Draft of the foreword to ‘La Henriade’, written in the hand of Frederick II of Prussia and dating to May 1739
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV37397
Repository:
Shelfmark:
Sotheby’s, Lot. 34, ‘Avant-propos [à La Henriade de Voltaire]. Manuscrit autographe. [Mai 1739].’
Title:
Draft of the foreword to ‘La Henriade’, written in the hand of Frederick II of Prussia and dating to May 1739
Collection(s):
Related record(s):
No related manuscripts found.
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Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Le Poème de La Henriade est connu de toute L’Europe.
Incipit Modernised:
Le poème de La Henriade est connu de toute l’Europe.
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
No
Brief Summary:
Draft of the foreword to La Henriade, written in the hand of Frederick II of Prussia and dating to May 1739.
Detailed Summary:
In the spring of 1739, Voltaire dedicated La Henriade to Frederick II of Prussia and that summer Frederick penned this foreword. Following their disagreement, however, Voltaire decided to remove the dedication to Frederick and his foreword was not taken to print. It would remain unpublished for seventeen years. In 1746, Marmontel published two fragments of the foreword that would later be corrected and modified several times, including by Voltaire.
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Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
2 ff.
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Binding:
Additional Comments:
Some of the ink has smudged. There is a small burn to the MS resulting in the loss of one word. The margins have been reinforced.
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Undecorated
Additions:
There are several corrections throughout in the form of crossings out and the addition of corrected text.
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History
Date:
May 1739
Ownership:
Origin (transcript):
Origin:
Provenance:
Passed at the Sotheby’s sale on 21 May 2008 (Lot. 34) where it sold for €43,450.
Bibliography
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OCV Manuscript Reference:
Record created by:
Record created on: