DANVILLE.- There are likely but a handful of copies of L’Histoire et Chronique de Provence, printed in France more than 400 years ago. At the time, one copy was given to King Louis XIII, and two copies eventually became part of museum collections in Paris and Lyon, France.

Another copy is on now display at the Danville Museum of Fine Art and History.

How the 1,092-page history of four regions of Provence ended up in Danville begins with two educators whose focus was bringing the world — through a vast collection of artifacts gleaned from around the globe — back to the young women at Stratford College in the early 20th century.

L’Histoire was one of many artifacts at the College, which were given to the Danville Museum, as well as the Danville Historical Society, after the college closed in 1974 and was turned into a senior living facility.

L’Histoire, as well as 25 boxes of materials, was given to the Danville Historical Society, while the Museum received the artwork, said Museum Director Tina Cornely.

However, the Nostradamas book was deemed irrelevant to the city, so it was sold for $800.

Based on a series of clues, to include a telltale stain on the title page, Cornely was able to trace the book to an antique book dealer in New York.

She recently purchased it back for $1,900, including shipping.

“It was well worth it,” said Cornely.

The story of the book after it left Danville is a bit of a mystery. When Cornely asked the book dealer where he obtained L’Histoire, he said it was at an estate sale in Connecticut, but “went dark” on the book’s “provenance.” Provenance is a term used to describe the record of documentation on a piece of historical artwork or archives.

Ultimately it was that stain on the title page that told Cornely it was the same book — as an identical stain appeared in a photograph of that page on the Danville Historical Society’s website.

The educators who originally brought the book, as well as hundreds of other antiquities, to Danville were Mabel Kennedy and her best friend, Ann Carrington Revell.

Kennedy was the dean of Stratford College, and had studied medieval literature in Germany and Yale. Revell was the music teacher at the college.

The two women knew they could not take their students to the Louvre Museum in Paris — or anywhere else for that matter — so they decided to bring the antiquities of the world back to Danville.

“They went over and beyond to provide the very best in medieval history to their students,” said Cornely.

Among the hundreds of pieces collected by the women is a walnut alter chest from the 1400s, four relief panels by Italian artist Luca della Robbia and a wood sculpture of St. Anthonie d’Egypte, also from the 15th century. The collection is also known to include a door designed by Henry Hoffman Kennedy (Mabel Kennedy’s brother), which included a lunette of “The United States of America,” a wood carving and a replica of the original design submitted for consideration of the seal of the United States. It is thought to be located above the Alumnae Hall doorway at Stratford College Hall. The door is of walnut paneling with bronze door rings from the 1500s.

L’Histoire et Chronique de Provence is in remarkable condition, given its age. It is bound in wood and covered with layer of velum. The title page features a print of an intricate woodcut, representing the four regions of Provence — Arles, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseilles. The text, written in Middle French, contains “side notes” along the edges of each page, as well as illustrations, documenting the history of the region back to the time of the Gaulois rule up to 52 AD when Rome conquered France. It was a family project between Michel Nostradame, his son, Cesar and brother, Jean and was printed by Simon Riguad in Lyon in 1614.

Cornely believes the book, at the time, would have been a “godsend” to the young King Louis XIII, as it provided information on how the country’s monarchy government evolved to the time when he took the throne.

Kennedy and Revell were assisted by Henry, who was an antiques dealer with offices in New York City and Paris. It was Henry who facilitated the art the two women collected, said Cornely, adding that it is still not known when the two women obtained L’Histoire.

Cornely plans to make the book part of a new exhibit at the museum, to be titled, “The Enduring Legacy: the Kennedy-Revell Collection.

The book will be under glass, but patrons will be able to read the text via a digitized version provided by a partnership between Google and Lyon, France. The exhibit will also include a notebook that will provide information on the book’s illustrations, such as the many coats of arms that are featured.

Cornely said the artwork from the collection has been sitting in the Museum’s storage area facility and some of those will be included too. In all, there were 1,600 items cataloged as part of the collection, said Cornerly.

“It’s remarkable that we have these pieces in our collection,” said Cornely.

Cornely said the Museum would like to continue the legacy left by Kennedy and Revell in making these antiquities available to students and the public to view and to learn from.

L’Histoire is now available for viewing. The full exhibit is expected to open in August 2023.