Le Siècle de Louis XIV

2 volumes in-12 of: I/ (7) ff., 488 pp., 2 pp. of errata for the 1st and 2nd volumes; II/ 1 title leaf, 466 pp. Blue morocco, large central gilt ornament on covers, richly decorated raised bands, double gilt fillet on the edges, red morocco doublures, broad gilt inner roll, gilt edges over marbling. Double binding signed Chambolle-Duru.

150 x 86 mm.

Voltaire. The Age of Louis XIV, published by M. de Francheville.
Berlin, Henning, 1751.

Original edition, now very rare.
Bengesco no. 1178; The Printed Works of Voltaire at the National Library (1978).
In French in the Text, no.154.

“The original 1751 edition presents two peculiarities: there is not a single capital letter in the entire work except at the beginning of paragraphs. This is the first book printed entirely with Voltaire's own spelling” (Bengesco).

“The Age of Louis XIV is both the most important of Voltaire’s historical works and one of his most beautiful” (Dictionary of Works).

“Here, Voltaire reveals himself as one of our first historians” (R. Pomeau, In French in the Text).

Voltaire’s intention was to show the superiority of the seventeenth century, “so rich in great minds,” and of Louis XIV over the government of Louis XV, who had imprisoned the young author and sent him into exile.

As early as June 17, 1738, Frederick II wrote to Voltaire: “I urgently ask you to continue The Age of Louis XIV. Europe has never seen such a history; and I dare assure you that no one has even imagined a work as perfect as the one you have begun.”

His life brought him into contact with a great number of direct witnesses and prominent figures from the reign of Louis XIV, making the intrigues and anecdotes revealed to the public for the first time even more captivating.

“The first modern historian, Voltaire thus gives the first great historical work where the central character is the nation and the focus is on customs, not on battles. There was some boldness and courage in undertaking such a work around 1732. The memory of Louis XIV was hated, people remembered only the miseries of the end of his reign, the austerity of the final years. What is remarkable is that he tried to anticipate history’s judgment and, all in all, succeeded admirably; each chapter is a masterpiece of clarity, swiftness, intelligence, and synthesis” (Dictionary of Works).

A very attractive copy, large-margined, elegantly dressed under the Second Empire by Chambolle-Duru in a fine blue morocco binding, lined with red morocco.