They are called deluxe papers, limited editions, tirages de têtes or simply first editions. They were printed in small numbers on special paper and carefully preserved, from the very beginning, by the first readers and admirers of these literary geniuses. These copies are the origin of the work and its legacy.
First edition, one of 500 copies on ordinary paper.
This copy has a chemise and slipcase.
A little light spotting, not serious, nice copy.
Retaining its advertising band and slip.
Handsome autograph inscription signed by René Char: “à Man Ray au voyant carnassier de tout cœur R. Char.” (“To Man Ray to the carnivorous fortune teller, with all my heart, R. Char.”)
Unpublished, handwritten, signed letter from André Breton addressed to critic Charles Estienne; one page and a few lines in black ink on a paper from the à l'étoile scellée gallery.
Two transverse folds from having been sent, a small corner missing in the upper right margin.
Very beautiful letter giving an account of the death of one of André Breton's dearest friends and of his quarrel with Albert Camus.
Breton tells his friend about the death of the Surrealist Czech artist Jindřich Heisler: “Your letter spoke of those days where it seemed “that there was only just enough fire to live”: on Monday there was far from enough fire, when it reached me: one of my two or three best friends, Heisler, taken suddenly unwell on his way to mine on Saturday, had to be hospitalised urgently and I had just received the pneumatic from Bichat telling me of his death. The event, no less inconceivable than accomplished, left me distraught for a long time: there was no-one more exquisite than he, putting more warmth into everything he did, the most constant of which was to lighten and embellish those whom he loved.” The two poets were indeed very close: Heisler participated, alongside Breton, in the launch of Néon in 1948 and supported him during a period of depression, accompanying him with other friends to the Île de Sein. “The beginning of 1953 was overshadowed by the death of Jindřich Heisler (4 January). Loyal among the faithful, he “lived entirely for Surrealism” according to Breton, who pays tribute to his activity as a leader: “This is how he was between 1948 and 1950, the soul of Néon, and until his last moments the greatest bearer of projects that, as if by magic, his talent gave him the means to achieve.”” (Henri Béhar, André Breton)
First edition, with no deluxe-paper copies printed.
Illustrations.
A handsome copy despite the slightly faded spine.
Precious and fine signed presentation copy from Louis Aragon to Maurice Druon: "A Maurice Druon, pour qu'il sache que de temps je m'égarée dans Césarée. [sic] Louis".
First collective edition on ordinary paper.
Pleasing copy.
Valuable presentation copy signed by Louis Aragon: "A Maurice Druon, pour n'en pas perdre l'habitude. Louis."
Extremely rare first edition, probably printed in Prussia, of this essay written directly in French by Baron de Bielfeld (1716–1770), inspector of Prussian universities and a friend of Frederick the Great since the time when he was still Crown Prince of Prussia.
GV 1700–1910, vol. 111, p. 374. Not in Conlon (who only cites the Amsterdam edition of the same year). No copy located in the U.S.A.
Full red morocco with gilt decoration, smooth spine elaborately tooled in the grotesque style, gilt rolls on the caps, triple gilt fillet border on the covers, gilt fillets on the edges, star-patterned gilt paper endpapers and doublures, gilt dentelle border on the inside covers, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.
Small black spots on the boards, a few insignificant scattered foxmarks.
The author clearly intended this work to flatter his sovereign by showing how the princes of the House of Brandenburg, and particularly “the monarch who now occupies the throne,” had “the glorious maxim of granting their subjects full freedom of thought and generous protection to all talents.”
A fine copy, bound in a Parisian binding from one of the capital’s finest workshops, preserved in near-perfect condition.
Second edition.
Full forest-green morocco binding, spine with five raised bands framed with gilt dotted lines and decorated with double gilt panels, gilt rolls at head and tail, triple gilt fillets bordering the covers, marbled paper endpapers and doublures, gilt dentelle frame on the inside covers, all edges gilt, double gilt fillets along the edges, an elegant binding signed by Krafft.
Bound following it are:
- Nicolas Papin’s “De pulvere sympathico dissertatio”, printed in Paris by Siméon Piget in 1650 (8 unnumbered leaves, the last blank, and 40 pp.).
- By the same author, “La poudre de sympathie, deffendue contre les objections de Mr. Cattier, médecin du Roy”, printed in Paris by Siméon Piget in 1651 (4 unnumbered leaves and 56 pp.).
- Isaac Cattier’s “Response à Monsieur Papin Docteur en Medecine, touchant la poudre de sympathie”, printed in Paris by Edme Martin in 1651 (87 pp.).
A fine copy, beautifully preserved in a splendid binding signed by Krafft.
First edition, illustrated with two plates, one of which in colour, comprising thirteen figures (cf. Quérard IV, 49).
Half green shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands decorated with gilt tools, light rubbing to the spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, mid-19th-century binding.
Occasional foxing, three small holes to the lower right corner of the title page, manuscript ex-libris: Antoine Delarue – June 1810.
“One of the most remarkable works on natural history of this century. The author devotes an entire chapter to the history of the females; he describes their loves, the way in which new colonies are established and old ones preserved. Passing from the relations between the workers and the winged individuals to those between the workers themselves, he follows them in their migrations, their travels, their particular conduct; he observes the battles fought between ants of different species, etc.”
First edition of the French translation prepared by Jean-Nicolas Jouin de Sausseul (see Quérard VII, 330, who erroneously lists 4 parts; Cioranescu XVIII, 59 618; not in Sabin).
