Moreau de Saint-Méry: Itinerant Bibliophile

Abstract

This article examines the bookselling, printing, and editorial work of the French colonial lawyer Moreau de Saint-Méry. While residing in Philadelphia from 1794 to 1798, Moreau opened a bookstore and print shop that served as a publishing house and social community hub for his fellow refugees from the French and Haitian Revolutions. After examining the logistics of his involvement with the early North American book trade, I undertake a close reading of one of his imprints. The material history of this expertly crafted, multi-volume account of a Dutch trade mission to China highlights collaboration between European, Caribbean, American, and Chinese technicians and artists who lived migratory lives during the imperial conflicts of the late eighteenth century. The article considers Moreau’s professional book activities in light of his work as a collector whose personal collection of books, manuscripts, and maps became a cornerstone of the French colonial archives.