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Description
[LITERATURE]
VOLTAIRE
History of Parliament by Abbé Big [Bigorre]. Volumes I & II.
Amsterdam (1769).
2 volumes in one in-8° volume. +V3 unnumbered pages, VI pages, 246+(4)+245 pages.
Full contemporary binding in marbled havana-coloured sheepskin. Ribbed spine, decorated with gilt metalwork and fleurons. A red morocco label for the title. Red edges. Ex libris bearing a coat of arms, on the top of the inside front cover.
A fine copy. A rare first edition.
Following the Callas affair, Voltaire decided to launch a crusade against the Parliament of Paris, a symbol of arbitrary justice. He then composed a factual account. Aware of the accusation he was levelling at the institution, Voltaire did not sign his own name for safety’s sake, nor did he mention the Callas affair.
The book was quickly seized and burnt, but nevertheless went through several editions.
Features of the first edition: The text is preceded in Vol. I by the ‘Table of Contents, Errata’ and the ‘Foreword’, and in Vol. II by the ‘Table of Contents’.
Voltaire gives the publisher’s name: Marc-Michel Rey, in his letter to Thieriot dated 29 May 1769.
As for the author’s name, to whom Voltaire attributes the work, it is written in full in the title of the 8th edition as: “Abbé Bigore”; but the abbreviated form might suggest the name of the scholar Abbé Bignon, or even that of Voltaire’s secretary and copyist, Abbé Simon Bigex, author of *L’Oracle des anciens fidèles*, whose name Voltaire borrowed on several occasions [National Library of France entry].
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
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Auction time
10/15/2026 at 1:00 PM
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