Ferney Voltaire, France
(Geneva Border Region)

 

Copperplate Engravings from Baron Zurlauben's topography published around 1780.

The great French enlightenment playwright and author Voltaire (1694-1778) lived the last 20 years of his life in the town of Ferney, which was then an independent territory on the border of Switzerland. During his time living as the "“patriarch of Ferney,” Voltaire built the local church and founded pottery and watchmaking industries.

The letters A.P.D.R. appear on each print, which means that they were engraved "avec privilège du roi" - or licensed by the king - this is an annotation which ones ees only on prints published before the French revolution. It meant the print had been approved by the French censures.

 

These images were originally pointed on folio sized sheets, two images per page. We have two in their original double image state, and additional single copperplate images that have been cut.