The library has acquired complete sets of two rare French periodicals: La Ligue and Celsius, neither of which is listed in American library catalogs; they are available only in the Bibliothèque National in Paris. The acquisition of these two titles by Hoover enhances the strength of the library’s French holdings on the themes of war, revolution, and peace.
La Ligue pour l’Union des Français qui n’ont pas Renié la Victoire, a short-lived antiwar illustrated weekly, was published during the first four months of 1924. Directed, administered, and printed by veterans of the First World War, it was dedicated to those for whom the victory was laced with sadness. It included reminiscences about the war and its aftermath, experiences of disabled veterans, and reviews of books and films, accompanied by photographs, drawings, and cartoons, with the most striking illustrations on the front cover.
Celsius, a monthly then quarterly periodical published between 1987 and 1995, reviewed European politics from a left-wing perspective. Edited by Jehan de Wangen, it monitored the rise of neoconservative and nationalist movements in the final years of the Cold War and immediately after the implosion of the Soviet bloc. The complete run of sixty-three issues is an excellent source on the French Left’s ambivalent reactions to Europe’s changing political landscape in those years.
Maciej Siekierski, Senior Curator siekierski@stanford.edu
