The manuscript is an autograph epistle from Mr. de Bernard to Thémire, written from Fontainebleau on October 29, 1732. The title carries the phrase ‘de Bernard’ in Voltaire’s hand.
The manuscript is bound with other documents in contemporary red morocco.
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History
Date:
1732
Ownership:
After Voltaire’s death, the MS passed into the ownership of Catherine II and remained in the imperial and then national collection thereafter.
Origin (transcript):
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Provenance:
This MS was probably taken to St Petersburg by Wagnière in the summer of 1779 along with the rest of Voltaire’s library.
Bibliography
Bibliography:
Fernand Caussy, Inventaire des manuscrits de la bibliothèque de Voltaire conservée à la bibliothèque impériale publique de Saint-Pétersbourg (Geneva, Slatkine reprints, 1970), p.10.