Lot n° 405
Estimation :
100 - 150
EUR
Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield, CHESTERFIELD Le - Lot 405
Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield, CHESTERFIELD Letters from the Earl of Chesterfield to his son Philip Stanhope, sent extraordinary to the Court of Desde. With a few other plays on various subjects. New edition revised, corrected & expanded on the seventh English edition. In Amsterdam, by E. van Harrevelt, 1779. 4 vols. in-12 of (4)-XVI-374 pp. ; (4)-416 pp. ; (4)-374-(2) pp. ; (4)-372 pp., havana half calf, smooth spine decorated, title in red morocco and tomaison in green morocco, yellow edges (contemporary binding). Diplomat, statesman and English writer (1694-1773), Lord Chesterfield owes much of his fame to his famous Letters to his son, published after his death. In a letter to Frederick II dated 1774, Voltaire wrote: "It appears a collection of letters from the late Lord Chesterfield to a bastard son whom he loved as Mme de Sévigné loved her daughter. You are very often mentioned in these letters; you are given all the justice that posterity will render you. Lord Chesterfield's suffrage carries a very great weight, not only because he was from a nation that has little thought of flattering kings, but because of all the English he is perhaps the one who wrote with the most grace. His admiration for you cannot be suspected: he had no idea that his letters would be printed after his death and that of his bastard. They are being translated into French in Holland, so Your Majesty will see them soon. She will read the only Englishman who never recommended the art of pleasing as the first duty of life. Very good copy. Handwritten ex-libris on the Huguenin title page.
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