Madeleine B. Stern papers related to Joseph de Nancrède

The rare book dealer and writer Madeleine B. Stern was born July 1, 1912, in New York City, New York. She was educated at Barnard College (A.B., 1932) and Columbia University (M.A., 1934). In 1945 she began dealing rare books in a long-lasting partnership with Leona Rostenberg, and the two have collaborated on several memoirs that record their experiences in the book trade. Stern’s scholarly work includes several books and numerous articles on rare books, publishing history, women’s issues, nineteenth-century literature, and several biographies, including The Life of Margaret Fuller (1942) and Louisa May Alcott (1950). Stern is a member of many bibliographic and literary associations: Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, Modern Language Association of America, American Printing History Association, Manuscript Society, Authors League of America, and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. She received a Guggenheim fellowship, 1943-45; the Medalie Award, Barnard College, 1982; and an American Printing History Association Award (with Leona Rostenberg), 1983.

“Madeleine B. Stern.” Contemporary Authors Online, The Gale Group. 2002. Retrieved November 17, 2002 from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRDictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1958-1964.

The Franco-American teacher, bookseller, and publisher Paul Joseph Guérard de Nancrède was born in March 6, 1761, at Héricy, near Fontainebleau, France. He died in Paris on December 15, 1841. Nancrède first came to America as part of the French military force that fought for American independence. After settling in Boston he taught French language and literature at Harvard from 1787-1798, eventually publishing L’Abeille Françoise, the first French textbook in America. From April through October, 1789, Nancrède published the Courier de Boston, a French language political and literary journal. In 1796 Nancrède opened a printing and booksellers shop in Boston, publishing a great number of books in French and introducing American readers to the works of Rousseau and his followers. He relocated his business to Philadelphia in 1812, but by 1825 Nancrède had returned to France, where he still occasionally published political writings and maintained his interest in Franco-American affairs.

Sterne, Madeleine B. “Joseph de Nancrède, Franco-American Bookseller-Publisher, 1761-1841.” The Papers of the Bibliographic Society of America. Volume 70, 1976.