Jai eu ordre, Monsieur, de la Reine, de vous envoyer cette tabatiere, dans laquelle vous trouverez deux petits portraits qui me paraissent très ressemblants.
Incipit Modernised:
J’ai eu ordre, Monsieur, de la Reine de vous envoyer, cette tabatière, dans laquelle vous trouverés deux petits portraits, qui me paroissent très ressemblans.
Contemporary copy of a letter from Charles-Etienne Jordan to Voltaire, written from Berlin and dated 13 November 1743.
Detailed Summary:
The letter seems to have originally accompanied a ‘tabatière’ sent on the orders of the queen, containing two portraits of unidentified subjects. Jordan asks that in return for the portraits, Voltaire send him one of his tragedies titled Zulime. He then thanks Voltaire for a ring that he had sent him and adds that he will wear it forever. He concludes by asking Voltaire where he is living. In the catalogue entry for this letter in McGill University Library, this letter has been misattributed to Voltaire.
Words and phrases have been underlined throughout. There is a correction to l.7 on f.1r in the form of crossings out and the addition of corrected script superscript.