Full mottled fawn calf binding, smooth spines divided into compartments and decorated with gilt fleurons, some rubbing, light brown morocco title labels, green morocco volume labels, gilt rolls slightly faded at the headcaps, single gilt fillet framing the boards, gilt fillets along the edges, bumped corners, red edges, contemporary bindings.
Two small patches of missing leather to the lower cover of the second volume.
The original English edition appeared in 1781 under the title Emma Corbett.
One of the earliest English novels inspired by the loss of the American colonies; it enjoyed great success in Britain. Samuel Jackson Pratt (1749–1814) was a prolific man of letters whose works achieved a popularity comparable to that of Mme Cottin, a writer of a similar period and sensibility.
Rare first edition (cf. Carrère 667).
Modern binding in half mottled calf with small sand-colored corners, spine with four raised bands decorated with double gilt fillets, brown morocco title label, marbled paper boards, yellow endpapers and pastedowns, red edges.
One of the earliest impressions from Remiremont; cited by Deschamps, col. 1102.
First edition.
Only one copy listed in the CCF (BnF).
Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine, green shagreen title label with a small loss, modern binding.
Very rare report of the administration of the "Argenterie, Menus-Plaisirs et affaires de la chambre", which under the Ancien Régime formed part of the King's Household, in charge of the "King’s pleasures"—that is, the organization of court ceremonies and entertainments.
Compiled from 393 records (and 21,000 invoices).
By drastically reducing the expenses of his household, Louis XVI retained only a single “Maître des Menus-Plaisirs”, endowed with a budget infinitely smaller than that of his predecessors.
Very rare first French edition of this translation, illustrated with a folding plate.
Full mottled tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons and typographic motifs, red morocco title label, gilt rolls at the head and tail, gilt fillet along the edges, lightly rubbed corners, marbled edges, contemporary binding.
A pleasant copy.
The only French translation of the Libellus, quo demonstratur : Colchici autumnalis radicem non solum tuto posse exhiberi hominibus, sed et ejus usu interno curari quandoque morbos difficillimos, qui aliis remediis non cedunt (Vienna, Trattner, 1763), which was also issued in an English version.
An Austrian physician, Anton von Störck (1731–1803) is best known for his research into the therapeutic potential of plants regarded as poisonous.
His studies are considered pioneering in the field of experimental pharmacology, in which he developed a three-stage procedure for testing the effects and dosage of substances.
The second part bears its own title: Observations de Monsieur Locher sur les maladies vénériennes, l'épilepsie, la folie; & sur l'usage interne & externe de la ciguë.
It also includes observations by M. de Haen, and by Mrs. Razoux & Videmar.
Rare first edition illustrated with one table and two plates showing cranial shapes and portraits of the insane.
See Garrison Morton, 4922. En français dans le texte, 203. Kelly, p. 326. Foucault, Histoire de la folie, 523. Jan Goldstein, Console and classify, 65. Bariéty & Coury, 882.
Half calf binding with corners, smooth spine decorated with gilt floral and ornamental motifs, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges; modern pastiche binding.
Some foxing mainly affecting the second volume.
Bound at the end of the volume is Jean-Etienne Esquirol’s "Des Établissemens consacrés aux aliénés en France, et des moyens de les améliorer. Mémoire présenté au ministre de l'Intérieur, en septembre 1818", published in Paris, undated, by Renouard, 35 pp.
On the verso of the title page: "Cet opuscule est extrait de l'ouvrage que l'auteur publiera à la fin de janvier 1838, sous le titre: Des maladies considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique, statistique et médico-légal." A rare offprint of the text that led to the adoption of the law of 30 June 1838, which established the creation of one psychiatric institution per department and made confinement subject to medical advice. "This Mémoire to the Minister of the Interior on conditions in Hospitals and Prisons is one of the ablest and most influential documents in the history of administrative psychiatry" (Zilboorg & Henry p. 391, cited in Haskell F. Norman Library, III, 1062). A judicious pairing of two fundamental texts.
First edition of this magazine led by Ivan Goll, uniting French surrealists then in exile in the United States with their American peers.
Several contributions including those from Saint-John Perse, Roger Caillois, William Carlos Williams, Alain Bosquet, Ivan Goll, André Breton, Aimé Césaire, André Masson, Henry Miller, Kurt Seligmann, Denis de Rougemont, Julien Gracq, Eugène Guillevic, Robert Lebel...
Illustrations by George Barker, André Masson, Wifredo Lam, Yves Tanguy.
Pleasant and rare collection despite a small piece missing at the foot of the spine on the double issue 2 & 3.
Complete collection in 6 issues and 5 deliveries (numbers 2 & 3 being double) of this important magazine that offers a panorama of the Surrealist movement in exile and provides an insight into the influence of the contributors on the New York art scene.
First edition, one of 52 copies printed on Montval paper, ours being the second of 12 hors commerce copies, a deluxe issue.
Half anthracite-grey long-grained morocco, smooth spine lettered with the author’s name, title, date, and the palladium-stamped inscription “EXEMPLAIRE J. KESSEL”, abstract patterned paper boards, dove-grey paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, binding signed by Thomas Boichot.
Some light foxing mainly affecting the first and last leaves.
Exceptional and deeply moving full-page signed presentation inscription from Maurice Druon to Joseph Kessel: “Il fallait bien, mon grand Jef, que le premier livre que je t'envoie depuis que tu es Immortel soit les mémoires de Zeus. Je remercie les Destins de m'avoir donné un tel oncle et d'avoir permis que nous nous aimions si bien. Je t'embrasse. Maurice Mai 1963.”
