Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Fragment of an autograph draft of a letter : place not specified, to Frederick the Great, [ca. 15 Oct. 1738].

BIB_ID
308748
Accession number
MA 986.14
Creator
Voltaire, 1694-1778.
Display Date
[ca. 15 Oct. 1738].
Credit line
Purchased by J.P. Morgan Jr., 1923.
Description
1 item (2 p.) ; 32.6 cm
Notes
A note at the head of this letter dates it to 22 Aug. 1738; corrected dating from Besterman.
A retained draft of the final third of a letter written on ca. 15 Oct. 1738 by Voltaire to Frederick the Great, headed "Au [prince] royal de Prusse."
Part of a large collection of letters from Voltaire to Frederick the Great. Letters have been cataloged individually; see collection-level record for more information.
Provenance
Charavay sale (Paris, 17 April 1880), p.11, in no.28; Morrison collection; Sotheby's (London, 19 April 1918), p.289, in no.1768; purcahsed by J.P. Morgan Jr. from the London dealer J. Pearson & Co. in 1923.
Summary
Saying that he is grateful for his support; drawing a parallel between himself and persecuted scientists and writers; saying that without Louis XIV's protection Racine and Boileau would have been unhappy; considering himself more fortunate than these great men; inquiring whether he would like to receive Mérope's fifth act; informing him that Emilie du Chatelet received [Keyserlingk's] plans for Remusberg.