Kehl: De L'imprimerie de la Société Littéraire-Typographique 1784-89. Canonizing Voltaire an enterprise on the eve of Revolution The first complete collection known as the "Kehl" edition for the small German town in which it was printed to avoid French censorship. After his death the Société Littéraire Typographique was founded there dedicated to the monumental effort of disseminating Voltaire's work through a definitive and typographically magnificent edition. The group of Enlightenment intellectuals ready to champion the author were led by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais who financed the operation and the Marquis de Condorcet who acted as chief editor. For the first time Voltaire's correspondence was published and commentary and a biography by Cordorcet was added. For the type Beaumarchais bought John Baskerville's apparatus from his widow. This coupled with the unprecedented price he paid for the rights the paper mills he purchased and the cost of setting up in Kehl bankrupted Beaumarchais. Nevertheless he concluded "Europe will be satisfied". Octavo 70 vols 213 x 134 mm. Portrait frontispiece engraved plates. Contemporary mottled calf signed by François Gaudreau at foot of spines red morocco labels double gilt fillet to compartments and boards marbled endpapers varicolour bookmarkers. Superficial splits and worming to joints still very firm occasional wear contents largely clean. A very good set. hardcover
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