Fragment of an autograph draft of Voltaire’s Therese.
Detailed Summary:
This is the only surviving fragment of Voltaire’s comedy Therese, completed in 1743. The fragment is of Scene 3, 4, and 5 of Act 1, and was used by Desmond Flower to privately print an edition of Therese for the Roxburghe Club in 1981.
The paper is divided into two collums, with the left-hand side used for the text, and the right-hand side for corrections. There is some minor staining and the edges of the manuscript have been repaired.
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Undecorated
Additions:
The text had been corrected throughout via crossings out and the addition of corrected text superscript.
Sold by Marie-Louis Denis [née Mignot] to Pierre Beaumarchais after the death of Voltaire. It then came into the collection of Desmond Flower before passing at the Sotheby sale in London in 1968 where it was bought by A.C. Martin. Passed again at the Sotheby Sale in London on 16 May 1991. Sold at the Bonhams Sale in New York on 9 March 2017 for $23,750 (Lot 23).