Writers & Painters

Original ink composition in magenta, brown, green, and blue hues, titled and signed “Moscou / LD” by Léon Deubel made on the verso of a leaf from his collection of poems titled La Lumière natale.

Magnificent multicoloured ink-blot drawing (klecksography) signed by the poète maudit Léon Deubel, inspired by Arthur Rimbaud’s Illuminations. This early Rorschach-like fold drawing was created using a technique dear to Victor Hugo.

Rare first edition comprising a fine suite of 40 two-tone lithographs by Yuko Watanabe depicting Japanese types, scenes of traditional life, costumes, and more: Ronin, hara-kiri, samurai, the attack on Shogun Nobunaga, a geisha’s visit, young women paying a call, a game of go...

Not in Colas, nor Hiler & Hiler; lacking from the Bn; not in Nipponalia or Cordier. Wenckstern, I, p. 228 (gives the Yokohama address, undated, and mentions two volumes, the second—of which no trace could be found—containing 25 plates).

Bound in full beige cloth, smooth spine without lettering, lithograph mounted on the upper cover; twentieth-century binding.

Minor tears affecting three remargined plates and the final leaf (backed); a few small spots of foxing; small green ink stain touching most of the prints in the margin only, not affecting the image.

Rare and luxurious invitation card for the exhibition organized by art critic André Warnod on "art nègre," a term he coined in 1910 in the journal Comœdia to originally designate African and Oceanic statuary. From January 20 to February 20, 1926, four painters were invited to exhibit at the art gallery of the Grande Maison de Blanc, Place de l'Opéra in Paris. These were most likely the French artists Marguerite Guy-Lemm (née Lemaire) and Luc-Albert Moreau, the Uruguayan Pedro Figari, and the Dutchman Kees van Dongen.

Fine condition, light gray debossed lettering on soft dark gray paper, crease marks at upper right corner.

First edition, one of 40 numbered copies on Ingres paper, deluxe issue.

A fine copy.

First edition, printed in 200 numbered copies not for sale.

A fine copy.

First edition of the French translation, of which no deluxe paper copies were issued.

A fine copy.

Preface by Salman Rushdie, the work illustrated with drawings by the author.

Signed autograph inscription from Glen Baxter to Michel Crépu.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

First edition, one of 220 numbered copies printed on Vélin du Marais.

Rubbing to the slipcase and chemise, otherwise a clean and attractive copy.

Illustrated with 25 intaglio engravings by Elisabeth-Mary Burgin.

First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on Ingres d'Arches paper, the deluxe issue.

A fine copy.

With 8 original etchings to text and hors-texte by Oscar Dominguez, one of 70 numbered copies on B.F.K. de Rives paper, the only printing with 4 on old Japon paper, variously enriched.
Autograph inscription from Robert Ganzo to a couple of his acquaintance on half title.
This copy is additionally enhanced with a manuscript quatrain signed by the author on the page opposite half-title.
Autograph signatures of the author and illustrator on the justification page.
Some slight small foxing mostly affecting the first leaves, a joint of the chemise cracked, with a tear almost all over it.
A rare copy in a chemise and flexible slipcase with wood-effect paper boards.

Partly original edition, with no mention of a deluxe paper issue.

Half black shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands tooled with gilt garlands, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt edges, contemporary binding.

Pleasant copy.

First edition, one of 1,000 numbered copies on offset.

A fine copy.

Illustrated with 10 drawings by René Magritte.

Partly original edition, entirely revised.

Some foxing.

Rare copy preserved in its original wrappers.

Illustrated edition with 57 wood engravings drawn and engraved by Frans Masereel, one of the numbered copies on English paper.

Minor tears without consequence at the head and foot of the spine, a pleasing copy exceptionally enriched with a second state (on Japan or China paper) of 9 of the engravings.

Almost entirely unpublished handwritten letter from the painter Eugène Delacroix to the love of his youth, the mysterious “Julie”, now identified as being Madame de Pron, by her maiden name Louise du Bois des Cours de La Maisonfort, wife of Louis-Jules Baron Rossignol de Pron and daughter of the Marquis de La Maisonfort, Minister of France in Tuscany, patron of Lamartine and friend of Chateaubriand.

90 lines, 6 pages on two folded leaves. A few deletions and two bibliographical annotations in pencil on the upper part of the first page (“n^o114”).

This letter is one of the last to his lover in private ownership, all of Delacroix's correspondence to Madame de Pron being kept at the Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles).
Only nine of the ninety lines of this unpublished letter were transcribed in the Burlington Magazine in September 2009, alongside the long article by Michèle Hanoosh, Bertrand and Lorraine Servois, whose research finally revealed the identity of the famous recipient.

Sublime love letter from twenty-four-year-old Eugène Delacroix, addressed to his lover Madame de Pron, twelve years his senior, who unleashed the liveliest passion in him. This episode of the painter's youth, then considered the rising star of Romanticism, for a long time remained a mystery in the biography of Delacroix, who was careful to preserve the anonymity of his lover thanks to various pseudonyms: “Cara”, “the Lady of the Italians”, and even “Julie”, as in this letter, in reference to the famous epistolary novel Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloïse by Rousseau. For obvious reasons, Delacroix did not sign his name on any of the letters in correspondence with the lady.

A great figure of the legitimate aristocracy, the recipient of this feverish letter is Madame de Pron, daughter of the Marquis de La Maisonfort, Minister of France in Tuscany, patron of Lamartine, friend of Chateaubriand. Her beauty was immortalized in 1818 by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, who painted her portrait in pastel, with an oriental hairstyle.
Delacroix and Madame de Pron met in April 1822 when the portrait of the latter's son, Adrien, was commissioned, a pupil at the Lycée Impérial (now Lycée Louis-le-Grand). Delacroix had been commissioned for the portrait by his close friend Charles Soulier, Madame de Pron's lover, who despite himself, served as an intermediary for Delacroix. In the absence of Soulier, who had gone to Italy, the painter and the young women established an intense romantic relationship. The portrait commission became a pretext for their tender meetings in his studio on rue de Grès, while no trace of the child's painting has been found to this day.
Their adventure lasted a little over a year, but it was one of the most intense passions of the artist's life.
Our letter undoubtedly corresponds to the last throes of their relationship, in the month of November 1823. After one of their visits at the end of a hiatus of several months, Delacroix writes to her again under the influence of emotion: “I come home with a shaken heart, what a wonderful evening! [...] Sometimes I say to myself: why did I see her again? In the calm sanctuary where I lived, even in the middle of the invisible places that I had formed [...] I managed to silence my heart”. Madame de Pron had indeed decided to bring an end to their intimate relationship (see her letter from 10 November 1823: “I want sweet friendship [...] I do not want to torment you”, (Getty Research Institute). Losing all discernment and with blind devotion, Delacroix attempts to revive their affair: “Make me lie, prove to me that your soul is indeed that of the Julie that I once knew, since mine has regained its charming emotions and its worries”.
But the painter runs into Soulier and General de Coëtlosquet, also lovers of Madame de Pron. Delacroix had narrowly avoided a final disagreement with Soulier, who had almost seen a letter from Madame de Pron in his apartments: “I pretend to have lost my key [...] I hope that my wrong towards him will not affect his relations with... God grant that he always ignores it!” (Journal, 27 October 1822, ed. Michèle Hanoosh, vol. 1, p. 94).

A prisoner of this love square, Delacroix resigns himself to sharing his lover's affection, but he bitterly reproaches her for it: “I fear that you cannot love perfectly. There has been a gap in your feelings which has been fatal to you [...] tell me no, tell me anyway, fool me if you want, I'll believe you, I want to believe you so much and I need it”.
Formalities and familiar invectives merge in the tormented mind of the painter. Ironically, Delacroix frequently stayed with Madame de Pron's other lover, her cousin Empire Général Charles Yves César Cyr du Coëtlosquet, with whom she stayed in rue Saint-Dominique. Delacroix will take his revenge on this rival in 1826 by painting for him the famous Nature morte aux homards (Louvre museum), taking care to slip in facetious references to the ultra-royalism of his sponsor: "I have completed the General's painting of animals [...] He has already seduced a provision of amateurs and I believe that will be funny at the Salon (1827-1828)” he writes in a letter to Charles Soulier.

A memory of Delacroix's affair with Madame de Pron remains in his ongoing painting, the Scènes du Massacre de Scio, a revelation of the 1824 Salon, which will place Delacroix as the leader of Romanticism and will revolutionise the history of painting. Indeed, through his lover, he obtained Mamluk weapons, of which there remains a study (J72) and which appear on the sides of the Spahi charging the women in the final composition. Also, a watercolor album at the hand of his friend Soulier shows him in the process of decorating the room of his former lover with Pompeian decorations in the château de Beffes, where he will briefly stay in June 1826.

The ardor of his passion for Madame de Pron is finally revealed by this letter which does not appear in any bibliographical essay or correspondence of the painter. Later, Delacroix will remember his lover fondly: “You will tell Madame de Pron that French women have no equal for grace” (letter to Soulier, 6 June 1825).

First edition of the exhibition catalogue presenting 37 works by Claude Monet at the Galerie Durand-Ruel from 9 May to 4 June 1904.

During the exhibition, most of the paintings were immediately purchased by American collectors.

Binding in vellum-effect paper boards, names of the catalogue preface writer and the painter inscribed in ink, water-effect paper endpapers, covers and spine preserved, curious ex-libris drawn by H. P. Gassier glued to a pastedown endpaper, binding signed Gonon.
Preface by Octave Mirbeau.

A rare and pleasant copy.

First edition, one of 150 numbered copies on offset, only print after 20 numbered copies.
Title vignette glued on the first board.

Text in French, English and German.
Illustrated with 14 photographs of the author performing different kinds of suicides.

First edition printed with 750 numbered copies on Arches Velin and planned for the exhibition of Léger's works organised at the Louis Carré gallery from 19 November to 31 December 1954, for which the catalogue has been published only two years after the retrospective.

Work illustrated with original lithographs by Fernand Léger: 6 unpaged colour plates, two of which are double pages, 5 black and white unpaged plates and 10 within the text.

A beautiful copy despite slight rubbing to the caps.

First edition, printed in 64 copies, one of 10 so-called “complice” copies numbered on Lana wove paper; a deluxe issue following one “grand spécialiste” copy.

Each booklet is printed in a different colour, forming the hues of the rainbow. Our copy is complete with its original full black cloth slipcase.

The set comprises the following:

1 – Sur la plaque tournante by Jean Richer, complete with an original etching numbered and signed in pencil by Peverelli, an original collage signed by Michel Butor (detached from the leaf), and a monotype signed in pencil by Roger Membrini.

2 – Que l'enciellement spermanent rêvéalise by Roger Meyere, complete with an original etching dated, numbered and signed in pencil by Enrique Zanartu, the photogravure of a drawing by Roger Meyere, the publisher’s graphic montage, and a monotype signed in pencil by Roger Membrini.

3 – Les cartes postales de Michel Butor by Gaston Puel, complete with an original etching numbered and signed in pencil by Paul Franck, a tactile collage by Yseult, and a monotype signed in pencil by Roger Membrini.

4 – La Reine, les Boules, le Répertorieur by Michel Vachey, complete with an original etching numbered and signed in pencil by Wout Hoeboer, a graphic composition signed in black marker by Michel Vachey, and a monotype signed in pencil by Roger Membrini.

5 – Relation complète by Jean Starobinski, complete with an original etching numbered and signed in pencil by Ania Staritsky, a collage of a musical score by Henri Pousseur, and a monotype signed in pencil by Roger Membrini.

6 – Les Miroirs de Borgès et les Mondes de Leibniz by Jean Roudaut, complete with an original etching numbered and signed in pencil by Jacques Hérold, a collage signed by Michel Butor, and a monotype signed in pencil by Roger Membrini.

7 – Bibliographie Butorienne by Adrien-Valery Aelberts and Jean-Jacques Auquier, complete with an original etching numbered and signed in pencil by Frédéric Benrath, a folded collage signed by Michel Butor, and a monotype signed in pencil by Roger Membrini.

A fine copy, complete with all 7 original etchings, collages and foldings, and 7 monotypes.

First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on Hollande paper, the leading copies.
This copy with the original frontispiece lithograph by André Masson.
Hors-texte illustrations by André Masson.
A very good and rare copy.

Autograph manuscript signed by the painter and writer Jacques-Émile Blanche, entitled « Serge de Diaghileff ». Five leaves written in black ink, with numerous corrections in blue. Autograph foliation in black ink, later foliation in blue pencil. Leaf 4, originally in two parts, was joined with a strip of adhesive affixed to the verso.

Crossed-out passages and corrections.

A very fine funeral oration by Jacques-Émile Blanche for his friend Serge Diaghilev, director of the celebrated Ballets Russes.
The painter and writer Jacques-Émile Blanche pays tribute to the genius of Serge Diaghilev, shortly after his death in Venice in 1929. Chosen as a « godfather » to the Ballets Russes, the painter followed closely the choreographer’s work as a regenerator of the performing arts and applauded Stravinsky’s Sacre du printemps. He also produced numerous portraits of the Ballets Russes dancers, which he presented at the Venice Biennale in 1912.
At the beginning of the century, Diaghilev’s company, the « Ballets Russes », had dazzled audiences across Europe with a rich and vigorous art which, moving from one new form to another, remained at the avant-garde for twenty years. The painter recalls his first encounter with Diaghilev, a figure of undeniable charm: « j'éprouvai qu'on ne pouvait lui résister. Son autorité, ses caprices d'enfant gâté, on les subissait, tant son intelligence éclatait dans ses paroles d'adolescent. Il ressemblait, alors, assuraient ses compatriotes, au Tzar Alexandre Ier ». He evokes the impresario’s troubled existence and his dazzling triumphs with the Ballets Russes: « Eh quoi ! vingt ans d'expériences, vingt ans d'incomparables spectacles - et la perfection d'une technique de plus en plus déconcertante, ne nous conseilla-t-il pas d'accorder crédit illimité à notre cher ami, le plus artiste des hommes - et somme toute, le plus sûr de soi-même, malgré l'extravagance, le paradoxe de la vie qu'il menait et qu'il imposait à sa troupe ? ».
Blanche highlights Diaghilev’s taste for French culture, which he shared with his friends and collaborators. This passion, inherited from Russian aristocratic circles, made him « Le plus parisien des cosmopolites, croyant au prestige de Paris comme un boulevardier du second Empire ». We also learn of Diaghilev’s unrealized plan to travel to Moscow and stage ballets in the young USSR, then regarded as a land of political and artistic avant-garde. The letter closes with a moving evocation of Venice, where Diaghilev passed away on 19 August 1929:
« voici qu'un funèbre cortège de gondoles accompagne sur la lagune torride [...] les restes de notre cher camarade. Il est bien - puisqu'il devait nous quitter - qu'il fermât les yeux sur la cité du Sang, de la volupté et de la Mort ».

A remarkable panegyric to the creator and impresario Serge de Diaghilev by Jacques-Émile Blanche, his loyal friend and portraitist of the Ballets Russes.

First edition of this important and early collection of 50 superb lithographs of Algiers printed on china paper mounted on heavy wove, executed by the two painters Emile-Aubert Lessore (1805–1876), a pupil of Ingres, and William Wyld (1806–1889), a friend of Vernet. The work was originally issued in five parts: buildings, landscapes, figures, scenes, etc.

See: Bibliothèque algérienne de Gérard Sangnier, no. 207. Not in Blackmer. Playfair, 517. Tailliart, 896. Gay, 919. Brunet III, 1018.

Contemporary binding in half green shagreen, flat spine with triple gilt fillets and blind-stamped fleurons, gilt decorative bands at head and foot of spine, the upper band partially faded; marbled paper-covered boards with some marginal discoloration. Contemporary binding.

Spine restored, occasional scattered foxing.

First edition printed in 51 copies numbered and initialled by the author on Whatman.
Playful and striking signed presentation inscription from Jean Ajalbert to Henry Fèvre: "... ex-écrevisse de rempart, ces vers de l'auteur des bastions..."
Illustrated with an original lithograph by Paul Signac as frontispiece.
Minor spots on the lower cover, a rare and handsome copy.

First edition, with no mention of deluxe paper copies.
Precious signed autograph inscription from Octave Mirbeau to his friend Jules Renard.
Blue pencil mark by Jules Renard on the front cover.
Our copy is further enriched with Jules Renard's celebrated ex-libris, designed and engraved by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

First edition of the French translation. No grands papiers (deluxe copies) were printed.
Some loss of plastic film on the spine, two light damp-stains on the upper and lower edges.
Signed and dated by Andy Warhol with an original drawing on three pages: verso of the first cover, endpaper and title page.

First edition, one of 25 copies on handmade laid paper, numbered and justified by the publisher, the only deluxe issue.
 
Bradel binding in half chocolate-brown morocco with corners, smooth spine, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, illustrated wrappers by Manuel Orazi and backstrip preserved.
Work illustrated with 136 black and colour drawings, in- and out-of-text, by Georges Bottini.
 
Bookplate mounted.
 
Our copy is enriched with a full-page original drawing, signed by Georges Bottini and heightened in black ink, depicting Jacques Beaudarmon wearing a bowler hat and conversing with the « môme ». This drawing appears as a woodcut illustration on page 133.
 
The drawing is inscribed by Georges Bottini to M. Casanove « en grande sympathie ».
 
Very rare deluxe copy of Jean Lorrain’s masterpiece.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Tiny and very discreet restorations to the verso of the first blank leaf.

Significant and fine signed autograph inscription by Antonin Artaud:
« à M. Fernand Pouey qui a voulu comprendre mon aride effort. Antonin Artaud. 13 décembre 1947. »
Signed autograph inscriptions by Antonin Artaud are exceedingly rare in this text.

First edition, one of the review copies.

Spine slightly sunned, minor marginal spots on the front cover.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Maurice de Vlaminck to his Montmartre friend Pierre Mac Orlan: "... son vieux copain..."

First edition, printed on vellum paper in 260 numbered copies.

Bradel binding in half vellum-style boards, smooth spine, gilt title running lengthwise, gilt fillet framing the marbled paper covers, top edge gilt.

A long orange offset to the margin of the lower cover on the vellum-style board, light orange offsets to the margins of the white endpapers.

Illustrated with 68 plates reproducing drawings by Max Liebermann in facsimile.

This copy retains the two original etchings by Max Liebermann, each signed by him in pencil.

First edition and first issue of the suite of 24 color lithographs.

Publisher’s original soft illustrated folder, flat red cloth spine without lettering (expertly restored), red cloth framing on the boards, showing some soiling; original cloth ties intact and present.

Some occasional foxing.

First edition printed in 700 numbered copies, ours being one of the 50 non-commercial copies.

Publisher's binding in full blue cloth, smooth spines, copies complete with their illustrated dust jackets.

Rich iconography.

Beautiful copy in two volumes, complete with its soft cardboard case.

First edition, one of 40 numbered copies, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

A handsome and scarce copy.

Illustrated with full-page color drawings by André François.

Pencil signature by Vincent Pachès at the colophon.

First edition illustrated with 24 original lithographs by René Seyssaud, one of 70 copies printed on pure Arches wove paper, this one being among the first 20 enhanced with an additional suite of lithographs and an original drawing by René Seyssaud, signed in brown pencil.

The additional suite comprises only 8 lithographs, 5 in color and 3 in black and white.

