Scope and Contents
Series I, Correspondence (1730-1758), consists primarily of correspondence between Graffigny and Devaux. The letters are bound by correspondent, so that each volume contains letters by one writer. The letters by Graffigny written before 1752 were numbered by Devaux in the order in which he received them. These numbers can generally be found on the back of each letter, with a few on the front or in the margins. Each volume of Graffigny's correspondence contains at least one numbered sequence of about 25 to 50 letters. It appears that some sequences of numbers are repeated in more than one volume. Also included in this series is one volume of letters to Graffigny from her niece, Anne-Catherine de Ligniville d'Autricourt, the future Mme Helvétius. The letters from Mme Graffigny are being published in the multi- volume work Correspondance de Madame de Graffigny by English Showalter et al. (Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, Taylor Institution, 1985-).
Series II, Writings (n.d.), contains plays, poems, drafts, notes, legal documents, biographical and genealogical sketches, and other papers, generally by or related to Mme de Graffigny.
Dates
- 1730-1758
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Existence and Location of Copies
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Extent
13 Linear Feet ((76 boxes) +1 portfolio)
Language of Materials
French
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
FRANCOISE D'ISSEMBOURG D'HAPPONCOURT, MME DE GRAFFIGNY (1695-1758)
An independent woman with a reputation for her wit, Graffigny was soon at the center of the literary, artistic, and scientific circles of the Duchy. It was in that context that she met François-Antoine Devaux, who remained her confidant of choice for the remaining 25 years of her life. In the early 1730s, she fell in love with Léopold Desmarets, son of the composer Henry Desmarets. Their liaison lasted until 1743.
Graffigny's situation at the old court of Lorraine came to an end with the Treaty of Vienna in 1736, which gave the Duchy to the deposed King of Poland Stanislas Leszczynski, father-in-law of Louis XV. In 1738, she left Lunéville and spent two months at Cirey with Voltaire and his friend Mme du Châtelet, whom she had met when they visited Lunéville in 1735. Her well-documented stay ended with a serious rift between Graffigny and her hosts.
In February 1739, Graffigny settled in Paris. Among her new relations was Mlle Quinault, the actress and co-founder of the "Société du bout du banc," which Graffigny was invited to join in 1745. With the assistance of her young cousin Anne-Catherine de Ligniville, she opened her own literary salon. It became one of the most distinguished of its day and was frequented by Rousseau, Turgot, D'Argenson, and Helvétius--who subsequently married Anne-Catherine.
In 1747, the publication of the epistolary novel Lettres d'une Péruvienne made Graffigny famous throughout Europe, a fame confirmed three years later when her play Cénie triumphed at the Comédie-Française. In April 1758, however, La fille d'Aristide was a failure in the same theater. Graffigny died on December 12, 1758.
FRANCOIS-ANTOINE DEVAUX (1712-1796)
Appendix A: Guide to the Microfilm
Microfilm number / Reel / Volume / Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------
360 / 1 / 1
360 / 1 / 2
360 / 1 / 3
360 / 1 / 4
360 / 1 / 5
Volumes 6-7 are not in the collection
361 / 3 or 4 / 8
360 / 1-2 / 9
361 / 1 or 2 / 10
361 / 1 or 2 / 11
360 / 2 / 12
Volume 13 is not in the collection
361 / 1 or 2 / 14
361 / 1 or 2 / 15
360 / 2 / 16
360 / 2 / 17
Volume 18 is not in the collection
361 / 1 or 2 / 19
360 / 2 / 20
361 / 1 or 2 / 21
360 / 2 / 22
360 / 2-3 / 23
361 / 1 or 2 / 24
360 / 3 / 25
361 / 1 or 2 / 26
361 / 1 or 2 / 27
361 / 1 or 2 / 28
361 / 1 or 2 / 29
Volume 30 is not in the collection
360 / 3 / 31
361 / 1 or 2 / 32
361 / 1 or 2 / 33
361 / 1 or 2 / 34
360 / 3 / 35
361 / 1 or 2 / 36
362 / 1 / 36
360 / 3 / 37
362 / 1 / 38
360 / 4 / 39
361 / 1 or 2 / 40
360 / 4 / 41
360 / 4 / 42
361 / 1 or 2 / 43
361 / 1 or 2 / 44
360 / 4 / 45
361 / 1 or 2 / 46
360 / 4 / 47
360 / 4 / 48
360 / 4 / 49
361 / 1 or 2 / 50
360 / 5 / 51
361 / 3 or 4 / 52
360 / 5 / 53
360 / 5 / 54
361 / 3 or 4 / 55
360 / 5 / 56
360 / 5 / 57
361 / 3 or 4 / 58
361 / 3 or 4 / 59
361 / 3 or 4 / 60
361 / 3 or 4 / 61
not filmed / 62
361 / 3 or 4 / 63
361 / 3 or 4 / 64
Volume 65 is not in the collection
361 / 3 or 4 / 66
Volumes 67-76 are not in the collection
362 / 1 / 77
362 / 1 / 78
361 / 5 / 79 / Untitled play
361 / 5 / 80
362 / 1 / 81
361 / 5 / 82
361 / 5 / 83
Volumes 84-89 are not in the collection
362 / 1 / 90
361 / 5 / 91
362 / 2 / 92
361 / 5 / 93 / pp. 231-288 only
362 / 2 / 93
362 / 2 / 94
362 / 2 / 95
Volume 96 is not in the collection
362 / 2 / 97
362 / 2 / 98
362 / 2 / 99
362 / 2 / 100
- Title
- Guide to the Graffigny Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Beinecke Staff
- Date
- August 1998
- Description rules
- Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
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