VOLTAIRE (1694-1778). Original letter, dictated by Voltaire and written by his secretary Jean-Louis Wagnière, Ferney May 22, 1771, addressed to Regny, Consul of France in Genoa, to deliver to the Abbé de l'Aage des Bornais, but intended for Turgot; 1page in-4, address, red wax seal of arms. Message from Voltaire to Turgot. [Turgot, leaving for Italy, had sent Voltaire a prose translation of Virgil]. "An old man overwhelmed by illness and now almost entirely blind received the letter [...] but the sad state he is in hardly allows him to enter into literary discussions. All he can say is that he was infinitely pleased with what he read, and that it is the only prose translation in which he found enthusiasm"...

Composed of several subsidiaries, the Drouot Group is a major player in the art market. Hôtel Drouot, located in the heart of Paris, has been the world's largest public auction center since 1852. 15 salerooms are available to more than 70 auction houses. The emulation generated by an annual offer of 230,000 artworks from 21 major specialities - from Antiquity to street art - attracts some 3,000 visitors every day. The Group's digital platform, Drouot.com, offers digital sales - Live auctions (live broadcasting and participation in auctions), Online-only auctions (dematerialised auctions) and Buy Now sales (sales of lots at fixed prices). Nearly 2 million items are offered annually by 600 auction houses. Auction news is reported every week in La Gazette Drouot, the leading weekly magazine for the art market and culture published by Auctionspress.