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the books are lined up in a row on a white surfacean old book with a black and white title on itdrawing of a statue of a man and a woman holding handsan old drawing of a man standing in front of a building with a dogillustration of a couple of men standing next to each other in front of a building
ALDE

148 - CORNEILLE (Pierre). Plays, with commentaries [by Voltaire].
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
Sale commission
Description
CORNEILLE (Pierre). Plays, with commentaries [by Voltaire]. No place, no publisher. [Geneva, Cramer], 1764. 12 volumes in-8, marbled calfskin, triple gilt rule, coat of arms in the centre, plain gilt spine, inner lace, gilt edges (contemporary binding). First printing of this important edition annotated by Voltaire, who had it published by subscription through the Cramer brothers in Geneva in order to provide a dowry for a descendant of the great Corneille whom he had taken in. It is adorned with a frontispiece by Pierre, engraved by Watelet, and 34 illustrations by Gravelot, interpreted by Baquoy, Flipart, Lemire, Lempereur, de Longueil, Prévost and Radigues. It was most certainly Coindet of Geneva who introduced Gravelot to the Cramers. Pleased with Gravelot’s drawings, Voltaire entrusted him with the supervision of the engraving, and from this collaboration emerged one of the finest sets of illustrations of the period, according to Portalis. A very fine copy bearing the coat of arms of the Maréchale de Mirepoix. Anne-Marguerite-Gabrielle de Beauvau-Craon (1707–1792) was the wife of Gaston Pierre de Lévis-Mirepoix, lieutenant-general and governor of Languedoc and Marshal of France. Rare in this condition. A few slight foxing spots, but ‘almost all copies are stained with foxing on certain leaves’ (Cohen). Picot-Rothschild, no. 640 – Cohen, I, 255 – Portalis, 1877, pp. 279–281.
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About the sale Fine antique books – A library in the Languedoc
Auction location
Auction time 10/20/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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