Text by René-Jean and J. Tourette.

A well-preserved copy, complete with its original chemise and slipcase (spine sunned), a few scattered spots of foxing, notably on the covers.

First edition, one of 950 copies on Vélin Vidalon signed by André Marchand, the only printing following 49 copies on Vélin d'Arches.

Bound in black morocco-backed boards with corners, smooth spine, gilt fillet borders on cat's eye paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, all edges gilt. Slipcase edged in black morocco, marbled paper panels. Binding signed by D. Saporito.

Illustrated with 50 splendid original lithographs by André Marchand, printed by Mourlot.

Featuring previously unpublished texts by Georges Spyridaki, René Lacôte, Georges Hugnet, Gabriel Audisio, Raymond Queneau, David Herbert Lawrence, Pierre Emmanuel, Luc Decaunes, Léon-Marie Brest, Jean Grenier, Antonio Machado, Marie Mauron, Paul Eluard...

A handsome and finely bound copy.

Autograph letter signed and dated "20 floréal year 79 19 May" [19 May 1871?], 3 pages on a bifolium of blue paper. Small lack of paper affecting a few letters, usual folds from mailing.

Rare letter by painter and illustrator Gérard-Séguin, known for his portrait of Honoré de Balzac (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours). Written in the midst of the Paris Commune, as famine and fighting ravaged the capital, the artist delivers a desperate yet spirited plea from the artist.

This letter is one of the few surviving manuscripts by Gérard-Séguin whose biography remains largely unknown: "Little is known about the life and work of Jean Alfred Gérard-Séguin, except that he studied under Jérôme-Martin Langlois at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, exhibited at the Salon between 1831 and 1868, and—close to publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel—primarily worked as a book illustrator, contributing drawings for various publications, including Balzac's La Comédie Humaine, for which he also painted a portrait of the author. Working with Prosper Mérimée and the first Monuments Historiques commissions, he also copied out the church frescoes of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe" (Musée de Valence). Staunch Republican Gérard-Seguin supported the Commune and had previously painted a major historical canvas on the French Revolution of 1848, depicting a "guardian of the peace and the Republic." Severely impoverished by the siege and already 67 years old, he expresses in this letter his regret at not being able to join the ranks of the Communard fighters.

First edition, one of the rare numbered copies printed on red papier bouffant, the only deluxe issue alongside 5 copies on Hollande.

Covers slightly and marginally soiled, two initials in red ink in the upper left corner of the front cover.
Illustrated with a "portrait de crotte de bique et couillandouille par eux-mêmes" [portrait of goat-dropping and dick-and-drumstick by themselves.]

Very famous work from the Dadaist canon, written by Pansaers one year before his untimely death — the personal copy of painter Theo van Doesburg, with his autograph signature. In 1917, Doesburg had co-founded the renowned De Stijl neoplasticist movement with Piet Mondrian.

Doesbourg had joined the Dada movement in 1921, and also became one of its theorists. As Marguerite Tuijn notes, “Van Doesburg was deeply impressed by Pansaers. This artist was one of the few Belgian Dadaists, a mysterious figure and a quintessential poète maudit. In early 1920, he also arrived in Paris, where he created a small number of Dadaist works. Among others, he wrote *Le Pan-Pan au cul du nu nègre* (1919) and *Bar Nicanor* (1920). In April 1921, he left the Dada movement. He died at the end of October 1922.” (Theo van Doesburg. A New Expression of Life, Art and Technology, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 26 February – 29 May 2016, p. 72).

One of the most desirable copies of this "PAN-DADA" masterpiece, in  Pansaers' own words.

First edition on chestnut paper, complete with its wraparound band for booksellers.
Two small tears without loss to the spine. 

First edition, one of the review copies.

Spine faded with noticeable waterstaining at foot, a few small spots in the margins of the covers.

Illustrated with 53 photographs by Brassaï.

On a card mounted to the front endpaper, a moving presentation inscription, dated and signed in blue ballpoint pen by Brassaï: "Pour Francis Ponge amical hommage de Brassaï Eze-Village le 29 octobre 1964."

First edition, one of 15 copies printed on japon impérial, most limited deluxe issue.

Bradel binding with grey box spine, front board in plexiglass revealing the original cover, back board in grey box, original wrappers and spine preserved, housed in a soft grey paper chemise lined with light grey felt; unsigned binding by Mercher.

Illustrated with three original lithographs, including the original colour illustration on the cover.

Discreet repairs to the head of the front wrapper, which also shows slight sunning along the left margin.

A very rare and beautiful deluxe copy of this major scenario for an imaginary Dadaist film by Picabia: "

I ask each of my readers to stage and film for themselves on the screen of their imagination [...] record for yourselves while reading La Loi d'accommodation chez les borgnes; all seats are the same price, and you can smoke without bothering your neighbors.

" (Picabia, preface). This work related to his celebrated Dada piece L’Œil Cacodylate, directly references the theme of distorted vision – a significant inspiration for Picabia, who suffered from ophthalmic shingles: "The title of the scenario itself (La Loi d’accommodation chez les borgnes) can be seen as an (ironic or humorous) echo of the visual processes explored in his latest works. Depth perception requires two eyes. The lack of stereoscopic vision in monocular vision results in a flat image, and the brain must work harder to construct a sense of relief." (Bernard Marcadé, Francis Picabia Rastaquouère, p. 390)

Our copy includes an autograph letter by the publisher confirming to the recipient that the work is complete and does indeed include two illustrations by Francis Picabia (in addition to the cover), contrary to what Skira indicated in his bibliography.

First edition, with no deluxe copies printed.
Pleasant copy, which is uncommon given the fragility of this book, often handled without care.
Inscribed and signed by Serge Gainsbourg to a recipient named Georges.
 

Second edition, partly original, with 14 poems appearing here for the first time.

Bound in fawn half morocco with corners, spine very slightly darkened without consequence, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved.

Illustrated with a frontispiece by Félicien Rops.

A handsome copy, attractively bound.

Autograph note signed by Caran d'Ache to a lady friend, 18 lines in pencil on a bifolium, with each letter written in uppercase.

Tears repaired with adhesive patches, minor loss to corners not affecting the text.

"Admirable madame ! Grandpierre & non Dampierre est votre proche voisin rue d'Offemont. Je me traîne à vos pieds heureux de baiser la pointe de vos pieds. Caran d'Ache."

The rue d'Offemont, located in the Plaine Monceau district, is now known as rue Henri Rochefort.

First edition, printed in 105 copies on Rives wove paper, this copy being one of the 60 with an original etching signed in pencil by Annie Proszynska.

Colophon signed in pencil by both Guy Rohou and Annie Proszynska.

Illustrated with 15 original etchings by Annie Proszynska, including a frontispiece, a full-page plate, a double-page plate, and 12 in-text illustrations.

A fine copy, complete with its original Siena moiré cloth chemise and slipcase.

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on Japan paper, ours not numbered but printed for the publisher, a copy from the deluxe issue.

Half black morocco binding, spine with five raised bands, date gilt-stamped at foot, moiré paper sides, endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, binding signed in blind by Ch. Septier.

Illustrated with 21 hors-texte engravings by Daniel Vierge, along with numerous in-text black-and-white engravings.

Our copy, as with all copies on Japan paper, includes the hors-texte engravings in two states.

A handsome and finely bound copy.

Autograph note dated and signed by Henri Laurens, 7 lines in black ink, addressed to a Mr Fardel, most likely Gildas Fardel, the prominent art collector.

A handsome example.

Henri Laurens writes to postpone their appointment, as he will not be at his studio at the agreed time.

A major collector of abstract art, Gildas Fardel donated part of his collection to the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes in 1958.

Autograph letter dated and signed by André Breton, 21 lines in blue ink on a single sheet, addressed to Georges Isarlo of the journal Combat-Art concerning a text given to him by his friend José Pierre.

True to form, the leading figure and high priest of Surrealism seeks to clarify matters with his correspondent: "Vous comprendrez sûrement le souci que je puis avoir de ne pas, sous un vain prétexte d'anniversaire, laisser dénaturer le sens et gâter le fruit de quarante années de lutte et voudrez bien considérer qu'il a pour tous ses signataires - répondants du surréalisme aujourd'hui - la même importance vitale que pour moi."

Autograph manuscript by André Breton initialed three times by his hand, written in black ink on two leaves. Multiple crossed-out and rewritten passages, annotations by his hand in pencil.
Pagination in blue pen on each of the leaves. Published in the review Medium, Paris, 1st series (sheet) no. 8, June 1953.
Breton delivers spirited literary and artistic chronicles for the Surrealist review Médium - and lashes out with great virulence against the "false witnesses" and "dubious witnesses" who criticize Surrealism.
The praise of Premier bilan de l'art actuel by his friend Robert Lebel becomes the occasion for a violent attack against Michel Tapié:

"Déplorons seulement qu'on ait fait appel [...] à un faux-témoin avéré comme M. Tapié, de qui nous avions déjà pu apprendre, au mépris de toute évidence, que ceux qu'il appelle dans son affreux jargon "les informels" (Mathieu, Riopelle, et autres) œuvraient à rebours de tout automatisme et qui a aujourd'hui le front de prétendre que Brauner, Maria, Matte et Dali ont pris l'initiative de rompre avec le surréalisme "où ils ne trouvaient plus leur compte" ce qui se passe tout autre commentaire" ("Let us only deplore that they have called upon [...] a proven false witness like M. Tapié, from whom we had already learned, in defiance of all evidence, that those he calls in his dreadful jargon 'the informals' (Mathieu, Riopelle, and others) worked against all automatism and who today has the audacity to claim that Brauner, Maria, Matte and Dali took the initiative to break with surrealism 'where they no longer found their advantage' which defies all other commentary").

