ANS Library Acquires Volume of Rare Pamphlets from the Library of Augustin Dupré

From a recent Kolbe "Fanning auction, the ANS Library has acquired a bound volume of three pamphlets by renowned artist and engraver Augustin Dupré, famed for his work on French coins and for his designs of early U.S. medals, particularly the Libertas Americana.

The volume is from Dupré's own library. The pamphlets date from the period of the French Revolution and concern the redesign of coinage during the revolutionary era. Some of the proposals suggested by Dupré in one of the pamphlets (Observations Présentées au Comité des Monnaies de l'Assemblée Nationale, 1790) were adopted, and in 1791 he was appointed Graver général des monnaies.

His management methods and coin designs came up for some criticism during the politically tumultuous time, and another pamphlet in the volume (Réponse à l'écrit de M. Beyerlé, 1791) has him mounting a defense against these attacks. The third pamphlet (Observations Rélatives au Mémoire que la Commission Générale des Monnoyes, 1793) is a response to an official report on the redesign of coinage that had been submitted to the revolutionary government, thus providing a window into the artist's beliefs. We would like to thank ANS Fellow David Gladfelter for contributing to the purchase of the volume.