GRIMM (Friedrich Melchior) - DIDEROT (Denis). - Lot 56

GRIMM (Friedrich Melchior) - DIDEROT (Denis). Correspondence littéraire, philosophique et critique, adressée à un souverain d'Allemagne, depuis 1753 jusqu'en 1769. [Since 1770 until 1782 -During part of the years 1775-1776, and during the years 1782 to 1790 inclusive. -Supplément] Paris : Longchamps, F. Buisson, 1813 [première partie] ; Paris : F. Buisson, 1812 [seconde partie] ; Paris : F. Buisson, 1813 [troisième partie] ; Paris : Potey, Buisson, Delaunay, 1814 [supplément]. - 3 parts and a supplement in 17 volumes in-8, 205 x 127. Half blond calf, spine with ornate faux nerfs, marbled edges (Thouvenin). First edition of the first and third parts, as well as the supplement, and second edition of the second part, published the same year as the original. This is the printing of one of the best-known and richest collections of 18th-century correspondence, or should we say handwritten short stories, providing an exceptional testimony to the literary history of the century. Distributed in manuscript form, it was begun by Friedrich Melchior Grimm in 1753, and continued by Jacques-Henri Meister from 1773 to 1813. Initially intended for a few German courts, it was subsequently distributed to some fifteen renowned subscribers, stretching from Tuscany to Russia, via Sweden and Poland. Grimm and Meister were surrounded by other writers, most notably Denis Diderot and Madame d'Épinay. This edition features letters from 1753 to 1790. The Supplement contains: "1° les Opuscules de Grimm; 2° treize Lettres de Grimm à Frédéric II, Roi de Prusse; 3° plusieurs morceaux de la Correspondance de Grimm; 4° des Remarques sur les 16 volumes, par Ant.-Alex. Barbier, Bibliothécaire de S. M. l'Empereur et Roi, et de son Conseil d'État." A fine copy in a uniform binding by Thouvenin. Spine lightened. Some rare foxing. Provenance: Jacques Attali, with bookplate (sale May 25, 2019, no. 45).