Since 1927, Paul Eluard regularly stays in Catalonia. In this month of September 1929 spent with Salvador Dali in Cadaques, he met the poet JV Foix (1893-1887), figure of Barcelona's avant-garde, close to Joan Miro and Federico Garcia Lorca, translator and Philippe Soupault Pierre Reverdy. The two men decide to publish all the editions L'Amic de les Arts the
first bilingual anthology of surrealist poetry. Announced in 1933 and then in 1934, it unfortunately never happen due to financial difficulties of the publisher. In 1934 published by Editions Jeanne Bucher too distant collection, probably inspired the project initiated by Eluard and Foix:
Small anthology of surrealism with an introduction by Georges Hugnet.
This valuable file, which therefore includes the unique selection of Eluard for the French section of the book, is a unique testimony of this ambitious project remained unfinished. Thus, the French poet chooses, besides his own poems, works by Hans Arp, André Breton, René Char, René Crevel, Salvador Dali, Georges Hugnet, ELT Mesens, Benjamin Peret, Philippe Soupault and Tristan Tzara. Having collected the texts with his surrealist friends in the form of typescripts or printed sheets - when he is not obliged to copy itself to the hand! - Eluard began to annotate, correct and paginate. Then builds our eyes a poetic panorama of great wealth, which provides a glimpse accurately such a book should have been published.
All showing remarkable research of Paul Eluard for the first anthology of surrealist poetry, unpublished.Detailed inventory of the record: - Hans Arp, "Configuration", 2 typescript pages, 26.8 x 21 cm, with hand Eluard corrections and the words "Unreleased 1933" in pencil;
- André Breton, "The Mystery Corset", "A castle instead of the head," "In view of the gods," "The verb to be," "Cohabitation", "A man and a woman absolutely white" and "The sphinx vertebral" (excerpts from The white hair Revolver, Paris, Editions des Cahiers Libres, 1932), 10 printed pages, 19 x 14.2 cm, and "You shall know later," one leaflet typescript on pink paper 27.5 x 21.5 cm, with hand Eluard various title mentions, deletions and corrections in pencil;
- André Breton, René Char, Paul Eluard, "Natural History" (from Slow work, Paris, surreal Editions, 1930), 1 printed sheet, 20,3 x 19 cm, with hand Eluard various title endorsements and deletions in pencil;
- André Breton, Paul Eluard, "general paralysis of simulation test" (from The Immaculate Conception, Paris, surreal Editions, 1930), 3 printed sheets, 22.8 x 18 cm, with hand Eluard various references title in pencil;
- André Breton and Philippe Soupault, extract of Magnetic Fields, one sheet in ink manuscript by Eluard, 27.8 x 21.8 cm;
- René Char, "Beautiful building and foreboding," "Love," "fatal Sleep," "Poetic Spirit", "The Suns singers", "Observers and dreamers," "The Cougar DAF de Sade "5 typescripts pink sheets on paper, 27.5 x 21.5 cm, with hand Eluard various references to pencil and ink;
- Salvador Dali, "The Great Masturbator" 8 typescripts pink sheets on paper, 27.5 x 21.5 cm, with hand Eluard diverse as Information at the lead;
- Paul Eluard, "The Heart", "remarks Simples", "Which ones? "" The Invention "," The Lover "," No hard feelings "," Absences "," The orange hair ... "" My love ... "" A loud ... "," The Queen of diamonds "" a loss of sight in the direction of my body, "" like them ", 6 sheets typescripts on pink paper, 27.5 x 21.5 cm and 7 printed sheets (from the bottom of a lifetime, Marseille Les Cahiers du Sud, 1926) with the hand of Eluard various statements and deletions to the lead;
- Georges Hugnet, "The Shepherd's Hour", "I had that night ..." "Behold the disease," "My home wood ',' Embark ...", "The Road ..." "When water rocks ... "," Children who isolate yourself ... "" Beauty sleeping ... "9 typescripts sheets, 26.8 x 20.8 cm, with hand Eluard and hand Hugnet under various terms;
- René Crevel, "So, what a wonderful afternoon ..." 2 typescript pages, 26.8 x 20.8 cm, with hand Eluard the word "Babylon 1927" in pencil;
- Gui Rosey, "I sing just man", "Heaven", 5 printed sheets and typescripts, 27,5x about 21.5 cm, with hand Eluard various references, deletions and corrections in ink;
- Benjamin Peret, "Bridge Commander," "Babord for all", "On the hill", "Sun worn quivering stone road," "Pale week", "Benjamin Peret Memoirs," "The fourth dancer," "The children of the quadrilateral "Four years after the dog," "Mystery of my birth," "the blood shed", "the chips of the field," "and so on", "arm in arm" 11 typescripts sheets on pink paper, 27.5 x 21.5 cm, with hand Eluard two lines in ink;
- Tristan Tzara, "The great lament of my darkness," "derailment", "Telescope", "On a wrinkle of the sun", "bifurcation", "the darling of the mountains", "Melting years", "The Digger looks, "" Mr. Aa the antiphilosophe "" Now or never ", 11 sheets typescripts on pink paper, 27.5 x 21.5 cm, with hand Eluard various ink as references and graphite;
- ELT Mesens "Rightly or wrongly," from full Woman (1931), 1 leaf manuscript in pencil by Eluard, 27.3 x 21.5 cm.
