Dreyfus Affair periodicals collection, 1891-1906

John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Dreyfus Affair periodicals collection
Date range:	1891-1906
Creator:
Extent:	0.5 Linear feet
Abstract:	The weekend supplements include small commentaries on and large, usually colored illustrations of the events surrounding the trials and imprisonment of Alfred Dreyfus and Émile Zola's involvement in his cause.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number:	Ms.2006.07

Scope & content

This collection of illustrated popular periodicals from France, Great Britain, and Italy discuss the Dreyfus Affair and Émile Zola and cover the years 1891 to 1906. Series one contains Dépêche. Supplément illustré with issues dating from 1899 and Petit journal. Supplément illustré with issues starting in 1892 and finishing in 1899. All of the periodicals are weekend supplements to daily newspapers and have colored etchings on both the first and last pages. Those etchings are discussed in a column of perhaps several paragraphs which give the reader not only information about the stories but also editorial commentary on them. Other regular articles include chess columns, fashion drawings, ads for such things as hair regrowth, diabetes control and weight loss, serial fiction, jokes, and puzzles. English periodicals are all in black and white covering years 1891-1902.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Dreyfus, Alfred, 1859-1935
• Zola, Émile, 1840-1902

Geographical Names

• France--History--Third Republic, 1870-1940--Sources
• French Guiana

Subject Topics

• Government, Politics and Law
• Jews--France--Sources
• Language and Literature
• Press and politics--France--History--Sources
• Religion

Occupations

• Authors
• Soldiers

Document Types

• Articles
• Periodicals

Subject Topics

• Government, Politics and Law

Arrangement

The collection is divided into the following series:

• Series 1. French periodicals
• Series 2. Italian periodicals
• Series 3. English periodicals

Historical note

This collection of periodicals focuses on the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal which rocked France from the 1890's into the 1900's and Émile Zola's involvement in it. Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935), a promising young Jewish artillery officer in the French army was accused and twice wrongly convicted of treason. His trial, imprisonment on Devil's Island, retrial, pardon and ultimate reinstatement into the army split France into dreyfusards and anti-dreyfusards for decades. The involvement of both political liberals and the new wave of French literary figures, represented most prominently by Zola (1840-1902), in the Dreyfus cause helped to move France away from a church dominated state to one more in line with the political developments in the other big European powers. The scandal was directly responsible for the passage of a 1905 law declaring separation of church and state in France. Allegations persist that Zola, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from an improperly vented chimney, was actually murdered; years later, a mason made a deathbed confession that he had been paid by conservative anti-dreyfusards to tamper with the chimney. The French army only accepted Dreyfus's innocence officially in 1995 in spite of the fact that he had served with distinction in World War I and been reinstated as a member of the Legion d'Honneur. Repercussions continue into the 21st century. Jacques Chirac held a ceremony in 1998 to commemorate the printing of Zola's defense of Dreyfus, the famous J'accuse, and another in 2006, the one hundredth anniversary of the final overturning of Dreyfus's conviction. Chirac chose to hold this ceremony with descendants of both Zola and Dreyfus in attendance in the very courtyard where Dreyfus had been officially stripped of all military trappings and his sword broken.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Dreyfus Affair periodicals collection, Ms. 2006.07, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , Special Collections Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The collection of French and Italian preriodicals was purchased by Brown University in 2005.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Lindsay Woodel and Tatyana Badalyan.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013/14

Additional Information

Related material:

RESOURCES AT BROWN: Émile Zola and Henry Céard papers, 1864-1921 Dreyfus march two-step (from the Yiddish Sheet Music collection) Le Petit journal. Supplément illustré, 1894,1899-1900,1906,1909 Psst! Images par Forain, Caran d'Ache, Feb. 1896-Sept. 1899 OTHER RESOURCES: Alfred Dreyfus Collection (Ms 422) Special Collections, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University. L’Affaire Dreyfus, expression de l'antisémitisme. Chronology and online documents (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Official documents and video on the rehabilitation of Dreyfus (Assemblée nationale) Alfred Dreyfus, le combat pour la justice (Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaïsme)

Other information:

Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: Dreyfus Affair periodicals collection, 1891-1906

Inventory

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