Voltaire / Laurence Sterne & Abbé Raynal - Recueil; Micromégas & Lettres d'Yorick à Éliza & Fastes françois - 1747/1784

Collection of three 18th century pieces linked at the time in one volume.
Opens with the famous Micromégas by Voltaire in 92 pages. Without a title page, this print could well be of the extremely rare genuine first edition published a month or two before "Micromégas" with "The History of the Crusades" in 257 pp [London 1752].

Bengesco indicates "Clément, in his' Five literary years (letter of March 15, 1752) and the authors of the 'Memoirs to serve in the history of science and fine arts' (Journal de Trévoux, April 1752), speak, from the months of March and April, of the edition of 'Micromégas' in 92 pp.; while it is in May and June 1752, that it is question, in the correspondence of Voltaire, of the edition of' Micromégas 'with' History of the Crusades and Plan of the History of the Human Spirit '.

Sourget notes that the original has "become untraceable" and adds "The true original edition of Micromégas is extremely rare. The few copies of this text which have been on the French public market for 20 years and described as" Original edition "generally belonged to this second. edition "entitled Le Micromégas by Mr. De Voltaire. With a history of the Crusades in 257 pp London 1752.

1. Without title page [Voltaire, Micromégas: histoire philosophique, 1752?, 92 pp]

2. Fastes françois ... by M.J. [Jacquin.]. Paris: C. Hérissant fils, 1747. IV-106 p

3. Letters from Yorick to Eliza, and from Eliza to Yorick. Translated from the English of Mr. Sterne., Augmented by the praise of Eliza, by Mr. Abbé Raynal, etc. In London and can be found at Poinçot and in Paris at Nyon 1784 xxiv, 143 pages;

Extremely rare, original edition ?, of the translation. The 1786 edition bears the mention of Nouvelle.

Binding used, leather rubbed, the head cap leveled, back cracked, two corners blunt. Fresh interior, some slight traces of handling. A double leaf of "Letters from Yorick .." flying.


Micromégas: histoire philosophique is a philosophical tale by Voltaire published in 1752. He describes there the visit of the Earth by two giants: Micromégas, coming from a planet of Sirius, and the secretary of the Academy of Saturn.

Micromegas is at the same time one of the first philosophical tales and one of the most representative works of the spirit of the Enlightenment, because it concentrates reflections of social, religious, moral, philosophical criticism and elements of reflection on the man, without forgetting the scientific aspect, essential for the Encyclopedists.