He also published from 1923 to 1928 eight volumes of Cahiers Balzaciens (reprint Geneva 2002), 1925-1927 two volumes Balzaciana and annotated ( with Henri Evans ), the five -volume edition of L'Oeuvre de Balzac by Albert Beguin (Paris 1949-1950, 16 vols. , 1950-1953 ).

Bouteron was from 1940 a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques.

Bouteron was the leading Balzacforscher his time. One has to say of him: He knows more about than Balzac Balzac himself (Paul Valéry ) and Without him there would be no Balzac (see Madeleine Ambrière 2008).

Other Works (selection)

• ( with Robert Burnand and Pierre Caron [ 1875-1952 ], Répertoire de l' histoire moderne et méthodique contemporaine de la France, 2 vols, Paris 1911-1913
• Le Culte de Balzac, Abbeville 1924
• Muses romantiques, Paris 1926, 1934
• Danse et musique romantiques, Paris 1927
• ( Jean de la Croix Tremblot ) Catalogue général des manuscrits of bibliothèques publiques de France, Paris 1928
• La véritable image de Mme Hanska, Paris 1929
• Pologne romantique, Paris 1937
• (Ed. with Jean Pommier ) Balzac, Louis Lambert, Paris 1954