In three other chronicles, he receives with interest the new work by Pierre Geyraud L'Occultisme à Paris:

"Le récent procès dit "des J. 3" a appelé l'attention sur la personnalité du père de la victime, qui, sous l'anagramme de Pierre Geyraud, a mené une série d'enquêtes 'parmi les sectes et les rites" [...] M. Geyraud continue à y braver les menaces de graves représailles que lui ont valu ses divulgations. L'accent reste ici sur l'activité luciférienne [...]" ("The recent trial known as 'the J. 3' has drawn attention to the personality of the victim's father, who, under the anagram of Pierre Geyraud, has conducted a series of investigations 'among the sects and rites' [...] M. Geyraud continues to brave the threats of serious reprisals that his disclosures have earned him. The emphasis here remains on Luciferian activity [...]")

salutes the "multiple originals" by painter Jean Fautrier:

"Par un procédé à lui, de la reproduction si fidèle d'une toile jusqu'à travers ses plus menus accidents de la pâte qu'il est impossible à l'œil nu de distinguer les copies de l'original, Jean Fautrier est passé à la création d'originaux multiples [...] Le silence gardé par la critique sur cette entreprise attesterait à lui seul de sa valeur révolutionnaire. Brisant avec un mode d'agiotage particulièrement impudent, il ne s'agit rien de moins que de mettre la peinture vivante à la portée de ceux qui l'apprécient pour elle-même" ("Through his own process, of such faithful reproduction of a canvas down to its smallest accidents of paint that it is impossible for the naked eye to distinguish copies from the original, Jean Fautrier has moved to creating multiple originals [...] The silence kept by critics about this enterprise would alone attest to its revolutionary value. Breaking with a particularly shameless mode of speculation, it is nothing less than making living painting accessible to those who appreciate it for itself").

and becomes enthusiastic about the masterpiece La Chouette aveugle by Iranian poet Sadegh Hedayat:

"Jamais plus dramatique appréhension de la condition humaine n'a suscité pareille vue en coupe de notre coquille, ni pareille conscience de nous débattre hors du temps, avec les immuables attributs qui sont notre lot [...] Un chef d'œuvre s'il en fût ! Un livre qui doit trouver place auprès de l'Aurélia de Nerval, de la Gradiva de Jensen, des Mystères d'Hamsun, qui participe des phosphorescences de Berkeley Square et des frissons de Nosferatu [...]" ("Never has a more dramatic apprehension of the human condition inspired such a cross-section view of our shell, nor such awareness of struggling outside of time, with the immutable attributes that are our lot [...] A masterpiece if ever there was one! A book that must find its place alongside Nerval's Aurélia, Jensen's Gradiva, Hamsun's Mysteries, which partakes of the phosphorescences of Berkeley Square and the shivers of Nosferatu [...]").

Superb manuscript by the father of Surrealism filled with annotations and revisions.

Original drawing in graphite and blue and pink colored pencils signed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, on a sheet of watermarked paper "Navarre". Horizontal fold.

One of Saint-Exupéry's quirky characters in a suit and bow tie, spawn from the baroque and overflowing imagination of the Little Prince's author. The writer-aviator-artist very rarely signed his graphic works.




 
 
 

Original drawing with graphite, blue and pink colored pencils signed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, on a sheet of watermarked paper “Navarre”. Hor­izontal fold, pencil annotation in the upper left margin, very small loss of paper in the lower right margin.

A remarkable caricature signed by Saint-Exupéry, akin to a cartoon character. The writer-aviator-artist very rarely signed his graphic works.

Original signed drawing in pencil and pink crayon by Antoine de Saint-Ex­upéry, on “Navarre” watermarked paper. Horizontal fold, annotation in pencil in upper left-hand corner, min­ute tears in lower margin.

Precious drawing signed by Saint-Exupéry – the writer-artist very rarely signed his graphic works – of a caricature character, sharing some of the writer's own features.

Autograph letter signed by Ger­maine de Staël and dated 9 Janu­ary 1809 to Julie Nigris, daughter of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. Two pages written in black on a bifolium. Autograph address on verso, armo­rial wax seal traces and postmarks.
Usual folds, a tear with a small piece of paper lacking on the address page due to the opening of the seal.
Published as an addendum in Sou­venirs de Madame Vigée Le Brun, 1837, vol. III, pp. 264-265.

Germaine de Staël is eagerly awaiting her portrait as Corinne - her novel's heroine- she had commissioned from the famous Vigée-Lebrun. The letter is a precious link in the fascinating history of the painting the baroness would discover a few months later.

"Madam, I have given up on engraving the portrait of your mother. It is too expensive for my whim and I have just suffered a considerable lawsuit that is forcing me to make do with less. But would you be so kind as to tell me when Madam Le Brun will give me the portrait of Corinne? My intention was to send her a thousand écus upon receiving it, but as I have not heard from her, I don't know what to do.
Please be so kind as to get involved and negotiate what I want in this regard. Another pleasing negotiation would be your arrival to Switzerland this summer. Prosper says he will come. Wouldn't M. de Maleteste be seduced by this reunion of all his friends? I dare to count myself among them. Seeing him once, it seemed to me that I was meeting an old acquaintance."


Germaine de Staël addresses Vigée Le Brun's daughter Julie, inviting her and her mother to brighten up her exile. She also tried to gather at her home of Coppet her lover Prosper de Barante as well as Julie's, the Marquis de Maleteste. Dreading solitude, she was determined to invite a host of interesting personalities. Two years earlier, Vigée Le Brun had begun painting a portrait of the baroness depicted as the heroine of her latest novel Corinne. In-between portrait sittings with the baroness, the artist had met the famous members of the so-called Coppet group: Frederick of Prussia, writer Benjamin Constant and salonnière Juliette Récamier. De Staël had already requested a change as soon as the painter had started the canvas and asked for a different landscape in the background. Aware of the somewhat unprepossessing appearance of her model - neither she nor the baroness denied it - Vigée Le Brun created an ambitious portrait mixing antiquity-inspired attire with a furiously romantic allure. She managed to capture the baroness's inspired gaze instead of an expected neoclassical austerity. Despite her enthusiastic initial reactions, Germaine de Staël was not pleased with it and commissioned another portrait from local artist Firmin Massot. The latter produced a poor but faithful copy of the Vigée Le Brun's composition, except for her face and expression he smoothed out and made devoid of any emotion. The baroness's reaction illustrates the irreconcilable dilemma faced by women of letters at the beginning of the 19th century: torn between their identity as intellectual figures (which Vigée Le Brun had magnificently captured in this portrait), and the normative criteria of femininity Germaine de Staël wanted to align with.

A precious piece of correspon­dence, bringing together two illus­trious women - the patron and the artist, whose visions of femininity would soon oppose on either side of the easel.

Autograph letter signed by painter Elis­abeth Vigée-Lebrun addressed to his­torical painter and portraitist Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot. Two pages in black ink on a bifolium. Autograph address of Mme Haudebourt, 19 rue Rochefou­cauld, on verso of second leaf. Usual horizontal folds, tear without damage to the text on the second leaf due to the wax seal. A bibliographer's note in blue pencil on the verso of the last leaf.

Autograph note signed, addressed to his friend and publisher Felia Léal concerning the completion of their joint project: the forthcoming publication of the book "Les paroles transparentes" illustrated by Georges Braque.

Seventeen lines in black ink on two small leaves.

A handsome ensemble, with a paperclip mark to the upper left corner of both leaves.

"Wednesday,

Dear Felia, here is the letter. Are *Les Paroles* still coming out on June tenth? Very impatient. (When I think of it, I am amazed by your patience, your tenacity, your gentle forcefulness. Good evening, dear dangerous one. Affectionately, Jean. (To be honest, G. showed a little annoyance. He said to me 'but just correct the number!' Please do not mention this to Monsieur Léon Léal."

Autograph envelope addressed by André Breton to his friend Géo Dupin, curator of the La Cour d'Ingres art gallery at 17 quai Voltaire, from whom the Pope of Surrealism acquired several paintings.

The address is written in black ink (some letters slightly smudged).

A well-preserved example.

First edition, with no copies printed on deluxe paper.

A very good copy.

Precious signed autograph inscription from Jean-François Lyotard to Pierre Vidal-Naquet.

Original felt-tip drawing signed by Uderzo, accompanied by René Goscinny's signature in blue ink. Half a page on the verso of the final leaf of a three-page typescript stapled with a metal clip.
Some minor fold marks, without consequence.
A round and cheerful portrait of Obelix, drawn by his creator and inscribed “pour Anne Sophie avec toute notre amitié”, enriched with René Goscinny’s signature, on the verso of television script pages from a show featuring Uderzo and Goscinny as guests.

Complete set of 13 original lithographs by Eugène Delacroix, in first edition, first issue with the letter, one of 20 copies on Chine paper pasted on laid paper:

"It was originally printed in a few proofs on Chine, the format of which exceeds the square line by one or two centimeters. They are highly sought-after, even though they bear the letter" (Robaut).

Bound in the original publisher's brown half-shagreen binding, title gilt stamped on first board, original first cover wrapper preserved. Small restored tear to the margin of the wrapper over 5 cm, sunned spine, joints and corners rubbed, scattered foxing and a dampstain to the lower part of the laid paper on which the lithographs are pasted on, without affecting the lithographs themselves.

Exceptional and rare set of original lithographs by Eugène Delacroix on Chine paper, illustrating Shakespeare's masterpiece.
A cornerstone of Romantic art, this series was "made at M. Delacroix's personal expense. Only 80 copies were printed, 60 on blanc and 20 on chine, and these were sold out at the time of the author's death" (Henri Béraldi).  It is now esteemed as Delacroix's most accomplished graphic undertaking, which took him more than ten years to achieve and generally considered to be one of the first modern livres de peintre.