Chapter IV Paris, France
Chapter IV - Paris, France
About
Founded: 1901
History: Chapter IV was founded in Paris eleven years after the organization of The Colonial Dames of America.
Historic Preservation: The chapter helped to create the Arboretum at the Franco-American museum of Blerancourt; the site is filled with American species for autumn colors and the four seasons garden, as well as memorial gardens. The chapter also supported the completion of the Hermione project, an exact replica of the frigate that took Lafayette to meet Washington. The maiden voyage occurred in 2015, tracing the historic itinerary.
From the 2019 Chapter Report:
Chapter IV supports the internship program at the American Library in Paris. Our hope is to enable young people to better understand the longstanding connection between France and America. During their stay at the Library, interns are encouraged to delve deeply into both cultures; to learn about the French if they are American and vice versa.
Our first intern, Lauriane Labourel, a lovely young French lady, completed an internship concentrating on programming and cultural outreach. She has a master’s degree in management of cultural organizations and has interned at the Alliance Française in Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Lauriane’s “French touch” while at the Library was greatly appreciated by both the patrons and the staff.
The American Library in Paris was established in 1920 with a core collection of books and periodicals donated by American libraries to United States armed forces personnel serving their allies in World War I. The Library has grown since then into the largest English-language lending library on the European continent.
Among the first trustees of the Library was the expatriate American novelist Edith Wharton, as well as Anne Morgan, daughter of the financier J. P. Morgan.
An early member of the board was Clara Longworth de Chambrun, the sister-in-law of Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Clara joined The Colonial Dames Chapter XI in 1933 and transferred to Chapter IV (Paris) in 1934.
During WWII, the Countess de Chambrun rose to the occasion to lead the Library. In a classic Occupation paradox, the happenstance of her son’s marriage to the daughter of the Vichy prime minister, Pierre Laval, and her family’s other social and business connections ensured the Library a friend in high places, and a near-exclusive right to keep its doors open and its collections largely uncensored throughout the war. A French diplomat later said the Library had been to occupied Paris “an open window on the free world.”
The Library approaches its 100th anniversary, in 2020, looking to build on the remarkable heritage of its first century. The Colonial Dames Chapter IV is proud to support this wonderful institution.