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an old book with a statue of a hand on top of it next to a bunch of old booksmany old books on the shelves in the rooman old book with a brown cover sitting on top of a white surfacean open book with a glove on top of it next to a picture of a mana book with a picture of a man on itan old book with a picture of a man on itan open book with a picture of a group of people standing in a rooman old book opened to reveal a page with a picture of the titlean old book with a drawing of a man being taken from a buildingan old book sitting on top of a white surfacean old book with a brown cover sitting on top of a white surfacean old book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablea book open on a table with a picture of a dog on itan open book with a black and white image of a man ' s face on itan old book sitting on top of a white surfacean old book opened to show the title of a poema book with a title on it sitting on a table
KÂ- MONDO / KAPANDJI MORHANGE

307 - VOLTAIRE. The Works of Mr de Voltaire.
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Estimate €300 - €400
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Description
VOLTAIRE. The Works of Mr de Voltaire. A mysterious pirated Lyon edition of Voltaire’s Works in 40 volumes, supplemented by the original clandestine edition of the philosopher’s final publication during his lifetime: “The Bible at Last Explained by Several Chaplains to His Majesty, Lord of the Realm, Lord of the Kingdom, and Lord of the People” (London, 1776) and by 21 volumes of a Basel edition. S.l. [Lyon], s.é. [Regnault], 1775. 39 vols. in-8, marbled Lavallière calf, smooth spines decorated with gilt garlands and fleurons, triple gilt fillet framing the covers, blue marbled edges [vol. 36: ribbed spine]. Not collated; ten volumes illustrated with copperplate engravings, three of which contain at least one frontispiece. Spines creased and slightly sun-faded, normal wear and tear to the edges and worn clasps, some foxing. A rare Lyon pirated edition in 40 vols., based on the Geneva edition of Voltaire’s Œuvres published in the same year. Only volume 14 is missing, corresponding to tome 1 of the *Essai sur les Mœurs* and the *Esprit des Nations*. It was only identified (or rediscovered) in 1977 by Jeroom Vercruysse (1936–present), who devoted a study to it in volume CLXVIII of the journal *Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century*, despite the difficulty of obtaining a complete set. It differs from the official edition (known as the ‘framed’ edition) in that it features small floral motifs set within the text’s border, in place of the palmettes used in the Geneva edition. It may have been the result of a collaboration between the Genevan and Lyon printers to better penetrate the French market; Voltaire himself was aware of the venture and wrote, no doubt ironically, to Panckoucke (1736–1798), who had taken it upon himself to send a Geneva copy to France: ‘In truth, this edition is only good for lighting the St John’s Day bonfire. I feel very sorry for you for having taken on such ridiculous merchandise.’ Unusually, our set consists exclusively of volumes from this mysterious pirated edition, and contains no additional pages from the Geneva edition. With a handwritten ‘De Floyn’ bookplate on every title page. A volume numbered 41 completes our edition. This is none other than the original clandestine edition of Voltaire’s final publication, *La Bible enfin expliquée par plusieurs aumôniers de S.M.L.R.D.P.* [His Majesty the King of Poland, according to Quérard]: London, n.p., 2 volumes in 1 in-8 volume, identical binding, 1776, 274 pp. – 2 unnumbered folios. - 1 unnumbered plate - [276–550] pp., normal wear and tear, upper cap missing, worn joints, a few foxing spots and about twenty browned leaves. Whilst a version printed in the same year as this one by our forgers does exist (containing 316 and 318 pp.), the absence of the printer’s mark and the pagination indicate very likely that this is the first publication. The same ‘De Floyn’ bookplate appears on the first title page. Finally, 19 volumes serving as a “Supplement to the Complete Works of Voltaire” and bound in half-basane of the same shade complete these 40 volumes, forming volumes 42 to 62 (volumes 55 – “Collection of Letters. Volume XII. 1772–1774’ – and 57 – ‘Letters of the Crown Prince of Prussia and M. de Voltaire, Volume I’ – are missing). Printed in Basel by Jean-Jacques Tourneisen in 1790, this series reproduces, almost volume for volume, volumes 50 to 70 of the *Complete Works of Voltaire* published by the same printer between 1784 and 1789. A total of 59 volumes (39+1+19) make up this impressive series. A rare and most interesting set. Sources: - Quérard, I, 403 (for the EO). - General Catalogue of the BNF, entries no. FRBNF36586109 and no. FRBNF31605414 (idem). - Heidelberg Historic Literature – Digitised (for Jean-Jacques Tourneisen’s edition of 1784–1789 - Martin, Philippe, ed. ‘The Framed Edition of Voltaire’s Works (1775)’. In ‘Varryations’. Villeurbanne, Presses de l’enssib, 2020 (online, for the Lyon pirate edition).
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Auction time 07/06/2026 at 2:00 PM
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