Old copy of a letter from Voltaire to Charles Juste de Beauvau, prince de Beauvau-Craon and Marie Sophie de La Tour d’Auvergne, princesse de Beauvau-Craon, preceded by a poem titled ‘Du beau palais de Lunéville’, undated [D3985]
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV37503
Shelfmark:
MS-FS-11-006, f.153, ‘Voltaire. Correspondance générale (copies)’. Formerly Rés. Ms 2031
Title:
Old copy of a letter from Voltaire to Charles Juste de Beauvau, prince de Beauvau-Craon and Marie Sophie de La Tour d’Auvergne, princesse de Beauvau-Craon, preceded by a poem titled ‘Du beau palais de Lunéville’, undated [D3985]
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Reproductions:
Content
Incipit Diplomatic:
Du beau palais de Luneville
J’irai dans votre aimable cour
Incipit Modernised:
Du beau palais de Lunéville
J’irai dans vôtre aimable cour
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
No
Brief Summary:
Old copy of a letter from Voltaire to Charles Juste de Beauvau, prince de Beauvau-Craon and Marie Sophie de La Tour d’Auvergne, princesse de Beauvau-Craon, preceded by a poem titled ‘Du beau palais de Lunéville’. The copy is undated.
Detailed Summary:
In the letter, Voltaire notes that as soon as Émilie du Châtelet has finished her great business, he will have no more pressing matters than to take advantage of the kindnesses of the Prince and Princess. He ends by asking them to accept his deepest respects. The letter is dated 15 August 1749.
The poem preceding the letter was written by Voltaire whilst in Lorraine, likely between February and December 1748. In it, he praises Lunéville and the pleasures he experienced there amongst the wise. The final lines of the poem have been heavily corrected. Besterman suggests that they may have been transcribed from the autograph original (CMV34556) which is similarly revised.
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Status:
Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
1 f.
Format:
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Hands:
1
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Binding:
Part of a bound collection of copies of Voltaire’s correspondence.
Additional Comments:
The MS appears to be a folio sheet of ledger paper torn in half and turned ninety degrees to create a quarto sheet. As such, the paper features four horizontal lines in pale brown ink. The lines appear in the same place on both the recto and verso sides of the page.
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Undecorated
Additions:
The poem had been heavily revised, with lines crossed out and revised text added superscript. Names in the letter have been underlined, and a footnote has been added to explain what Émilie du Châtelet’s “grande affaire” was. This note is linked to the text of the letter through the use of a corresponding symbol.
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History
Date:
15 August 1749
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Bibliography
Bibliography:
OCV Reference:
vol.30A, p.464-465
OCV Manuscript Reference:
vol.30A, p.464-465, ‘MS2’
Record created by:
Record created on: