Jammes Collection | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Jammes Collection

The Jammes collection includes 453 books, pamphlets, and leaflets in French or Latin that were condemned or suppressed by church and civil authorities, along with commentaries on these works. Spanning from the rise of Jansenism in the 17th century to the French Revolution, it features writings by Voltaire, Montesquieu, Madame Guyon, Pierre Bayle, and others.

Key items in the collection

Part of the collection comprises Bulls, Censures, Arrests by the Conseil d’Etat, Mandements and other instruments used to suppress books and pamphlets. They include:

The remainder of the collection comprises books and pamphlets that had been condemned and suppressed by ecclesiastical and civil authorities, as well as commentaries on those writings. The writers include:

  • Antoine Furetière (1619–1688)
  • Pierre Jurieu (1637–1713)
  • Pierre Bayle (1647–1706)
  • Madame Guyon (1648–1717)
  • Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755)
  • Voltaire (1694–1778)
  • Gabriel de Mably (1709–1785)
  • Helvétius (1715–1771)
  • Pierre de Beaumarchais (1732–1799)
  • Marquis de Mirabeau (1749–1791). 

Voltaire is particularly well represented, with 38 of his books and pamphlets. There is one work in English:

Background to the collection

The Jammes Collection (Livres Condamnés) formed part of a collection of books and printed documents assembled by the antiquarian bookseller Paul Jammes (1890-1983) of Paris, which he entitled Le bûcher bibliographique. The material selected was purchased in 1968. The full collection comprised 916 lots, most of which consisted of single works but some of which were made up of a number of related documents.

The Jammes Collection has been kept together as a formed collection within the Rare Books collection. They are numbered in accordance with the Paul Jammes catalogue. The call numbers have the prefix RB JAMMES.

This guide was prepared using these references:

Page published: 19 Aug 2025

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