The copy was made by Emmanuel Louis Henri Alexandre de Launai, comte d’Antraigues (1753-1812). Within the letter is a poem, ‘Ode sur la paix de 1736’. This copy of the poem contains several variants.

The MS includes a number of pre-1739 variants, along with a new reading of l.82 as ‘artistement orné’.

Lekain produced his copy of the role of Zamore when the play began at the Comédie-Française in 1750. Lekain performed the role 51 times between 1751 and 1775. The manuscript offers variants for Act II, l.3, 12, 17, 30, 66, 97, 111, 154, 168, 176, 194, 206, 226, 266, 274, 287, 288; Act III, l.84-85, 114, 247-250; Act IV, l.168-169; Act V, l.75, 162, 171, 202-204, and 256.

The manuscript offers variants of Act IV, l.166a-182 and Act V, l.53-68. It is the only known original manuscript of Alzire to have survived. The variant for Act V is written in the left-hand margin of f.1r in Voltaire’s hand.

The fragment is inscribed ‘Au Roi de Prusse… 174…’ and is numbered ’13’. It represents a truncated version of the text, with the fragment beginning at l.243 of Act IV. This copy also contains several variants:

• Séide’s discovery that he is Zopire’s son at ll.229-231 is phrased differently
• ‘les mortels’ is used instead of ‘les humains’ at l.245
• The end of Scene V is missing
• Phanor makes his entrance immediately after Séide’s attempt to kill himself (ll.247-249), meaning that he appears after Séide discovers his identity. This suggests that another character reveals this information in this version of the play

On the verso side of the fragment, Voltaire has drafted a letter to Frederick II of Prussia dating to 10 July 1740 [D2265 / CMV35110].

The second leaf of this copy is in a different hand to the rest of the MS, suggesting that it may have been taken from another MS copy. The list of ‘Acteurs’ has been annotated by Lekain with the names of the actors who took part in the later 1765 production of the play. There are also several variants throughout the MS that demonstrate the play’s development between 1734 and 1765, with their place within the text being clearly marked. It is likely that the copy was used by the Comédie-Française and its actors, including Lekain.

The copy forms part of a collection of letters and pieces concerning Voltaire and his family, in three volumes. This volume (the third) contains verse by, or attributed to, Voltaire. This copy of La Fête de Bélesbat contains several variants of the print edition.

The sheets present a selection of variants for both the 1730 and 1737 editions, and are pinned into a 1728 London edition of La Henriade. The edition also features marginalia by Voltaire.

The copy features several variants.

The MS forms part of a recueil devised by Clairambault, which feature a number of clandestine poems and songs.