The Enlightenment features prominently in the collection and is in sharp contrast with the small cabinet devoted to the 16^th century. With the revival of the occult sciences, astrology, alchemy, magic and the terrible Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), which followed the wars of religion (1562-1593), the 16^th century marked the transition from the medieval world to the modern age.

The most noteworthy works of the Enlightenment are:

• the 36 volumes of Natural History by Buffon (1749-1789)
• the 28 volumes the Encyclopédie by Diderot and d’Alembert (1751-1757)
• the portable Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire (1765)
• first autograph version of Nathan the Wise by Lessing dated 1778. It extols the virtues of tolerance embodied in the ideals of the Enlightenment
• Kant’s critical philosophy, Critique of Pure Reason (1781) and What is Enlightenment? (1793 edition).

The French Revolution is represented with works by its spiritual fathers Rousseau (Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, The Social Contract, in Complete Works, 1774-1783) and Beaumarchais (The Marriage of Figaro, 1785).

Other manuscripts pertinent to the Revolution are presented in such a way as to highlight the contrasts among them:

• a handwritten letter describing the horrific events of 10 August when the insurgents at The Tuileries massacred the defenceless Swiss Guards. The letter is dated 13 August 1792 and was written by a citizen called Michel to his brother-in-law
• a typewritten manuscript of Marie-Antoinette by Stefan Zweig with handwritten corrections