The publishing success of a secret love code: the birth of the Language of Flowers in nineteenth century Paris and its reception in imperial Rio de Janeiro.

• Grant number: 14/02876-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: June 18, 2014
• End date: August 17, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Alessandra El Far
• Grantee: Alessandra El Far
• Host Investigator: Jean-Yves Mollier
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), France

Abstract

This project intends to propose a research in the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, for two months, in order to read the dozens of editions of the Language of flowers, a literary genre that was born in nineteenth century Paris, offering to its readers a secret love code.In Brazil these publications became known as Dictionary of Flowers and for years were part of the gallant daily life in Rio de Janeiro. After collecting and analyzing for two years the Brazilian versions of the language of flowers in Rio de Janeiro archives, I recognize the importance to read the French editions as well as the historical and academic works on the European social context of the nineteenth century and its fascination for flowers and their meanings.