Josèphe Jacquiot
French numismatist and politician (1910–1995)
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Josèphe Jacquiot (French pronunciation: [ʒozɛf ʒakio]; 24 April 1910 – 2 August 1995) was a French Resistance fighter, numismatist, and politician. Noted for her work on the medals of Louis XIV and Louis XV, she was also the founder of the first co-educational school in the Île-de-France and a museum in her home of Montgeron; she also served as mayor of the town. The museum was later renamed in her honour as Musée Josèphe Jacquiot.
Josèphe Jacquiot | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 24 April 1910 Loches, France |
| Died | 2 August 1995 (aged 85) Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France |
Resting place | Perrusson |
| Monuments | Musée municipal Josèphe Jacquiot |
| Education | École du Louvre |
| Occupations | Numismatist, politician |
Biography
Jacquiot was born on 24 April 1910 in Loches.[1] Her family moved to Montgeron after the death of her father in 1938.[2] She graduated from higher education in history and geography from the École du Louvre.[1] During the Second World War she joined the local Resistance.[2]
In May 1945 Jacquiot was elected mayor of Montgeron.[3] A result of this election meant she became one of the first female mayors in France.[3] Her tenure as mayor lasted for two years, during which time she requisitioned housing for refugees and created free medical care for some of the poorest people in the town.[2] She lost the 1947 election.[2] In 1949 she founded the first school in the Île-de-France area that was also co-educational.[2]
After she lost the mayoral election, she continued her studies and forged a career in numismatics, becoming a renowned authority on medals.[2] In 1959 she was appointed as a curator at the Cabinet des médailles in Paris.[1][2][4] She was also a lecturer at the École du Louvre and the Monnaie de Paris.[2] She drew on her expertise to study Claude François Menestrier's 1691 work on medals and jetons, and its subsequent editions.[5] She was an expert on the medals of Louis XIV, as well as satirical medals of the era.[6] Her work on the catalogue of medals of Louis XV was praised by Mark P. Jones as providing "enlightening notes, and detailed bibliographies".[7]
She was also the founder of the Montgeron History Society, and its first president.[2] She also founded the municipal museum of Montgeron and became its curator in 1993.[2][8] Jacquiot died on 2 August 1995; she is buried in Perrusson.[9]
Legacy
Jacquiot bequeathed her medal collection to Montgeron's museum, which was subsequently renamed in her honour as Musée Josèphe Jacquiot.[2] As of 2024, Jacquiot's work as a numismatist continued to influence the field.[9]
Selected works
- Médailles et jetons gravés en taille directe (1971, Paris: Hôtel de la Monnaie)
- La littérature et les médailles. In: Cahiers de l'Association internationale des études francaises, 1972, 24. pp. 201–213.[10]
- Le talisman offert à Louis XIV et le carré magique au XVIIe siècle. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 113ᵉ année, 1, 1969. pp. 18-34.[11]
- Jacquiot, J. (1986). La valeur d'information des médailles frappées en France et à l'Étranger, à l'occasion, ou à la suite de l'Édit de Fontainebleau. Bulletin de La Société de l'Histoire Du Protestantisme Français (1903-), 132, 63–78.[12]
- Jacquiot, J. (1971). Dessins inédits d'Etienne Delaune pour des médailles et pour des jetons, conservés à l'Ashmolean Museum d'Oxford (résumé). Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France, 1969(1), 271–272.[13]