Lot n° 438
Estimation :
100 - 150
EUR
François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, Mémoires pour servir à la - Lot 438
François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, Mémoires pour servir à la vie de M. de Voltaire, written by himself. In Berlin, 1784. In-16 of 115 pp., brown calf, smooth decorated spine (modern binding). Edition not described by Bengesco; it reproduces the 106-page edition published the same year and includes the two notes by Saint-Lambert on Mme de Boufflers. Composed in 1759, and on several occasions, as can be seen by the dates, Voltaire burned the original manuscript, but had two copies made by his secretary Wagnière. La Harpe having stolen in 1768, one of these manuscripts was expelled from Ferney. He returned his copy to Voltaire through Madame Denis, without informing her that he had taken a copy without her consent. The other copy was sent to Catherine II. In 1783, the copy stolen by Laharpe and returned to Voltaire was in the hands of Beaumarchais, entrepreneur of the Kehl publishing house, who did not want to publish it, in accordance with Voltaire's intentions, before the death of the King of Prussia. In 1784, in spite of all these precautions, Laharpe gave his manuscript to the printer and several editions were published. L'Oeuvre de Voltaire à la BN, 4385.
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