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a lot of books that are lined up on a shelf
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205 - VOLTAIRE. Complete Works. S.l. [Kehl], Literary and Typograp…
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Estimate €5,000 - €6,000
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Description
VOLTAIRE. Complete Works. S.l. [Kehl], Literary and Typographical Society, 1784–1789. 70 volumes, in-8, pale calfskin, double gilt rule, smooth decorated spine, title label and volume number in fawn and lemon-coloured morocco, gilt rule on the edges, daffodil-coloured edges (contemporary binding). The famous edition known as the ‘Kehl edition’, undoubtedly the finest ever published of Voltaire’s complete works. In particular, the bulk of the author’s correspondence is published here in first edition, comprising eighteen volumes containing 3,329 letters from the Patriarch of Ferney and 1,162 from his correspondents. It was printed and published under the supervision of Beaumarchais, who, in order to produce this monumental work worthy of the author, had acquired the typefaces belonging to the widow of the great English typographer John Baskerville, as well as three paper mills in the Vosges, where he had high-quality paper manufactured using Dutch production methods which he had obtained through industrial espionage. He subsequently enlisted the collaboration of Condorcet, who was tasked with annotating the edition, and of Decroix—with whom Panckoucke had made the pilgrimage to Ferney in September 1777—who was appointed to proofread and correct the proofs. Thus equipped, Beaumarchais established his literary and printing company opposite Strasbourg, in the fortress of Kehl, on the territory of the Margrave of Baden, safe from royal censorship and the ‘customs office of thoughts’. A magnificent illustration by Moreau the Younger, one of his masterpieces. It includes a frontispiece featuring a bust of Voltaire, an engraved dedication with a portrait of Frederick William of Prussia, ninety-three lovely illustrations by Baquoy, Delaunay, Guttenberg, Lemire, Masquelier, Tardieu and other engravers working from Moreau’s designs, seventeen portraits as inserts, a map of a Russian camp, fourteen scientific plates and a page of engraved music. A very attractive copy in contemporary light calfskin, in a remarkably fresh condition. Bengesco, no. 2142 – Voltaire at the B.N., no. 167 – Cohen, 1042.
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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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