VOLTAIRE, OEuvres complètes. [Kehl], De l'imprimerie de la S - Lot 228

  2. Result
  3. VOLTAIRE, OEuvres complètes. [Kehl], De l'imprimerie de la S - Lot 228
  4. Lot n° 228 
Lot n° 228
Go to lot
Estimation :
800 - 1200 EUR
Result without fees
Result : 1 050EUR
VOLTAIRE, OEuvres complètes. [Kehl], De l'imprimerie de la S - Lot 228
VOLTAIRE, OEuvres complètes. [Kehl], De l'imprimerie de la Société littéraire-typographique, 1785-1789. 92 vol. in-12, period fawn-colored calf, smooth spine, gilt fleurons and ornaments, red and green titles and subtitles, triple gilt fillet on covers, gilt fillet on edges, blue speckled edges (minor wear, including dull corners; brown spots). A fine, well-bound copy of what is undoubtedly the most famous edition of Voltaire's complete works. "At least five separate versions, in 70 or 92 volumes, were published between 1784 and 1789, with innumerable announcement and reminder leaflets distributed throughout Europe. Purchase of paper mills; rental of the fort at Kehl to escape the censorship in force in France; installation of dozens of presses on site; acquisition of matrices from the famous Baskerville and special casting of hundreds of tons of type; printing of millions of sheets, binding and distribution of tens of thousands of volumes, delivered as required to subscribers and the public : an enormous task, deemed too onerous by Panckoucke, the greatest publisher of the time, and one that the indefatigable Beaumarchais took on, delegating editorial direction to Condorcet, assisted by Decroix, Ruault and a whole team of copyists and editors, administrators and managers. " (according to http://fonds-voltaire.org). Large-margin copy printed on wove paper (height 21.3 cm incl. binding). Only the large paper copies include all the illustrations. This one contains 1 frontispiece portrait of Voltaire, engraved by A. de Saint-Aubin after Houdon's bust, 49 other portraits, 103 plates after Moreau, 1 plan, and 14 folding plates for physics. "This suite is one of Moreau's masterpieces and sustains itself without a lapse from one end to the other for nearly a hundred compositions." (Cohen). (Cohen, 1042-1046, mentions this edition, but details only the in-8° edition, for which he mentions 1 title-frontispiece with Moreau's bust of Voltaire, a dedication with Prusse's portrait of Fr.-Guillaume, and 93 figures by Moreau interpreted by various engravers, 14 portraits and 5 additional portraits; he also mentions the 14 physics folding plates).
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue