Chats on Autographs

by Alexander Meyrick Broadley

nurse receives the names of the subscribers. y^r name will be the most honourable and the dearest to me.

I wish y^r lordship long life, good eyes and good stomak.

my lord souvenez vous de votre ancien serviteur Voltaire qui vous est attaché comme s'il était a londres.

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The original spelling of the letter has been preserved.

FIRST PAGE OF LETTER IN ENGLISH FROM VOLTAIRE TO EARL OF CHESTERFIELD, FERNEY, AUGUST 5, 1761.

It is needless to discuss the value of such priceless treasures as the autographs of Rabelais and Molière, the subjects of so much discussion and (if truth be told) so much deception. Like the signatures of Shakespeare, they may be described as the Koh-i-noors of calligraphy. They do not come within the domain of practical autograph collecting.

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