Bibliothèque nationale de France

The travels of Marco Polo. With 25 illus. in full color from a fourteenth-century MS. in the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris by Marco Polo ( Book )
5 editions published between 1958 and 2007 in 5 languages and held by 1,405 libraries worldwide
Marco Polo travelled to the Orient with his father and uncle, setting off from Venice in 1271 and arriving in Peking in 1274. He spent the next 17 years in various parts of the Mongol empire under the protection of Kublai Khan and carried out many diplomatic assignments for him. Marco's integration into a society perceived as hostile in other contemporary reports provides a unique aspect to his accounts of the Mongol system and the court of the Great Khan. His final duty for Kublai Khan was to escort the Mongol princess Cocacin to her betrothed, the Ilkhan Arghun. The party departed from the southern port city of Quanzhou in 1291, sailing to Sumatra, and then Persia, via Ceylon and India, where they made visits to Mylapore, Madurai and Allepey. They reached the Ilkhanate after Arghun's death and Cocacin was left with Gaykhatu, the new Ilkhan. The Polos returned to Venice via Trebizond. Marco was captured during a conflict between Venice and Genoa and the first account of his travels was written while in prison, 1298-1299. His writings were soon translated into many different languages and brought the European world considerable knowledge of China's culture, the Silk Road trade routes and all aspects of the Mongol Empire. The original of 'Il milione', known in English as 'The Travels of Marco Polo' was lost. Between 1310 and 1320 Marco wrote a new version in Italian, but again the original was lost. A Latin translation by a Franciscan friar, Francesco Pipino, survived and was translated back into Italian. There are many different and often conflicting versions of the various translations and editions.

Edgar Degas, photographer by Malcolm R Daniel ( Book )
4 editions published between 1998 and 1999 in English and held by 639 libraries worldwide
"Degas's major surviving photographs, little known even among devotees of the artist's paintings and pastels, are analyzed and reproduced for the first time in this volume, which accompanies an exhibition at The Metropolitan Muscum of Art, The J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France."--BOOK JACKET.

Celestial treasury : from the music of the spheres to the conquest of space by Marc Lachièze-Rey ( Book )
5 editions published between 1998 and 2001 in French and English and held by 548 libraries worldwide
Descriptive text and four hundred illustrations from the National Library of France's "Figures du Ciel" exhibition present an overview of humankind's attempts to understand and visually represent space, covering models of planetary motion, maps and globes of the sky and universe, creation/origin theories, and mythological traditions.

The miraculous journey of Mahomet : Mirâj nâmeh : Bibliothèque nationale, Paris (Manuscrit supplément turc 190) by Marie Rose Séguy ( Book )
2 editions published in 1977 in English and held by 507 libraries worldwide
"The Mirâj nâmeh is a mystical legend describing the marvelous or apocalyptical visions that marked the stages of that miraculous ascension in the course of which ... the founder of Islam reached the Throne of God ... fifteenth-century manuscript ... decorated with sixty-one ... illuminations"--Dustjacket.

Festive troped Masses from the eleventh century : Christmas and Easter in the Aquitaine by Catholic Church ( )
6 editions published in 1989 in Latin and held by 480 libraries worldwide

The danse macabre of women : ms. fr. 995 of the Bibliothèque nationale ( Book )
3 editions published in 1994 in English and held by 459 libraries worldwide

The sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt by Villard ( Book )
16 editions published between 1868 and 1978 in 4 languages and held by 422 libraries worldwide

The French fabliau : B.N. Ms. 837 ( Book )
in English and held by 347 libraries worldwide

Le roman de Fauvel ( Book )
15 editions published between 1316 and 2010 in 3 languages and held by 288 libraries worldwide
A satiric poem in French ; Latin and French interpolated pieces, accompanied by music. Music comprises motets, rondeaux, ballades, etc. by various composers, notably Philippe de Vitry.

The French Renaissance in prints from the Bibliotèque nationale de France ( Book )
1 edition published in 1994 in English and held by 259 libraries worldwide