The Black and the Black

June 20, 2025

Le Feu Follet's Letter #65

The Black and the Black

A FIRST SUMMER NIGHT'S TORMENT

Feel-good books, fun facts, wellness therapies, good vibes, body positivity, mood boosters… — in a world seeking lightness, happiness now seems to lie in Anglo-Saxon neologisms.

Yet writers rarely pursue lukewarm sentiments or the quiet chase for bland contentment. When French poets borrow from across the Channel, it is often in search of spleen rather than any easy ideal.

On this longest day, Le Feu Follet dares to hasten the sunset, that its ‘wandering fingers’ might trace the ‘bloodstain’ of the Affiche Rouge and dip into Delacroix’s darkest inks for a Shakespearean question — should Madame de Rênal be so kind as to lend us her lover’s skull.

A FIRST SUMMER NIGHT'S TORMENT

Feel-good books, fun facts, wellness therapies, good vibes, body positivity, mood boosters… — in a world seeking lightness, happiness now seems to lie in Anglo-Saxon neologisms.

Yet writers rarely pursue lukewarm sentiments or the quiet chase for bland contentment. When French poets borrow from across the Channel, it is often in search of spleen rather than any easy ideal.

On this longest day, Le Feu Follet dares to hasten the sunset, that its ‘wandering fingers’ might trace the ‘bloodstain’ of the Affiche Rouge and dip into Delacroix’s darkest inks for a Shakespearean question — should Madame de Rênal be so kind as to lend us her lover’s skull.

FOCUS ON
LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR

INVESTIGATIONS

There were only 22 when the rifles fired

An investigation into the most emblematic image of the Resistance, made and spread... by Nazi propaganda.

Thanks to the leaflet that accompanied it, discover what lies behind the renowned Affiche Rouge, as well as what even Aragon’s hymn left unspoken — for there were only 22 when the rifles fired...

READ THE INVESTIGATION

To Be or Not to Be the First Painter’s Book

Ophelia owes her morbid languor to it; artists acknowledge in it the origin of the livre de peintre. With only 80 copies printed, Delacroix’s Hamlet is not only among the artist’s finest works – it stands as a pinnacle of Romantic art.

Le Feu Follet has uncovered one of the 20 deluxe copies printed on Chine paper.

READ THE INVESTIGATION

SeLECTION

Dark writings Tender is their nights

Behind the scenes

Of life's vastness, in the abyss' darkest corner

I see distinctly bizarre worlds,

And ecstatic victim of my own clairvoyance,

I drag along with me, serpents that bite my shoes.

And it's since that time that, like the prophets,

I love so tenderly the desert and the sea;

That I laugh at funerals and weep at festivals

And find a pleasant taste in the most bitter wine

[…]

But the Voice consoles me and it says: "Keep your dreams;

Wise men do not have such beautiful ones as fools!"

[Translation by William Aggeler]

Those for whom art and literature are not meant to champion a tame form of ‘positive thinking’ will surely find themselves at home amidst this Baudelairean blossoming, which frames our selection of dark masterpieces.

DISCOVER

NEW ADDITIONS

Daniel BERNOULLI

Hydrodynamica, sive de viribus et motibus fluidorum commentarii

Johann Reinhold Dulseker • Argentorati 1738

First edition of Bernoulli’s treatise that profoundly influenced the development of fluid mechanics for over a century. Hydrodynamica includes two landmark results: a proof of Boyle-Townley’s law and the eponymous equation describing fluid motion within a tube.

SEE MORE

Robert ANTELME

L'Espèce humaine

Gallimard • Paris 1957

Partly first edition, revised and corrected, of which no deluxe copies were issued; one of the advance copies. Rare and valuable signed presentation inscription from Robert Antelme to Geneviève Hirsch.

"There are no human races; there is only one human race. It is precisely because we are men like them that the SS will ultimately be powerless against us."

SEE MORE

Amable-Louis-Marie-Michel Bréchillet JOURDAIN

La Perse, ou Tableau de l'histoire, du gouvernement, de la religion, de la littérature, etc., de cet empire; des mœurs et coutumes de ses habitans

J.B. Imbert Ferra • Paris 1814

First edition illustrated with 39 aquatint engravings, 37 of which are hand-colored (cf Atabey, 624. Hage-Chahine, 2388.) Finely engraved and colored, the illustrations evoke the design of Persian miniatures: portraits, figures in costumes , views and ancient monuments, scenes of daily life, musical instruments, etc.

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Jean COCTEAU [to Jean MARAIS]

"It’s so wonderful to have found each other again": Autograph letter addressed to his great love, Jean Marais

[July 1940]

A magnificent love letter from Cocteau to Marais, who together formed one of the most iconic artistic couples of the 20th century. Set against the backdrop of turmoil and the German Occupation, their unbreakable bond is embodied in this letter of the writer, filled with desperate tones.

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George BARBIER

Original ink drawing - 5 fashion compositions for "La Vie Parisienne"

1923 • 24,2 x 30,2 cm

An exceptional ink drawing by the eminent fashion illustrator George Barbier for the “Elegances” section of the newspaper La Vie Parisienne, featuring four silhouettes at the height of 1920s fashion, with boyish haircuts, dressed in flowing, low-waisted tube dresses or wrapped in luxurious furs.

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Antoine de SAINT-EXUPÉRY

Lettres à une Amie inventée [with an olriginal drawing by Saint-Exupéry]

Librairie Plon • Paris 1953

A deluxe edition copy, enhanced with an exceptional original drawing presented to Léon Werth.

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Pierre BARRÈRE

Nouvelle relation de la France équinoxiale, contenant la description des côtes de la Guiane

Piget Damonneville Durand • Paris 1743

Rare first edition of this "relation [...] much sought after for its accuracy", illustrated with 19 folding plates, including 2 maps (cf. Sabin 3604, Leclerc 119). The author, a physician and botanist born in Perpignan in 1690—where he held a post at the military hospital—was introduced by Antoine de Jussieu to the Conseil de la Marine in August 1721 and appointed royal physician and botanist in French Guiana. He landed in Cayenne at the end of 1721 and left the colony in May 1724. During his stay, he explored the banks of the Kourou and Orapu rivers, studying the local flora, fauna, and indigenous customs.

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RIMBAUD & VERLAINE & MALLARMÉ & FÉNÉON & HUYSMANS

La Vogue. Pre-first edition of Les Illuminations

La Vogue • Paris # 1-12 (11 April - 12-19 July 1886)

Complete first trimester (11 April – 12-19 July 1886) of the most important literary journals of the late 19th century, containing the complete pre-publication of Rimbaud's Illuminations.

First ever printed appearance of Rimbaud's Illuminations published in La Vogue, a periodical which welcomed poètes maudits or “cursed poets” and introduced Walt Whitman to French readers.

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SPECIAL EVENT

Le Feu Follet's Letter

Whimsical essays, curious histories, epic enquiries, curated selections, highlighted novelties — all seasoned with a dash of humour. A bimonthly journey across the arts and letters, from the present to the past.