Beginning in the early twentieth century, Marcel Poëte, the director of the Historical Library of the City of Paris, developed the idea of collecting documents to illustrate the realities of Parisians’ daily lives. He also wanted to create a resource for future historians while opening up new fields of research about society, the economy and cultural life… Beginning in 1915, the Ministry of Public Instruction, aware that the nation was in a period of major upheaval, also encouraged the country’s libraries to collect documents. The Library intensified its activities, sending letters to potential producers of documents, including associations, businesses, and theaters and concert halls… The Library was helped by the Society of the Friends of the Library, which relayed requests for donations and mobilized worldwide networks of private collectors. The institution began to be flooded by a large volume of documents, as evidenced by the vast number of letters it received, but also, naturally, its present-day collections.
