Bolaffi asks that the booksellers, Dey and Gravier, be kind enough to give to Mr. Daninos (the deliverer of the letter) the fifty copies of La Henriade that Bolaffi had translated into Italian. He notes that these copies were sent to Dey and Gravier by Mr. Fayolle, another bookseller.

Voltaire begins by saying that he is afraid of making himself ridiculous because of memoirs, but that he is reassured of the public good by two words given to him in writing by Davenel. He goes on to say that he mistook Jorri’s printing house for that of Josse because of Davenal’s poor spelling. Josse, he continues, is a Jansenist printer and a determined rascal. He therefore asks Feydeau de Marville to be able to maintain these individuals when his orders have provided for their safety. Voltaire next discusses Bienvenu’s innocence, stating that a boy of Lormel, a ‘little rascal’ has raised false claims to divert suspicions from his master. He then writes of La Mazuel who insists that she did not know who sold her the copies of a work. He concedes that this may be true, adding that what is certain is that she is miserable and worthy of pity if she and her husband has not printed the works of Desforges. Voltaire suggests that a visit be paid to the man who was denounced by Phélizot, recommends the Abbé Desforges and reports that a new libel was sold the previous day at the palace on the subject of the academy. Feydeau de Marville has added notes to the letter detailing arrests and searches to be made at booksellers and printers, and stating that Maurepas is opposed to the release of the widow Bienvenu.

Voltaire urges Sr. Didot and Barois, booksellers, to give the bearer according to their promise all of the copies of the scandalous writings against Mr. Pelletier, Émilie du Châtellet, and any other respectable people that they have printed under Voltaire’s name. Voltaire adds that he will send them the money to redeem all of the publications and suppress them, noting that he does not wish to hurt either Didot or Barois but only to suppress the works at his own expense. He states that the sheets should be given to the bearer of the letter and that they should sell Voltaire fifty copies of the scandalous edition, all of which will be paid for by the bearer of the letter. He additionally asks for them to sell him the entire edition so that there is no trace of their fault which he wishes to repair. A year is not given in the date of this letter, however Voltaire wrote to Claude Henri Feydeau, comte de Marville on 21 December 1742 [D2709] to say that ‘Aujourduy Didot et Barois ont transporté encor leurs magazins de scandale’, suggesting that the letter was written also in 1742. The recipient of this letter is also perhaps Claude Henri Feydeau.

Klüter was being prosecuted for selling, amongst other works, Lettre de Voltaire au Roi de Prusse, Lettre sur le mémoire raisonné, La verité des faits lettres de M. a M., and Lettres d’un particulier à un des ses amis sur l’invasion de la Saxe. The MS comprises of a list of the writings confiscated from Klüter and printed copies of the following:

• Le peuple instruit (1757)
• Antwort des Freundes in R. auf das Schreiben seines Bekannten in W. über die Begebenheiten des jetzigen Krieges, Ranstät und Wunstorff (1757)
• Lettre de Voltaire au Roi de Prusse (undated)
• John du Pont, L’Historian subalterne. Relation sans Gasconade de notre Campagne de 1756 tant au Silesie… (1757)
• La verité des faits de Mr à Mr (1757)
• Lettres d’un particulier à un des ses amis sur l’invasion de la Saxe, faite par le Roi de Prusse (1756)

Voltaire writes of a concerning matter that require expeditious justice. He notes that 2,000 defamatory libels against ministers, the Marquise du Châtelet, and other respectable persons have been printed under the title of his alleged works. Voltaire adds that if he was not sick, he would have spoken to Mr de Marville already as he is in a position to tell him the names of the booksellers, the number of associate, the number of copies they have left, and their store. He asks Maurepas to take action, and ends with his best wishes for the new year.

Voltaire begins by saying that since he saw the new edition by Etienne Ledet he is more determined than ever to provide Prault with a copy that will be useful and honourable to him. He adds that Prault can depend on the protection of d’Argenson, and on his own zeal, noting that he would be angry if only foreigners benefitted from his works and if the Paris bookseller whom he esteems the most has only useless offers of service from him. Voltaire then discusses his essay on Molière, before asking if it is true that his epistles and the beginning of his Siècle de Louis XIV have been published. He notes that he would like to be sent copies if this is the case.

Voltaire begins by saying that Prault should know that the volume sent to him by the Crammer brothers is a delicate matter, and that Voltaire’s name should not be associated with it as it would put the bookseller at risk. He adds that he does not admit to writing any of the pieces that the book contains, and disavows almost all of them. He ends with a brief note to say that he is waiting for Tancrède.