‎Maurois (André)‎
‎Voltaire‎

‎Le Siècle De Louis XIV. 2 parts. - [ONE OF VOLTAIRE'S GREATEST HISTORICAL WORKS]‎

‎Berlin, C. F. Henning, 1751. 8vo. Two parts bound in one contemporary half calf binding with four raised bands and blind stamped ornamentation to spine. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Wear to extremities, boards with scratches and lower part of front hinge with loss of leather. Front free end-paper with four line annotation in contemporary hand. Internally nice and clean. (12), 488, (4), 466, (4) pp.‎

‎First edition of one of Voltaire’s greatest historical works, arguably one of the most important political and cultural histories of this era - a monument of eighteenth-century historiography, paving the way not only for modern historiography but also literary history in general. In accordance with other Enlightenment authors and philosophers, Voltaire saw the age of Alexander the Great and Pericles, the age of Caesar and Augustus and the Italian Renaissance as ""great ages"". In the present work he presented the age of Louis XIV as the fourth and greatest. “The Age of Louis XIV was the most thoroughly and conscientiously prepared of Voltaire’s works. He had planned it in 1732, begun it in 1734 put it aside in 1738, resumed it in 1750. For it he read two hundred volumes and reams of unpublished memoires, consulted scores of survivors from le grand Siecle, studied the original papers of protagonists like Louvois and Colbert, secured from the Due de Noailles the manuscripts left by Louis XIV, and found important documents, hitherto unused, in the archives of Louvre.” (Durant, The Age of Voltaire: The Story of Civilization, Volume IX). The period covered in this work spans from the later years of Cardinal Richelieu to the aftermath of Louis XIV's death. Voltaire characterized this era as a pinnacle of artistic and philosophical achievement, contrasting it with what he viewed as a decline during the reign of Louis XV. Voltaire's approach to history diverged from traditional accounts focused on great leaders and events. He aimed to capture the essence of the era like a painter, emphasizing broader historical and cultural movements over specific individuals or battles. He valued developments such as artistic progress, the decline of medieval superstitions and the end of sorcery and witch trials as significant markers of advancement.‎

‎Oeuvres completes de Voltaire. 90 vols (out of 92, wanting vol. 57 and 87).‎

‎(No place), L’Imprimerie De La Société Littéraire-Typographique, 1785-89. 8vo. Uniformly bound in 90 contemporary full sprinkled calf bindings with five raised bands and gilt lettering and ornamentation to spines. Ex-libris (Karl Henrik Koch, Danish author and philosopher) pasted on to pasted down front end-papers. Bindings with wear, of which 35 have considerable wear, with loss of leather and boards party detached. Internally with light marginal browning, but generally nice and clean. With 2 portraits (in vol. 1 and 16) and 14 engraved plates (in vol. 39). Wanting vol. 57 and 87. ‎

‎This edition of the Voltaire's Complete Works notably includes the bulk of Voltaire’s previously unpublished correspondence. The Société littéraire typographique was a publishing house founded by Beaumarchais and Condorcet in order to publish a new complete edition of Voltaire's works. Based in Kehl in Baden to escape censorship it operated from 1780 to 1790 they aimed at creating a monumental posthumous edition, seven years after Voltaire’s death. To achieve this Beaumarchais purchased the printing types of the great English typographer John Baskerville from his widow and acquired paper mills and presses (including three paper mills in the Vosges). Graesse VII, 390.Brunet V, 1354.Bibliographie Voltairienne , p. 101.‎

‎Reponse de S.M. le Roi de Prusse a Mr. de Voltaire - Svar fra H.M. Kongen af Preussen til Mr. de Voltaire.‎

‎(No place, nor printer, ca. 1757). 4to. In contemporary full calf with six raised bands and gilt lettering and ornamentation to spine. Boards with miscolouring and a hole in the leather to front board. Ex-libris pasted on to pasted down front end-paper. Bi-lingual text in French and Danish. Printed on good paper. A nice copy. (8) pp.‎

‎First appearance of this correspondence between Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, and Voltaire, the famous French Enlightenment philosopher and writer. The relationship between Voltaire and Frederick the Great is one of the most celebrated of the Age of Enlightenment. It was initiated by the young Prussian crown prince in August 1736 and they met for the first time in September 1740, a few months after Frederick succeeded his father as King. In a period Voltaire resided at Frederick's court in Potsdam. OCLC only list three copies, all in Denmark.‎

‎Ce qui Plait aux Dames. Conte de Voltaire. Illustrations de Armand Rels gravées sur Bois par André Baudier. Paris, Xavier Havermans, (1924).‎

‎Orig. wrappers, uncut. No 180 of 175 ""sur papir d'Arches"", a total of 220 copies. With fine original wodcuts by rels.‎

‎Théatre de Voltaire. Edition stèréotype d'apres le procédé de Firmin Didot.‎

‎Paris, Pierre Didot et Firmin Didot, An IX (1801). Small 8vo. Bound in 12 cont. full mottled calf, gilt backs, titlelabels. A few top of spines a little rubbed.‎