4

Yet despite the constant new acquisitions, much material was also lost down through the years, especially during World War II. In the night of August 31st and September 1st, 1944, a fire broke out in the fortress of Saint-Quentin in the upper city and quickly spread through two of the three casemates where the most valuable documents were stored. About 40% of the manuscripts were destroyed in the blaze (588 of the total of 1,475 registered in the Catalogue général of 1879 and in the supplement of 1933), in addition to 165 incunabula or 27% of the total of 614 volumes (in turn corresponding to 781 bibliographical items).

As fate would have it, the manuscripts, prints, drawings and engravings lost in this disaster belonged generally to the so-called “cimelia”, the treasures upon which the fame of the library once rested. Many of the manuscripts, for instance, were remarkable because of their age or the quality of their miniature illuminations. Fortunately, however, a number of outstanding works escaped the flames.