Henry Wlgrin de Taillefer, in homage to his ancestor Count of Périgord in the 9th century, was the Count of Barrière at Villamblard. Very early on, this forerunner of archaeology was fascinated by the history and the « antiquities » of the Périgord, and set up a « cabinet of antiques » in one of the towers of the castle and assembled archaeological collections which, despite the Revolution and their dispersal, constituted the first collections of the Musée du Périgord, of which he was one of the founders. In 1821 and 1826, he published Les Antiquités de Vésone, a Gallic city that was replaced by the present-day town of Périgueux.
Illustrations :
– Portrait of Wlgrin de Taillefer, oil on canvas, French School early 19th c., donated by Miss Suzanne de Taillefer and Countess de Lestrade, born of Taillefer, in 1865, B.425, Collection Ville de Périgueux-Musée d’art et d’archéologie de Périgueux- cl.J. Barbot
– Title page Les Antiquités de Vésone…, Tome I, 1821, by Dupont, printer in rue Taillefer in Périgueux.
– Amphitheatre lithograph of Vesuvius with bird’s-eye view, plate XIII of the Antiquities of Vesuvius, Volume II, 1826.
– Photograph of the Château de Barrière de Villamblard after the fire at the end of the 19th century ©Private collection