[Manuscript]. [Sciences]. MAUPERTUIS (Pierre Louis Moreau de - Lot 17

[Manuscript]. [Sciences]. MAUPERTUIS (Pierre Louis Moreau de). Important set of copies of letters written by Maupertuis, between 1736 and 1754. 18th century. 5 volumes in-4, old-fashioned half-basane with corners (rubbing, gaps on 2 spines, lower cover destroyed). The set contains 650 letters written by Maupertuis. Carefully written in ink on laid paper, r° and v°, with a few erasures, by several hands, the text is easily legible. Vol. [1]. April 30, 1736 to May 20, 1738. Collection of 137 letters addressed in particular to Maurepas, Count de Casteja Anders Celius, Du Faÿ, Réaumur, Cassini, La Condamine (addressed to Peru), Bernouilli, Bradley, Le Monnier, Émilie Du Châtelet, Voltaire (one letter, in which he declares that MM. de Cassini and de Fontenelle "are very ridiculous people...") and others, including foreign learned societies and scientists. (The beginning is paginated and page 9-10 is missing; a flyleaf is enclosed.) A precious volume, of exceptional interest for the history of science: it contains letters written by Maupertuis during the expedition initiated by Maurepas, which took him to Lapland to measure a degree of arc of the meridian in order to confirm Newton's theory of the flattening of the Earth at the poles. Almost all the letters contain interesting observations, and all reflect the adventures of the expedition. In particular, long letters addressed to Cassini, Maurepas and Du Faÿ are a mine of information on the progress of the mission. Vol. [2]. 1745, 1746, 1748, 1751 and 1752. Collection of 105 letters, all addressed to King Frederick II of Prussia. 104 numbered pages, one flyleaf of table. Fast but neat and very legible handwriting. Vol. [3]. 1754 (July 3 to December 31). Collection of 101 letters, including a number written in Potsdam, addressed to a large number of correspondents, including King Louis XV, as well as to d'Alembert, Euler, Bernouilli, d'Holbach, La Condamine, de Tressan, La Caille, Comtesse de La Mack, d'Argens, Helvetius, Le Monnier, Lalande, Richelieu and others. Handwritten by the same quick and legible hand. Vol. [4]. 1750 and 1751. Collection of 162 letters written between January 10, 1750 and December 28, 1751. In addition to some of the correspondents already mentioned, there are the names of President Henault, Kaestner, Köhler, Grischaw, Ulloa, Formey, Buffon, d'Argenson, Diderot and others. Handwriting by at least two hands, but still legible; brown stain on the second part of the vol. which worsens, touches the text and weakens the paper at the end of the volume; bottom cover partly destroyed. Vol. [5]. 1753 and early 1754. Collection of 145 letters written between January 2, 1753 and February 14, 1754. Includes most of the correspondents already mentioned, in particular La Condamine and Euler. Maupertuis' correspondence remained until the early 20th century among the papers of his universal legatee La Condamine, which were dispersed at public auction in the 1990s; a large part, then acquired by the Institut de France, forms a Maupertuis fonds at the Académie des Sciences. In view of the inventory published in 2004 by C. Demeulenaere and F. Greffe, it would appear that the collection proposed here includes items that were not included.