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Vincent Dontot, Country Director of the Danish Refugee Council in Georgia, donated an important collection to the library of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The 19th century rare editions of Tacitus, Seneca, Herodotus, Homer, Virgil in French, Greek and Latin languages were added to the multi-million fund of the TSU library.
“It is important that people who are completely unknown to us know about Tbilisi State University, the educational process ongoing here, particularly the fact that ancient literature, Greek and Latin languages were and are being taught here; and that is why they decided to send us this gift,” Zurab Gaiparashvili, head of the TSU library, said.
The history of the collection begins in 1920, when one of the aristocratic families - the Binoche family - bought a house in Breton. The family had a rich library. After the World War II, the house was inherited by Colette Binoche.
The heirs of Colette Binoche decided to transfer the Latin and French collection to Tbilisi State University, because they found out that the Classical Philology Department was opened at TSU immediately after the foundation of the university (1918). Today, the academic staff of the department still trains students specializing in classical philology at all three levels of education.
The family was supported by Vincent Dontot, Country Director of the Danish Refugee Council in Georgia, who himself brought the mentioned collection to Georgia. Vincent Dontot noted that he has close links to Georgia and that he offered his friends to donate the books from the collection of their ancestors to Tbilisi State University.
Representatives of the TSU library, Camille Nora, director of the French Institute of Georgia, Leonora Fund, cooperation attaché at the Embassy of France, and other invited guests attended the event.
