Note 49 — Chapter XIII

I have earlier described the sale of Talleyrand’s first library at London in 1794. I have seen a second catalogue, of the year 1816, in which the library of a “foreign nobleman, distinguished for his diplomatic talents,” is put up at Sotheby’s. This must have been taken as a reference to Talleyrand, and the King’s librarian explicitly describes the books as his. The sale lasted eighteen days and produced £8,000. But it is almost impossible to believe that the library was Talleyrand’s. The books are described as having been consigned from France in 1814, and as the finest collection ever put at auction. By that time Talleyrand’s anxiety was over, and he could not have taken the extreme step of selling a superb library. Either the books were sold in 1812, or they were not Talleyrand’s.