H-France List Archives

• Message-Id: <199606242211.XAA22076@listserv.rl.ac.uk>
• Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 14:54:22 -0700
• From: "Bertram M. Gordon" <bmgordon@ella.mills.edu>
• Subject: H-Fr - Voltaire's estate for sale

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 12:58:23 -0500 (CDT)
From: Jeffrey W Merrick <jmerrick@csd.uwm.edu>

Forwarded message:
>From GarryApgar@aol.com Thu Jun 20 12:00:24 1996
From: GarryApgar@aol.com
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 12:59:37 -0400
Message-ID: <960620125935_560387291@emout18.mail.aol.com>
To: jmerrick@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: Re: Ferney

                                 MEMORANDUM


From: Garry Apgar
Subj: Update on The Voltaire Society of America Incorporated
Date: 20 June 1996


   Even though the town of Ferney-Voltaire has not yet agreed upon a purchase
price with the sellers for Voltaire's property at Ferney, the French
association "Voltaire ` Ferney" has officially given us the green light to
publicly announce the existence of our organization, "The Voltaire Society of
America Incorporated."  Our goals, as I am sure most of you already know, are
four-fold: to financially assist Ferney-Voltaire, if necessary, in paying for
the property at Ferney; to help preserve the site and restore the buildings
on it; to help acquire works of art and furnishing appropriate to the
chbteau; and to help foster Voltaire's cultural and moral legacy.

   The papers of incorporation for the Society were filed in the State of New
York on May 23rd.  The application to the IRS for Recognition of Exemption
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code was filed on June 17th.
 Our tax (or EIN) number is 13-389-4017.  The New York City firm handling
these legal matters, Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller, helped establish the
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation at Monticello.  George W. Gowen and
James W. Reid, of that firm, have agreed for the time being to act as
Chairman and President, respectively, of the board of directors of the
Society .  I serve as secretary-treasurer.  No member of the Society is
salaried and we absolutely intend to dedicate as much of the monies we
collect as possible to the goals cited above.

   To date we have received about $3,000 in gifts, with another $1,000
pledged.  Among the American donations in hand are two checks for $500, one
from a private individual (and 18th-century scholar), the other from the
private non-profit California-based foundation "Friends of French Art."
 "Voltaire ` Ferney" has also generously donated 5,000 francs (about $1,000)
to help fund our initial efforts.  Our goal in calendar year 1996 is to raise
a total of $20,000.  I would also like to see us enlist a very broad base of
support: ideally 500 or more individuals or institutions, from all 50 states
in all walks of life -- from academics, teachers, writers and journalists to
public figures, attorneys, business folk and "ordinary" citizens.

   If you have not already sent in a check or made a pledge, I hope you will
be able to do so shortly.  All gifts of $25 or more will entitle the donor to
a certificate of membership (yet to be produced) and an annual subscription
to a four- to six-page newsletter that will be published every four months.
 The newsletter will be illustrated and contain reports on our progress and
activities at Ferney -- plus entertaining and informative material relating
to Voltaire.  One regular feature will be a page of Voltairian "wit and
wisdom."  There will also be articles devoted to subjects like Voltaire's
impact on the Founding Fathers and the critical fortunes of Leonard
Bernstein's comic operatta "Candide."  I shall edit the letter and invite
correspondence and other submissions that will be of interest to the
membership.  Also by the end of the year we plan to develop a web site.

   At this critical early stage in the life of the Society it would be
immensely helpful if you could chat us up (or continue to chat us up) among
other potential benefactors and/or provide me with the names and addresses of
persons or institutions who might be interested in receiving information
about the organization.  You may have seen the story on Ferney in the Sunday
New York "Times" travel section for June 9th.  Press publicity like that will
give us an enormous boost in our efforts.  If there have been reports in your
local newspaper on Ferney, I would be grateful if you could tell me about
them (and provide appropriate names and addresses of persons to contact).
 Any other ideas, suggestions or offers of help will also be most welcome!

   Thank you all very much for your support, past, present and future.


Sincerely,



Garry Apgar

40 Bennett Street
Black Rock, Connecticut 06605
Tel: (203) 336-2378    Fax: (203) 367-8515    E-mail: GarryApgar @ aol.com



P.S.: We have not yet received formal approval from the IRS for our
application.  That should be forthcoming by the end of the year and we
anticipate no reason why it should be refused.  Once formal recognition is
granted we will announce the news.  Gifts to the Society made in 1996 then
will be tax-deductible (retroactive for this year) "to the fullest extant
allowable under the law" (I believe that is the proper language!).  In other
words, donations to the Society will be tax-deductible in the same way that
gifts to, say, the Red Cross are.  All checks should be made out to "The
Voltaire Society of America Incorporated" and mailed to me at the address
given above.