First edition, of which there were no large paper copies.
Near contemporary red half morocco over marbled paper boards by P. Ruban, spine in six compartments, raised bands bounded by black fillets, date gilt at foot of spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved, top edge gilt.
Attractive ex libris engraved by Provost-Blondel on pastedown, representing a helmet with a feather, medallion and a strip with the motto “Tojours en face.” The ex libris belonged to Victor Coué, a 2nd Lieutenant killed in the First World War.
This copy has two frontispieces: one lithograph heightened by Félicien Rops showing a caricature of Barbey d'Aurevilly with the caption “Il n'a pour page que son ombre. TS [his page is none other than his shadow]” and a portrait of the author engraved by Paul-Adolphe Rajon (1843-1888).
This copy is further enriched with the eponymous series of engravings by Félicien Rops done between 1882 and 1886 with a view to a new edition by Alphonse Lemerre.
The meeting of these two major works of literature and history of art from the end of the 19th century makes for an exceptional and unique copy, since – contrary to what is generally thought – Rops' prints never actually accompanied Barbey's text in a genuine illustrated edition.
The series is composed of three frontispiece plates: La Femme et la folie dominant le monde I et II [Woman and Madness Ruling the World I and II], Le Sphinx [The Sphinx], and six others referring respectively to six of Barbey's short stories and figuring at the beginning of each: Le Rideau Cramoisi [The Cramoisi Curtain], Le Plus Bel Amour de Don Juan [Don Juan's Finest Affair], Le Dessous de cartes d'une partie de whist [The Undersides of the Cards in a Game of Whist], à un dîner d'athées [At an Atheists' Dinner], Le Bonheur dans le Crime [The Joy of the Crime] and La Vengeance d'une femme [A Woman's Revenge].
A very good copy in a practically contemporary binding.
First edition, one of 480 numbered copies on laid paper, only grands papiers (deluxe) copies besides 20 Arches and 100 service de presse (advance) copies on laid paper.
Our copy is complete with the rare vignette etching drawn and engraved by Hans Bellmer printed 'en sanguine' present in only around 200 copies.
Preface by Jean Paulhan.
Spine very lightly faded.
A beautiful copy of this masterpiece of erotic literature.
First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on Holland paper, the deluxe issue.
Bound in full ebony morocco, smooth spine decorated with small inlays of garnet morocco and pearl-grey box calf, the latter framing the author’s initials and the title; the first numeral of the date, given in Roman numerals, appears within a square of pearl-grey box calf. Morocco boards framed with wide panels of chocolate suede, the upper cover with a large granulated paper panel lettered with the title and date of the edition set in garnet morocco, the initials framed by a rectangle of paper taken from a map of Haute-Savoie; bluish paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt; housed in a chemise with a rhodoid-backed spine and slipcase trimmed with ebony morocco. Binding signed by Pierre-Lucien Martin and dated 1964.
These “memoirs-autobiography” by Simone de Beauvoir trace her life from her success at the agrégation prepared with Jean-Paul Sartre to the Liberation of Paris in August 1944.
A superb and celebrated binding, produced in a few copies, each differing slightly, by Pierre-Lucien Martin, one of the masters of twentieth-century French bookbinding.
First edition, one of 160 hors commerce copies on Lana vellum, ours being one of 60 hors commerce copies, the only deluxe issue.
Half long-grain black morocco binding, smooth spine lettered with the author’s name, title, date, and the palladium inscription “EX. JOSEPH KESSEL 1958”, wood-patterned paper boards, grey endpapers and pastedowns, wrappers and spine preserved, binding signed by Thomas Boichot.
Some foxing, mainly affecting the wrappers and the first and last leaves.
Exceptional and moving signed autograph presentation from Maurice Druon to Joseph Kessel: "A toi mon grand Jef, cet Alexandre le grand né lui aussi sous le signe du Lion en même temps que du Bélier et que tu as aidé de tes conseils et de ton exemple en t'embrassant très fort. Maurice Juin 58"
First appearance of the 18 poems by Charles Baudelaire published on pages 1079–1093 of the Revue des Deux Mondes, showing numerous variations from the text of the first edition issued in 1857 by Poulet-Malassis & De Broise.
Full black shagreen binding, smooth spine, double blind-ruled borders on covers, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, slightly later binding.
A rare and attractive copy.
First edition, one of the press service copies.
Precious signed autograph inscription from Paul Éluard to Benjamin Fondane.
Spine with three small expertly repaired tears, of no consequence.
A moving dedication from poet to poet, written on the eve of the war during which the two friends would contribute together to poetic resistance journals such as l'Honneur des poètes.
The deportation and death of Fondane in 1944, along with many other artist and poet friends, would profoundly affect Éluard, who composed in their memory a magnificent poetic tribute, "Eternité de ceux que je n'ai pas revus," listing the names of each of the departed:
"Visages clairs souvenirs sombres
Puis comme un grand coup sur les yeux
Visages de papier brûlé
Dans la mémoire rien que cendres
La rose froide de l'oubli
Pourtant Desnos pourtant Péri
Crémieux Fondane Pierre Unik
Sylvain Itkine Jean Jausion
Grou-Radenez Lucien Legros
Le temps le temps insupportable
Politzer Decour Robert Blache
Serge Meyer Mathias Lübeck
Maurice Bourdet et Jean Frayse
Dominique Corticchiato
Et Max Jacob et Saint-Pol Roux
Rien que le temps de n'être plus
Et rien que le temps d'être tout"
The first edition on simili-Japon paper.
