ThomasCWilliams's Gallerie

Volney's Ruins of Empires, Library of Liberal Classics. Translation by Thomas Jefferson. A very rare paperback edition by Peter Eckler Publishing Co. of New York, 1915. Never seen this image on any…

The 1824 Volney stele by David at the Institute in profile.

This is the title page of the very first Jefferson-Barlow edition. It was published by Levrault in Paris in 1802. Note "Volume I" comprises the Invocation through Chapter 20: precisely the chapters…

Here's the title page of Volume II of the first edition of the Jefferson-Barlow translation. This volume contains Chapters 21-24, the so-called "religion section" of the book translated by Joel…

With the Volney stele (1824) by David d'Angers in the Court of Honor at the Institute. The inscription on the stele reads: “I will go into the desert and dwell among the ruins; I will interrogate…

This of course is the classic "philosopher overlooking the ruins of Palmyra" image found in most editions of Ruins of Empires. "Here once flourished an opulent city; here was the seat of a powerful…

The "Count" Volney, pictured here at about age 45, was a member of the original National Assembly. Volney took the Tennis Court Oath and sat on the committee that wrote the first French Constitution…

The Institute, left bank Paris right across the river from the Louvre, where Volney served as a history professor. One of the original Ideologues, he participated in the 18 Brumaire coup that brought…

Rue Volney in Paris, midway between the Opera and Place Vendome. Volney first met a young and then-unknown Napoleon Bonaparte on the island of Corsica in 1793. After helping Bonaparte's career on…

New Orleans riverfront, circa 1803. In a February 1803 letter President Jefferson asked Volney to intercede with Bonaparte during the controversy over Louisiana. Volney subsequently told Bonaparte…

With a copy of Jefferson's translation at Volney's tomb on top of the hill at Pere Lachaise. The inscription on the tomb reads: A F. Volney, Pair de France (To F. Volney, Peer of France). The House…

The new Thomas Jefferson statue, near the Legion of Honor and Orsay museums, left bank, Paris. Sometime during Volney's travels through the USA (1795-98), Jefferson and Volney conceived a scheme to…