Voltaire asks Michel Lambert to send him Luigi Ferdinando, conte di Marsigli’s Stato militare dell’imperio ottomano. He sends logistical instructions regarding proofs and printing and reminds Lambert that he is expecting an answer regarding a proposed joint publishing venture with the Cramer brothers of Geneva. He asks Lambert to sell the bulkier (folio and quarto) volumes that he left in Paris when leaving for Prussia in 1750. The final line (‘jattends de ses nouvelles’) and the signature (‘v’) are autograph.

Voltaire is sending proof corrections to Michel Lambert, having received the first sheet of his printing of La Henriade, which was eventually to be published as part of Lambert’s 1757 edition of Voltaire’s works. He advises on how the collaboration should proceed and hopes to see the Siècle de Louis XIV soon. The letter is wholly in Villaume’s hand with the exception of the date, which was added by Voltaire.

In this reworked letter, Voltaire recounts to his niece an amusing anecdote in which the marquis de Montperny, chambellan of the margravine of Bareith, mistakes a priest for an apothecary. Voltaire’s secretary of the time, Ponce-Simon Tinois, wrote verses about the episode, which circulated in September 1750 and were attributed to Voltaire (Vers de l’illustre Voltaire sur le cul d’un chambellan de Bayreuth).

Voltaire is writing to Paradis de Moncrif about the music of his opera libretto, Pandore, for which Jean-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer was supposed to be composing the music. To the proposed title for the work, Voltaire adds in his own hand ‘dans l’absense de l’autheur’. The date line and signature (‘v’) are autograph. The second leaf is blank on both sides.

Voltaire is writing to Lambert with a business proposal from the Cramer brothers, who have approached Voltaire, interested in publishing his works. According to the offer, Cramer and Lambert would share the printing of the estimated dozen volumes of Voltaire’s Histoire universelle (later the Essai sur les mœurs), thus enabling it to be ready more quickly. The letter, most of which is in Villaume’s hand, contains several minor corrections. The last two paragraphs, as well as the valediction, signature and date, are in Voltaire’s hand. Voltaire first wrote ’28 aoust 1754′ before adding a curved vertical line to approximate a ‘9’.

Voltaire is in Senones undertaking research in the library for his universal history (Essai sur les mœurs). Villaume writes a bibliographic reference at the top of the letter, to which Voltaire appends a quote in Latin, both of which are omitted from published versions of this letter. Voltaire is asking Dupont for information relating to this reference.