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. 1737 Apr. 25].

BIB_ID
308431
Accession number
MA 986.2
Creator
Voltaire, 1694-1778.
Display Date
[ca. 1737 Apr. 25].
Credit line
Purchased by J.P. Morgan Jr., 1923.
Description
1 item (4 p.) ; 19.4 cm
Notes
A retained draft of the final third of a letter written ca. 25 April 1737 to Frederick the Great, headed "au ce P ... de Prusse, fragment." The first part of the letter (pages 1-8) was acquired by the Morgan from Theodore Besterman in 1957 and cataloged as MA 1893. MA 1893 appears to have been inserted into MA 986.1-42 after its acquisition. It was later removed and it is housed separately.
Dating from Besterman.
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
Morrison Collection. Purchased from the London dealer J. Pearson & Co. in 1923.
Summary
Discussing, at length, metaphysics; praising his moral sense in reference to the late Czar [Peter I]; saying that he was a great but cruel man; telling him that one great good he will do for humanity will be to ride roughshod over superstition and fanaticism.