Voltaire Letter Signed
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV33364
Repository:
Shelfmark:
RR Auction- Lot 0702
Title:
Voltaire Letter Signed
Collection(s):
No related collections found.
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
J’ai vainement attendu pour répondre, Monsieur, à vôtre Lettre du 16d 9bre que le paquet que vous m’annoncez fut arrivé, je n’en ai aucune nouvelle.
Incipit Modernised:
Language(s):
In Own Hand:
Yes
Brief Summary:
Letter signed from Voltaire to Paul Valliant, written in the hand of Wagnière from Ferney and dated 2 February 1764.
Detailed Summary:
Voltaire writes that he has waited in vain for the packet that Valliant said would arrive in order to reply to his letter dated 16 November, adding that he has no news of this packet so something must have gone wrong. He notes that he will write to Versailles for information even though he has renounced all the world’s courts. Voltaire thanks Valliant for the report that was in his letter and remarks that it is rather comical that Lord Ferrers said his Pater on the gallows and that a man who is going to be hanged asks for his daily bread. He quips that as he is quite old, quite infirm, and nearly blind, he is content with saying ‘Thy will be done.’
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Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
1 pp.
Format:
Dimensions:
–
Hands:
3
Watermark:
Countermark:
Binding:
Additional Comments:
The paper features multiple horizontal and vertical fold lines suggesting that the letter was letterlocked before sending. It was sealed with red wax, and this has caused some damage to the page. There are small holes along the fold lines and minor tears to the outer edges. F.1v features a post mark.
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Undecorated
Additions:
Sections of the text on lines 9 and 13 have been underlined. A third and later hand has added pencil notes at the top and bottom of the page.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
Ownership:
Origin (transcript):
Provenance:
Passed at the William F. Gable sale, American Art Association in New York on 25 November 1924 (Lot 1019). Sold at auction by RR Auction, Boston, MA, United States on 9 December 2021 (Lot 0702).
Bibliography
Bibliography:
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OCV Manuscript Reference: