Collection ID: GR55.G35 H46
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Gaidoz, Henri, 1842-1932
Abstract:
A collection of pamphlets, booklets, and offprints compiled by French folklorist Henri Gaidoz (1842-1932) pertaining to folklore (particularly French folklore), mythology, Celtic Studies, and comparative religion.
Extent:
6500 items(ca.)
Language:
Materials are in French but also include English , German , Italian , some Late Latin , and other languages.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Henri Gaidoz was born in Paris in 1842 and died there in 1932. He was a folklorist, philologist, and scholar of Celtic studies, and also an expert in archaeology, religion, and mythology. He founded the journals Melusine and Revue Celtique. When Celtic Studies was inaugurated in the Sorbonne, he was named as the first director. Among folklorists, his best-known work is Blason populaire de la France (1884), which he co-wrote with the other leading French folklorist of the day, Paul Sebillot. However, Gaidoz published few books; instead he specialized in erudite essays which, as was customary at that time, were sometimes published as separate brochures and also in numerous journals. He was an opponent of the contemporary solar mythology theory, for instance; he took on the eminent German solar mythologist Max Muller by translating into French an article proving that Muller was himself a solar myth ("Comme quoi M. Max Muller n'a jamais existe; etude de mythologie compare," 1884). A staunch opponent of romantic and amateur folklore collection and study, he was a leader of efforts establish folklore study on a more scholarly footing.

Scope and Content:

The collection consists of 6,785 items collected and organized by Gaidoz. Most are previously published (pamphlets, booklets, offprints, and extracts from journals), while a few (notes, correspondence) are unpublished. The majority of publications date from the mid- 19th to early-20th centuries, but a few (24 items in all) date from the 16th to 18th centuries. 140 publications in the collection are dated between 1933-1968, i.e. after Gaidoz' death; these were presumably added by Mr. Gerchel or by previous owners.

Subjects in the collection span the breadth of Gaidoz' wide-ranging interests in folklore, mythology, Celtic studies, and comparative religion.

Custodial history:

Purchased from Librairie M. Slatkine & Fils (Geneva). 1973. Slatkine & Fils purchased from a Mr. Gerchel who died in Paris in 1970.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized according to the subject classifications devised by Gaidoz. He filed materials in pamphlet boxes by subject, and we have preserved that system while replacing the original boxes with archival-quality enclosures. Gaidoz' scheme divided items into 206 boxes from Box 1 ("Folklore of the Human Body") to Box 206 ("Education—History"). A few subjects are represented by more than one box.

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research but does not circulate.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Materials in this collection do not circulate.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E760
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-1550
molsmith@indiana.edu