Georges Douay was a French composer. Now forgotten, he acquired some reputation in the years 1860-1870, composing scores of light songs and operettas or "musical follies" on texts by Francis Tourte, Turpin Sansay and William Busnach. He was a great lover of theater and a knowledgeable collector. At his death in 1919 he donated to the Library of the Arsenal a rich collection of over 50,000 pieces. The library, known men of letters and bibliophiles, hosted for the first time a fully dedicated to drama funds. Thus affirmed the theatrical direction of the institution; this vocation is permanently anchored at the transfer of the collection of Auguste Rondel in 1925, and led to the creation in 1976 of the Department of Performing Arts. This fund is made up of about 50,000 printed materials, 700 prints and 1,500 manuscripts.