Haute Couture Books

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.

Investigation into the most precious of the 20 known copies of Jacques Lacan's thesis: “De la psychose paranoïaque dans ses rapports avec la personnalité”. Until now, the existence of this dedication was only assumed thanks to the response of its illustrious dedicatee: Sigmund Freud. Yet it remains the only direct interaction between the two founders of the science of psychoanalysis.

Ophelia owes her morbid languor to him; artists acknowledge in him the origin of the livre de peintre; it inspired even its author himself. Printed in just 80 copies, 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.

No more bare walls and harsh lighting—at the Le 121 bookshop-gallery, shelves of rare books provide a distinctive setting for contemporary art, reaffirming the enduring bond between Belles-Lettres and Bella Figura.

Broken written tokens

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...

It’s a fine romance, a tale worth telling… Discover Le Feu Follet's 2025 Catalogue.

First editions, manuscripts, photographs, presentation copies.