Traité des Monnaies Grecques et Romaines

[esnible]

The title, Traité des Monnaies Grecques et Romaines, what does it mean?  I tried translating it using a web tool that replaced "Traité" with "Treaty".  Perhaps 'Treatise"?

Google has scanned three volumes and I'm trying to make them into a web-site.  Unfortunately, the scan job was poor.  In the plate volume Google put the plates out-of-order (I fixed that) and also forgot to scan 37 of the 185 plates!

The Description Historique volume that I have is divided into three sections geographically but only covers electrum and early silver.  Google's scan is also missing pages and has out-of-order pages.  Instead of page numbers the original had column numbers which throws off a lot of Google's tools.

What is the approximate pronounciation of Dr. Babelon's name?  "Bab-Lawn"?

I've put up a rough beginning to a site on this topic at http://www.snible.org/coins/library/traite/traite.html but it isn't quite ready for public review....

[whitetd49]

Yes, that is correct, treatise.  Sounds like a very valueable contribution.  Looking forward to seeing it.

[slokind]

Babelon is a great work, IMO (for what it's worth).  I never thought of saying 'Bab-Lawn'!  True, you don't want to say Bab-uh-lawn.  But above all, you don't want to pronounce the final n as in American 'lawn', and the o is not a, not even as in 'father'.  The middle e is VERY short and schwa-like. 
Traité as from Tractatus.  Pat L.

[jarnait]

The middle e is VERY short and schwa-like. 
Pat L.

Schwa-like? What is that? :-)

I would pronounce Babelon like this:
Ba (from ba-ttle)
be (from bu-tter) or like the French "heu" and "eux" in "heureux", or "ém" - rather long "eu", not short.
lon (from lon-gitude)

Each surname has its own pronounciation by the people who have it, or even depending on the region it's from.
I personally - not knowning the usual pronounciation, just reading the name - would pronounce the "be" long, but it could also be short as Pat says. In that case you would even say "Bab'lon".

From what Pat says, I understand the French numismatists pronounce it the "short" way?

Regards!

[esnible]

I attended a lecture by Dr. Michel Amandry last year at the ANS.  He referenced a great numismatist "Bab Lowe" several times.  When he mentioned the works of this great numismatist I realized he was talking about Ernest Babelon!  If I make a web page celebrating the Traité I don't want to leave readers with the wrong idea about pronunciation.

[jarnait]

Bab'lon it is then!
I won't make a fool of myself when asking for his work - I'm suppose to know how to pronounce French, after all ;-)

Thanks!

[kerux]

Great work, Ed.

Joe W.