The manuscript is a lettre en vers in the hand of Paul Desforges-Maillard, featuring seven poems. The author, praising Voltaire’s formidable superiority of intellect and character, implicitly urges his addressee to help him secure employment. The letter cites and refers to De rerum natura by Lucretius and Œdipe by Corneille.

The commonplace book features a number of Voltaire’s plays, including: f.1r, Guébres; f.2v, Le Triumvirat; f.3v, Alzire; f.5r, Les Lois de Minos; f.8v, Les Scythes; f.11r, Irène; f.12r, Oedipe; f.14v, Mariamne; f.16v, Le Mort de César; f.17v, Oreste; and f.21v, Adelaide du Guesclin.