Discrete Item F127 - La Grosse gerbe : opera-comique, by Leon Pamphile Lemay

Leon Pamphile Le May was a Quebecois novelist, poet, translator, librarian and lawyer born in Lotbiniere in 1837. In 1858, he became the translator of the legislative Parliament, and was later admitted into the Bar of Quebec in 1865. In 1867, Le May became the first overseer of the Library of the French National Assembly Of Quebec, having been appointed the position by Pierre Chaveau. His accomplishment in this position included building a library of legislation to a total of 33, 804 volumes of work. Lemay was also the founder of the Royal Company of Canada (1882), an honourary doctorate of Laval University in 1888, and was awarded Rosette d’Officier de l’instruction publique by the French government in 1910. He composed poems to honour Wilfred Laurier, Felix-Gabriel Marchand and Louis Riel. Although he passed away in 1918, he was named to the French National Assembly of Quebec in 1980.