Bradel grey cloth binding, navy blue cloth band with authors and title blindstamped to edge of upper board, upper cover preserved at end.
With 21 collages by Max Ernst.
A very good and rare copy.
First edition, one of 95 hors commerce copies on pure wove paper, the only deluxe paper issue.
Half fawn morocco binding, smooth spine with gilt lettering of the author's name, title, date, and the mention “EX. J. KESSEL”, fawn paper boards, rust-colored endpapers and pastedowns, original covers and spine preserved, binding signed by Thomas Boichot.
Some foxing mainly affecting the covers as well as the first and last leaves.
Exceptional and moving signed autograph inscription from Maurice Druon to Joseph Kessel: "A toi mon grand Jef, prince des Cavaliers, avec la joie de t'avoir rejoint parmi les Immortels, cette histoire de famille en t'embrassant pour tous les jours des hommes. Maurice 1967."
First bilingual edition with texts in Spanish and French, one of the numbered copies.
Publisher’s full beige cloth bindings, smooth spines, complete with their illustrated dust jackets and slipcase.
A richly illustrated work featuring numerous black and colour reproductions of Vieira da Silva’s artworks.
Texts by Jean-François Jaeger, Guy Weelen, Jean-Luc Daval, Diane Daval Béran, Virginie Duval...
A fine copy, complete with the chronological list of works reproduced in colour, inserted as a loose leaf.
Second edition of the French translation prepared by François-Victor Hugo.
Half red shagreen bindings, slightly faded spines with four raised bands numerously framed in gilt and central gilt tooled motif, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, speckled edges, contemporary bindings.
Some occasional foxing, minor black specks on a few spines, upper corners of volume 10 slightly damaged.
Our set, attractively bound uniformly in contemporary bindings, is complete in 18 volumes including the often lacking final three volumes of apocryphal writings.
First edition, one of 10 lettered copies on Holland paper, the only deluxe copies.
Illustrated on the cover with a portrait of Max Jacob by Pablo Picasso.
A rare and handsome copy.
First edition of these significant memoirs by a close companion and comrade-in-arms of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Half aubergine sheep bindings, smooth spines slightly faded and decorated with gilt romantic arabesques, some rubbing with small losses to a few spines and joints, embossed aubergine paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges; romantic bindings of the period.
Some foxing, a light marginal dampstain on the final leaves of volume 8.
A pleasant set, attractively bound in contemporary romantic bindings.
First edition, richly illustrated with reproductions of works by Edouard-Marcel Sandoz.
Publisher’s full cream cloth binding, smooth spine, complete with its illustrated dust jacket.
A very handsome copy.
A fine set of the first four volumes of the French intégrale edition, identical to the original American structure. Volume 1 is housed in a metal case with embossed lettering and a folding map of Westeros. It is a copy of the highly sought-after very first French collector's edition of the series published in 2012. Volumes 2 and 3 followed in 2013, and volume 4 in 2014.
Each volume signed by George R.R. Martin on the title page. The signatures were obtained during the author's only public signing session for French readers, held in Dijon on July 3, 2014. (Volume 5 was not published until 2015.)
Colour pictorial wrappers with flaps. Slight rubbing to corners, minor handling wear to spines of vols. 2 and 3, crease marks to upper board of vol. 3, lower board of vol. 4, and front flap of vol. 3; edges of volumes 2, 3 and 4 lightly toned. Light rubbing to spine and boards of metal case.
First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on alfa, only deluxe copies. Some light foxing, mainly on the endpapers.
Rare signed presentation copy in French: “To my friend René Jasinski, in token of gratitude and friendship, these few scenes of Jewish life in New York. T. Twersky”, with a sentence in Hebrew translated by the author in French on a laid-in leaf: “Translation of the Hebrew inscription: sixth day of the week ‘Pekoudè’, year 5692 since the creation of the world, in the holy community of Paris”, (Friday, 4 March 1932 according to our calculation).
First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on Ingres d'Arches paper, the deluxe issue.
A fine copy.
First bilingual edition, one of 50 numbered copies on Arches wove paper, the deluxe issue.
The French translation, printed opposite the English text, was prepared by Patrick Guyon and Marie-Claude White.
A rare and attractive copy.
A remarkable autograph poem of youth by André Breton dedicated to Guillaume Apollinaire entitled «Décembre». 20 verses in ink on vergé d'Arches paper, composed in December 1915. This manuscript was copied between March 1917 and the beginning of 1918.
This poem is presented in a chemise and case with paper boards decorated with abstract motifs, the spine of the chemise in green morocco, pastedowns and endpapers of beige suede, a sheet of flexible plexiglass protecting the poem, case lined with green morocco, piece of green paper with caption «poème autographe» to bottom of upper cover of case, the whole by Thomas Boichot.
Key poem of the author's pre-Dadaist period, it formed part of the set of 7 manuscript poems by Breton (known as coll. X. in the Œuvres complètes d'André Breton, volume I in La Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Gallimard, 1988, p. 1071). Thiese poems of his juvenilia are carefully copied out in black ink on watermarked vergé paper. The small collection was addressed to his circle of friends and writers, most notably including Valéry, Apollinaire, Théodore Fraenkel, and his brother in arms André Paris. They were later published in his first collection, Mont de piété, which appeared in June 1919, published by Au Sans Pareil, established not long before by his friend René Hilsum.
The precise dating of this set of autograph poems is made possible by the composition of the final poem in the set («André Derain»), written on 24 March 1917, which provides a definitive terminus post quem. An earlier version of the poem «Age», dedicated to Léon-Paul Fargue, appears in our collection under its original name, «Poème». Dated by the author 19 February 1916, the day of his 20th birthday, and composed 10 days previously (according to his letters), it was not retitled and reworked until its publication in July 1918 in Les Trois Roses. Judging by the similarities to things published before this last poem, the seven autograph poems were probably written during 1917 or at the beginning of 1918, while Breton was doing his residency in Val-de-Grâce and where, significantly, he made the acquaintance of Louis Aragon.
The poems that make up Mont de piété represent a rare and valuable insight into his youthful influences at the dawn of his joining the Dada movement and his discovery of automatic writing. Quite short and sometimes sibylline, one detects Symbolist highlights borrowed from Mallarmé, whom he rediscovered at poetry mornings in the théâtre Antoine and the Vieux-Colombier accompanied by his schoolfriend Théodore Fraenkel. During the first month of the War, Breton also dedicated himself to Rimbaud, plunging into Les Illuminations, the only work he carried with him in the confusion and haste that followed the outbreak of war. From his readings of Rimbaud were born the poems «Décembre», «Age», and «André Derain», while he borrowed Apollinaire's muse Marie Laurencin to whom he dedicated «L'an suave». The author's poetic inheritance was particularly marked by Paul Valéry, with whom he corresponded from 1914. Valéry played a considerable role in the writing of the poems of Mont de piété with the advice he gave the young poet. Admiring his disciple's audacity, who addressed each of these poems to him, he characterized the poem «Façon» (1916) thus: «The theme, language, scope, meter, everything is new, in the style, the manner of the future» (Letter of June 1916, Œuvres complètes d'André Breton, vol. I in La Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Gallimard, 1988, p. 1072).
These essential buds of Breton's youth were written between his seventeenth and twenty-third year. Taken by surprise in Lorient by the declaration of war, he became a military nurse, serving in several hospitals and on the front during the Meuse offensive. In Nantes, he met Jacques Vaché, who inspired him to undertake a project of collective writing, as well as encouraging him to have illustrated the future collection that was to become Mont de piété, a task eventually undertaken by André Derain. His intimacy with this «dandy revolting against art and war» who shared his admiration for Jarry and his contact with the mental patients of the Saint Dizier neurological and psychiatric centre, marked a decisive stage in the birth of Surrealism. Posted to the Val-de-Grâce from 1917, Breton found in Paris the necessary literary vibrancy for his poetic quest and began reciting Rimbaud in the company of Aragon. It was thanks to Apollinaire that he became friends with Soupault, the future co-author of Champs magnétiques, and Reverdy, founder of the review Nord-Sud, which went on to publish the poems of Mont de piété. The seven poems of the collection were printed in avant-garde reviews (Les Trois Roses, Solstices, Nord-Sud) between 1917 and the beginning of 1919.
Four of the seven poems were dedicated to friends and masters of the author: Léon-Paul Fargue, and above all Apollinaire, to whom Breton devoted a paper in L'éventail. Breton also paid homage to Marie Laurencin and André Derain, creators of «plastic works that are still completely new, exposed to an almost unanimous rejection and intolerance» that were dear to Breton throughout his life (XXe siècle, n°3, June 1952). With these dedications, he increased the number of complex allusions, dedicating to one a poem inspired by the other, as in for instance «Age», dedicated to Léon-Paul Fargue, which echoed Rimbaud and his poem «Aube» (Les Illuminations, 1895).
The correspondence and friendship between the two poets began with the dedication of this poem, which Breton wrote in 1915. Apollinaire immediately spotted, in these lines that Breton had entrusted to him «a striking talent» (letter of 21 December 1915). Still under the spell of Rimbaud and the late Symbolism of Valéry when he wrote this poem, Breton found in Apollinaire a new poetic direction and told him a year later: «I confessed without protest the attraction you held for me. The seduction was so overwhelming that I cannot, for the moment, write about it.» The fractured structure of «Décembre» is testimony to a change that was already proceeding in the young poets work, 21 at the time. Alexandrines were set beside verses of a few syllables that dismantled meter. «At 25, the hotel with its [plug of [mistletoe I dodge the unjust spawn, O [white [soil! Hello – Europe languishes in [next [year's flames The song of the fennel – and [there [you are! We stay silent.» Breton also sent the poem to Valéry on the 14th December, who remarked on his new technique: «As to the very singular verses with their bold breaks, their allure broken and illuminated by the flash of the soliloquies at the corner of the fire, I find them an interesting study of something else, a new test of yourself.» The poem is set on the 25th December, a strange Christmas peopled by «flowering missals», «Mages» and «mangy clocks». Breton inserted another subtle dedication to his model (the «plug of mistletoe»), playing on Apollinaire's surname (Gui), which figures in his poems and his letters. «Décembre» is also the first poem by Breton directly to mention the War, and finishes on a dark image. «Private, Over there, conscript of the earth and [the standard, to be! And my arms, their warm creepers [that held you fast? - I would have savaged the life of your [poor angel breast.» This mark of admiration from Breton was followed by a study devoted to the poet's work, shortly after the publication of «Décembre» in L'Éventail on the 15 February 1919. As well as his influence as a poet and an art critic, Apollinaire posthumously contributed significantly to the birth of the post-War avant-garde movements: for if Breton was to be the theoretician behind Surrealism, it was nonetheless Apollinaire who invented the word, not to mention introducing Breton and Soupault. An extremely rare and fascinating manuscript from the young André Breton, dedicated to Apollinaire, the first Surrealist and guide for the new generation of post-War poets.
First edition, one of 69 numbered copies on pur fil, the only deluxe paper copies.
A very handsome copy.
First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on pure wove paper, the only deluxe copies.
A very handsome copy.
First edition on ordinary paper.
A pleasant copy.
Precious signed autograph inscription from André Pieyre de Mandiargues: "A Henri Michaux le coeur de son vieil ami André Pieyre de Mandiargues" enriched with Yvonne Caroutch’s handwritten signature.
First edition, one of 25 numbered copies on Popset Whisky paper, the deluxe issue.
A fine copy.
First edition, one of 42 numbered copies on Japon paper, the leading copies after 8 hors commerce on Chine paper.
Elegant Bradel binding in half black calf over floral paper boards by P. Goy & C. Vilaine, covers preserved (lightly soiled at edges), top edge gilt.
With a frontispiece portrait of the author on Chine paper by Jean-Louis Forain.
One tiny foxing as well as a small, clear marginal dampstain touching frontispiece.
A very good copy nicely bound.
The first edition for large parts of the text, printed in 550 copies with the correct date of 1891 on the title.
Contemporary paper boards with blindstamped floral motifs, spine very slightly browned, brown shagreen title-piece, gilt date to foot of spine, covers preserved.
Biographical press clippings bound in at end, bookseller's description laid down on head of one endpaper, leaving a mark on the opposite page.
This copy is complete with the original preface by Rodolphe Darzens, removed from most copies of this printing.
A good copy in a contemporary binding, which is rare, according to Clouzot.
First edition of the French translation, one of 200 copies numbered on Marais vellum, the only deluxe paper issue.
Minor rubbing along the joints. A rare and attractive copy.
First edition dedicated to Louis Jouvet, one of 108 numbered copies on Lafuma Navarre laid paper, reimposed in quarto tellière format, deluxe issue.
Half red morocco-backed marbled boards, spine with five raised bands framed with blind fillets, date gilt at foot, marbled paper sides, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, covers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, binding signed by D.H. Mercher.
Premiered by Louis Jouvet at the Comédie des Champs-Élysées on 14 December 1923. The actor also oversaw the staging and set design; in 1933, the play was later adapted for the screen by Roger Goupillières, again starring Louis Jouvet in the leading role.
First edition on ordinary paper.
Small defects skillfully restored at the head and tail of the spine.
Rare inscribed presentation copy signed by Albert Cohen to Denise Mercier.
Third edition, partly original, expanded with 25 poems, along with a lengthy introduction by the poet Théophile Gautier and several articles and letters by Barbey d'Aurevilly, Dulamon, Sainte-Beuve, Charles Asselineau, Custine, Edouard Thierry et Émile Deschamps selected by Baudelaire.
With a steel-engraved frontispiece portrait of the author by Nargeot.
One of the rare first issue copies with the correct date of 1868 on the title and without statement of edition.
This comprehensive edition contains 25 unpublished poems, totaling 151 poems (100 poems in the 1857 edition). Among the new poems, eleven are from Les Épaves.
Although wished and prepared by the author himself, this last edition was assembled and edited by Banville and Asselineau. The copy Baudelaire had “prepared for the third edition of Les Fleurs du Mal” mentioned in Poulet-Malassis' correspondence has since been lost. It is impossible to know if his faithful friends respected the architecture and the author's poem selection. Most of the new poems were subsequently placed at the end of Spleen et Idéal, between the poems “Sympathetic Horror” and “Self-Tormentor”.
Contemporary red half shagreen binding, one corner slightly worn. Almost no foxing throughout.
This last edition was used as the first volume of Baudelaire's complete works, as stated “œuvres complètes” on the half-title page. Les Fleurs du Mal was also sold separately, given the several years it took to publish all seven volumes of the complete works.
“Very rare in a contemporary binding without a volume label on the spine” (Clouzot).
Handsome copy set in an elegant contemporary binding.
First edition printed on vélin d'Angoulême. Complete copy with the six banned poems and the usual misprints.
Half shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands twice ruled in gilt with gilt fleurons, marbled paper boards, marbled pastedowns and flyleaves, contemporary binding. Some foxing scattered foxing.
First edition, one of 230 numbered copies on Auvergne paper, ours one of 75 not-for-sale copies, the only printing after 10 copies on China and a few hors commerce copies; this copy specially printed for René Daumal.
Frontispiece illustrated with an original lithograph by Étienne Cournault.
Very faint, insignificant foxing to the margins of the covers.
A handsome copy complete with its original wraparound band.
Exceptional and superb signed autograph inscription dated 27 December 1936 from René Daumal to his future partner Véra Milanova : « à Véra Milanova – à toi Véra, d'abord ces anciens mensonges (que je n'ai pu nourrir qu'en ton absence) pour leur faire une sépulture définitive ; puis ces quelques ombres de vérités que tu m'as aidé à comprendre ; mais surtout, Véra, je préfère te dédier une grande page blanche, neuve, invisible, où nous écrirons sans mots notre histoire. Prends ce petit tombeau d'un ancien René Daumal, de la main de ton Nasha. 27 décembre 1936. »
First edition illustrated with 11 plates, 10 of which are folding.
Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine, vertical paper title label.
"Ce sont les tables des hauteurs du soleil à toutes les heures" [Lalande]. A rare and appealing copy.
Head of the collection of this technical periodical, which appeared for only three years (1839, 1840, and 1841); this set comprises all the issues published from January 1839 to December 1840.
Half lavallière calf bindings with corners, smooth spines lightened and decorated with gilt and blind fillets, red calf title labels, green volume labels, some rubbing to the spines, marbled paper boards, marbled edges, contemporary bindings.
Some occasional foxing.
The first volume is illustrated with in-text figures and 3 plates out of text; the second contains in-text figures.
The articles abound in practical details on the state of science and technology during the July Monarchy.
All manner of precise papers address an extraordinary variety of topics: beer (domestic and economical), autopsies, glanders in horses, rabid dogs, details on the daguerreotype and Daguerre’s process (vol. I, pp. 434–439 and 529–537, and vol. II, three articles), potatoes (starch, use, bread-making, price, vol. I), lithography, mummification, vine-growing (in Russia, vol. I), methods for bleaching and cleaning engravings and removing stains from books (vol. I, pp. 276–278), vaccination (vol. I, pp. 567–574), steam baths (Duval’s apparatus, vol. II), steamships, the budget of the city of Paris for the year 1840 (vol. II, pp. 278–282), coffee, the opium trade in India and China (vol. II, pp. 102–106), paper, etc.
The editor, Jean-Baptiste-Alphonse Chevallier (1793–1879), taught at the Paris School of Pharmacy and played a key role in two fields: urban public hygiene (disinfection of sewers, sanitation of the Canal Saint-Martin, etc.) and industrial toxicology related to occupational diseases.
Very rare first edition, with only one copy listed in WorldCat.
Contemporary half vellum binding with small corners, smooth spine, brown morocco title label with losses, marbled paper boards.
Some foxing and light staining to the title page.
The work lists and quantifies commercial exchanges with various regions of Italy, as well as with France, Spain, America, Russia, the Levant, and others.
First edition, cf. Quérard I, 271: only lists one edition "Paris, Née de La Rochelle, 1789." Kress B.1163. Goldsmiths 13858. Not in Einaudi.
With loose printed title pages for each volume, dated 1789.
The first volume, with an engraved title-frontispiece after Meunier, contains 52 double-page or folding plates inserted into the pagination, without following its numbering logic.
The second volume has an engraved title-frontispiece by Zaveris after Meunier and includes 154 etched plates of coins.
Full mottled calf, spines with six raised bands, gilt fillets and double gilt panels, red morocco lettering-pieces, green morocco numbering-pieces, gilt rolls on the headcaps, double blind-ruled borders on covers, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets on edges, marbled edges, contemporary bindings.
Some restorations to the bindings.
Unique edition, very rare (the 1789 printing to which our two additional title leaves would correspond does not seem to be attested despite Quérard’s mention).
An excellent copy on strong vellum paper, large-margined, with the spines elegantly decorated with special gilt tools.
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Magellan and four maps and plans depicting the Strait of Magellan (cf. Sabin, 16765; Leclerc, 1971; Chadenat, 552).
Our copy does not include the appendix published in 1793. "A work difficult to find with the second part" (cf. Chadenat).
Full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets and decorated gilt compartments, gilt rolls on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, gilt fillets along the edges, modern binding in period style.
An engaging account of this region of South America, containing the following illustrations: Carta Esferica de la parte sur de la America Meridional, año 1788. – Carta reducida des estrecho de Magallanes, año 1788. – Primer plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786. – Segundo plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786.
Fine copy formerly belonging to naval captain Gaston de Rocquemaurel (1804–1878), second-in-command to Dumont d’Urville during the South Pole and Oceania expedition from 1837 to 1840, with his signature on the title page.
Handsome example of a binding executed in imitation of the eighteenth century.
Pirate edition of 1812, imprint dated 1796. It features the exact pagination of the genuine 1796 edition, as well as the 13 plates and 2 frontispieces by Monnet, Mlle Gérard and Fragonard fils engraved by Baquoy, Duplessi-Bertaux, Dupréel, Godefroy, Langlois, Lemire, Lingée, Masquelier, Patas, Pauquet, Simonet and Trière. The pirate edition is identified by the letters “R. p. D.” in the plates' lower margins, as they have been retouched by Delvaux. In addition, the fillet preceding the date on the title-page is wavy, and the title is presented in seven lines rather than eight.
Bound in full morocco, slight rubbing on the corners, all edges gilt, splendid binding signed by Hardy.
A very fine copy in a magnificent decorated full morocco binding by Hardy.
First edition, one of 42 numbered copies on Japan Barjon paper, one of the deluxe issue, with 8 additional copies on Japan reserved for the author.
Introduction by Francis Scarfe and preface by Jean-Jacques Mayoux.
Rare and attractive copy of Kenneth White’s first book, complete with two photographs by Marie-Claude White.
Rare first edition, no deluxe paper copies mentioned.
Bradel binding in cream half-cloth, smooth spine decorated with central gilt tooled flower, gilt date and twice ruled in gilt at foot, brown sheep title label with scuffs and a small loss of leather, boards covered in cat’s-eye patterned paper, some staining to the lower board, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.
A few small tears to margins, occasionally with very slight lacks of paper to the first few leaves; an inscription by the author on the half-title neatly erased.
Original photographic portrait of Sigmund Freud, in silver print made later by Engelman from the original negative.
After the Night of Broken Glass, the young Jewish photographer Edmund Engelman (1907-2000) fled to the United States leaving behind his precious but compromising negatives of his clandestine photography. He did not recover them until after the Second World War, in 1952, from the psychoanalyst's daughter Anna Freud.
Handwritten inscription signed by photographer Edmund Engelman in the lower margin of the photograph: “à Nadine Nimier Cordialement Edmund Engelman” (“To Nadine Nimier Sincerely Edmund Engelman”).
Nadine Nimier was the wife of the writer Roger Nimier. She hosted “Les après-midi de France Culture”, a show in which she received some well-known and highly respected psychoanalysts, namely Jacques Lacan and Françoise Dolto. It was on 20 January 1980 that she interviewed Edmund Engelman, then on a visit to Paris for the exhibition of his photographs at the Erval Gallery.
A beautiful portrait of the founder of psychoanalysis taken in May 1938, shortly before his departure from Vienna to London.
One hundred and six photographs were taken during Engelman's clandestine visit to Freud at 19 Berggasse in Vienna. Many of these photographs depicting the psychoanalyst's practice and art collection are known, but the artist only took a few portraits of the master. This photographic session was carried out at the request of August Aichhorn and bears witness to the last moments of the birthplace of psychoanalysis, a discipline from this point forward banned by the Nazi regime:
“On Sunday 13 March, a meeting of the management committee of the Viennese Psychoanalytical Society took place and two decisions were taken: all members of the Society must leave the country as quickly as possible and the headquarters of the Society must be at the place where Freud will settle.” (“August Aichhorn et la figure paternelle: fragments biographiques et cliniques” in Recherches en psychanalyse n° 1, 2004)
Edmund Engelman in his book entitled La Maison de Freud Berggasse 19 Vienne published in 1979 recounts:
“I remember both my excitement and my fear, that rainy morning of May 1938, as I walked through the deserted streets of Vienna towards 19, Berggasse. I carried my cameras, tripod, lenses and film in a small suitcase that seemed to get heavier with each step. I was convinced that anyone who saw me would know that I was going to see Dr Sigmund Freud, to accomplish a mission that the Nazis would not have appreciated. [...] I was afraid that there was not enough light to photograph the interior of Freud's house. Using flash or spotlights was out of the question as the Gestapo kept the house under constant surveillance. This unique document on the place where Freud had lived and worked over the past forty years, would have to be executed without arousing the slightest suspicion.
I feared for my own safety as for the lives of the Freuds, and did not want to compromise myself by a misstep when they were so close to leaving Vienna safe and sound. [...] One weekend in 1933, at the summer residence of a friend, outside of the city, I had the pleasure of meeting a certain August Aichhorn who was closely interested in the highly controversial field of psychoanalysis and was, to my keen curiosity, a close friend of the famous professor Freud. [...] We quickly became good friends. [...] He confided to me that Freud, after a terrible harassment (raid of his house by the Nazis, detention of his daughter Anna), had finally received permission to leave for London, thanks to the intervention of senior figures and foreign diplomats. The Freuds, he told me, would set out within ten days. The famous apartment and its offices would be disrupted by the move and the departure of the owners. We agreed that it would be of the greatest interest to the history of psychoanalysis to undertake a precious and detailed testimony of the place where it had been born, so that, according to the courageous expression of Aichhorn, “it would be possible to erect a museum when the storm of the years is over. [...] Knowing my interest and my quality as a photographer, he asked me if I felt able to take photographs of Freud's house. I was enthusiastic. [...] Above all, I was eager to know Freud who had then entrenched himself in his private life and had little relationship with the outside world.” (Engelman, La Maison de Freud Berggasse 19 Vienne, 1979)
The photographer then explained that Freud, very weakened by illness, was supposed to be absent during the photography session, however, “The next day – the third day – while I was about to take some complementary photographs of the office (experiencing there for the first time a feeling of routine), I heard small rapid footsteps approaching. It was Freud. He had changed his usual routine unexpectedly and, returning to his work room, he found me there. We looked at each other with equal astonishment. I was confused and embarrassed. He seemed worried, but remained calm and placid. I simply did not know what to say so I remained silent. Fortunately, Aichhorn then appeared in the room and immediately gauged the situation. He explained to Freud the purpose of my work and introduced me. We shook hands, obviously relieved. [...] I asked him if I could photograph him. He kindly consented and asked me to continue my shooting as I pleased. [...] I even suggested, if it could be useful, and to avoid trouble or wasting time, to take the necessary photos for the passports. [...] Freud, at my request, looked slightly in profile, took off his glasses, and reacted with a smile to one of those remarks that photographers make while they prepare.”
The photograph described by Engelman is without question the one we offer. Despite the very detailed description of this unusual photograph, it has not been preserved for the illustration of the book.
This very rare photographic portrait of the founder of psychoanalysis was taken a few days before his exile and revealing the stigma of a cancer that will be fatal to him.
It iss the only image of him revealing a smile.
First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on Hollande Van Gelder paper and signed with the publisher's initials.
Full green morocco, the spine in five compartments, the first cover inlayed with a large and superb plate by Marguerite Lecreux of a horn sculpted in Cameo, featuring a sailboat with its sails unfurled, on the calm sea appears an engraved silverfish set under the plate of the horn and visible in transparency, pastedown in silk decorated with a submarine pattern (coral, jellyfish, starfishes and algae) framed in morocco embellished with quintuple gilt fillets, endpages of iridescence cloth, the following pages in marbled paper, the headband highlighted with a double gilt fillets, gilt roulette on the spine head, all edges gilt, typical Art Deco binding (circa 1910-1920) by Noulhac together with Marguerite Lecreux.
