Voltaire and Fontaine Lead Château de Tournay Library Auction

A Christie's auction on June 18 will focus on the major library at the Château de Tournay which was once the home of Voltaire.

The sale features just under 200 volumes dating from the 18th to the 20th century including a 30-volume collection of Voltaire's works (Paris, Jean-François Bastien, 1796) bound with the gilt arms of Empress of Russia Maria Feodorovna, with 15 correspondence volumes issued 20 years later in a slightly different binding with the Russian imperial arms (estimate: €12,000-€18,000).

Other highlights in the Paris sale include:

• La Fontaine's Fables, illustrated by Oudry, the first two volumes bound by Bonnet, and the remaining two by Padeloup, with the arms of bibliophile Mademoiselle de Condé, Princess of Conti (1693-1775), granddaughter of Louis XIV (estimate: €60,000-€80,000)
• Miroir de la tauromachie (Paris, Daniel Lelong éditeur, 1990) by Michel Leiris, illustrated with four lithographs by Francis Bacon (estimate: €40,000-€50,000) with one of the first articulated bindings by Jean de Gonet, using pink ivory wood for the boards
• Le Chef d'œuvre inconnu (Paris, Ambroise Vollard, 1931), one of 65 deluxe copies on Japon impérial of Pablo Picasso’s illustrated edition of Honoré de Balzac’s work, signed by the artist and Vollard (estimate: €30,000-€40,000) 

Also going under the hammer is L’État des arts en Angleterre (Paris, Charles Antoine Jombert, 1755) by Jean André Rouquet in contemporary red morocco with the gilt arms of Madame de Pompadour (estimate: €2,000-€3,000), and the treatise on Christian faith Traité de l'espérance chrétienne (Paris, Lottin, 1732) by Gilles Vauge, bound to the arms of Queen Marie-Antoinette.

 "It is quite rare to find a collection of classical decorative arts paired with a bibliophile's library," said Hippolyte de la Féronnière, Director of the Furniture and Works of Art Department and Head of Sale. "The current owner fully restored the château to house his collections in a refined and coherent setting, with a library perfectly integrated into the décor."