A feast of French poetry: the final sale of Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller’s remarkable library

The Swiss collector Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller (1930-2016) is perhaps best known for assembling one of the largest private holdings of Pre-Columbian, African and Oceanic objects in Europe. He was, however, also a passionate collector of books, notably French Renaissance poetry. Over the course of six decades, alongside his collection of ethnographic art, Barbier-Mueller built one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of late-16th-century French poetry in private hands.

His extensive library contained works by some of the period’s foremost writers, including Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf, as well as other less familiar names, including Marc Papillon Lasphrise, Nicolas de Montreux and Etienne Jodelle.

According to Christie’s Books and Manuscripts specialist Roxane Ricros, Barbier-Mueller collected with scholarly passion. He bought at auction and from eminent dealers, and enjoyed cataloguing and studying his books as much as the hunt itself. ‘He undertook extensive research on his collection and advanced our bibliographical, biographical and historical knowledge of many poets of the period,’ says Ricros.

Barbier-Mueller published an annotated bibliography of his collection, as well as a book, the Dictionnaire des poètes français de la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle, for which he was awarded the Prix du Rayonnement de la langue et de la littérature françaises in 2016 by the Académie Française.

On 24 March 2026, Christie’s presents the fourth and final sale of Barbier-Mueller’s remarkable library, almost five years to the day after the inaugural sale at Christie’s in Paris, which realised a total of €1,583,250.

Some of the most celebrated names in French Renaissance poetry are represented in the forthcoming sale, including Ronsard, du Bellay and Philippe Desportes. Also offered are works by female poets of the French Renaissance, including Louise Labé, Mesdames des Roches and Marguerite de Bretagne, dame de Goulaine. ‘Several copies coming to Christie’s have royal provenance, while others are beautifully bound and nowhere else to be found,’ says Ricros. ‘It’s an honour to bring them to market.’

One of the most anticipated lots is a first edition of the complete works of Pierre de Ronsard. Born in 1524 and educated at the Collège de Navarre in Paris, Ronsard would go on to become one of the most celebrated poets of his generation. He was the leader of a group of poets — known first as ‘the Brigade’ and later as La Pléiade — who sought to elevate the French language as a medium for literary expression. The copy coming to auction was published in 1560 in Paris by Gabriel Buon and is one of only two complete examples of the first edition known to exist. The other is in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

‘The first volume of this copy comes from the library of the Duc d’Aumale, King Louis Philippe’s son,’ says Ricros. ‘The fact that it’s the only known copy in private hands and has royal provenance makes it one of the rarest items in French book collecting.’

A further 25 works by Ronsard are offered for sale, among them a signed letter dated 23 November 1584. It is one of only four surviving autograph letters signed by Ronsard, of which two are in private hands.

Also coming to auction is an original 1572 edition of the first four books of La Franciade, Ronsard’s unfinished epic poem written in decasyllabic verse. Commissioned by Henri II, it chronicles the legendary journey of Francus (Astyanax), son of Hector, who escapes Troy to become a forefather of the French nation. This copy, which formerly belonged to the renowned publisher and bibliophile Ambroise Firmin-Didot, is presented in a superb morocco binding with a rich ‘fanfare’ decoration.

‘Fanfare bindings emerged in the late 16th century in France and are recognisable by the spectacular gilt design on the covers, featuring a central medallion, geometric patterns and foliage,’ explains Ricros.

The sale also includes three copies of Les premières oeuvres by Philippe Desportes, one of Ronsard’s eminent successors. He based his style on earlier Italian poets, including Petrarch, Ariosto and Sannazaro, and favoured a light, dainty verse. The first copy dates from 1579 and is in a late-17th-century red morocco binding embossed with the gilt arms and emblems of Louis XIV. The second, which dates from 1583 and has an exceptional fanfare binding, was formerly in the library of the French historian Emmanuel Rodocanachi. The third, published in 1600 by Mamert Patisson in Paris, is in a superb ‘Duodo-style’ binding with gilt flowered medallions featuring seven different blossoms.

‘This type of decoration is named after Pietro Duodo, the Venetian ambassador to France at the end of the 16th century,’ explains Ricros. ‘He was an admirer of the style and had the volumes in his library bound in this floral design.’

Additional lots with royal provenance include a precious presentation copy of Poemata (1587) by Scévole de Sainte-Marthe. Printed in a larger format — the only known copy of this kind — it is in an olive morocco binding embellished with gilt decorative fleurs de lys and the arms of King Henri III.

‘The book contains an early nursing treatise dedicated to the newlywed royal couple, in the hope that they would have a male heir,’ explains Ricros. ‘Sadly, the king was assassinated in 1589, with no direct heir.’

The copy of La Galliade, ou de la Révolution des Arts et Sciences by Guy le Fèvre de la Boderie is also embossed with the arms and cipher of King Henri III. It was printed in Paris by Guillaume Chaudière in 1582 and is bound in sumptuous contemporary gilt vellum. ‘This is a particularly exquisite presentation copy,’ notes Ricros. ‘The use of vellum suggests that it was bound by the royal binding workshop for the king’s personal use.’

The sale also includes works by female poets of the French Renaissance. Among the notable lots is a copy of Euvres de Louïze Labé lionnoize by Louise Labé, whose work garnered increased traction with collectors after its reissue in the 19th century. This copy, from the rare second edition, was published in 1556, the year after the first edition, and was once owned by Charles Nodier, a curator at the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal in Paris from 1824 to 1844. ‘It was Nodier who had the copy beautifully bound by Joseph Thouvenin, who is widely credited with reviving the fanfare style of binding during the French Restoration,’ says Ricros.

Madeleine Neveu and Catherine Fradonnet, known collectively as Les Dames des Roches, are also represented in the sale. The mother-and-daughter duo moved in intellectual circles in Poitiers and ran a famous weekly salon for more than two decades, hosting leading poets, lawyers and scholars of the era. They also published influential dialogues, letters and poems exploring the intellectual life and agency of women. Coming to Christie’s is a copy of their acclaimed Les Oeuvres (1579), bound together with a copy of La Puce from 1583, and a copy of Les secondes Oeuvres, also from 1583.

As well as celebrated names, Barbier-Mueller acquired works by lesser-known figures whom he considered just as important to the history of 16th-century French literature. Etienne Jodelle is a case in point. Although little known today, Jodelle was a leading dramatist and poet of his generation, and one of the seven members of La Pléaide.

‘Jodelle was the first to introduce the Alexandrine into French tragedy, and as such is widely regarded as the founder of modern French theatre,’ explains Ricros. ‘His work paved the way for the great Neoclassical tragedians such as Corneille and Racine.’ Included in the sale is a finely bound copy of the second edition of Jodelle’s Les Oeuvres et meslanges poetiques (1583). Inside are three plays, including his first, Cléopâtre captive, which was presented before the court in Paris in 1553.

Other highlights include a manuscript comprising an illustrated series of poetic works by Marguerite de Bretagne, dame de Goulaine, some in her own hand, other poems written after her death, and a history of her noble family. Also offered is Marc Papillon Lasphrise’s Les premières oeuvres poétiques du capitaine Lasphrise (1599). ‘Lasphrise was an unconventional poet who played with language, using forms such as the acrostic or the riddle,’ says Ricros, ‘even going so far as to compose a sonnet in an unknown language.’

La bibliothèque poétique de Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, 4e partie is on view at Christie’s in Paris, 20-24 March 2026, alongside the Old Masters sales (viewing 20-25 March)