12 PHOTOGRAPHIES D'ŒUVRES

A unique homage to Henri Matisse, published in Monaco during the final stages of World War II. This remarkable book blends literature, photography and visual art, featuring contributions from some of the leading French artists of the 20th century. It includes poetry by Paul Éluard, an essay by André Rouveyre, and a suite of Matisse drawings, complemented by a striking frontispiece by Leonor Fini and an original photograph by Brassaï.

Original admission ticket for the Bal Banal of the Union des Artistes Russes, held Friday 14 March 1924 at Salle Bullier, Paris. The small colour woodcut ticket, designed 1923/24 by Natalia Gontcharova and plate-signed “N. Gontcharova,” is numbered 2962, printed recto only in two colours, and bears two Union stamps. In a handy c. 16 × 22.5 cm format, it fuses function with graphic flair—a rare survivor of the famed artists’ balls linking the Russian émigré scene to Montparnasse.

In 1967, Jean Dubuffet partnered with London’s Editions Alecto on *Cartes à jouer et à tirer*, playfully recasting his visual vocabulary into the scale of a deck of cards. The set comprises 52 separate cards, each silkscreen-printed, forming a quirky alphabet of lines, planes, and scribbled textures. The title invites action—both “to play” and “to draw”—letting chance and handling shape meaning. Housed in the publisher’s slipcase, the work sits between artist’s book and portable multiple. This hors commerce copy, marked H.C. 11, is in notably fresh condition. It exemplifies Dubuffet’s anti-aesthetic joined to technical exactitude, an irresistible proposition for bibliophiles at the book-object threshold.

A rare first edition of Arriver à se réveiller, written by Henri Michaux in the tremulous post-war years. The text unfolds as an inward journey toward lucidity, where sleep and waking mirror each other. Printed and published by Pierre Bettencourt in his own workshop, the edition’s small run preserves the work’s intimacy. The title-page vignette, a linocut by Bettencourt, sets a spare, rhythmic visual key that amplifies Michaux’s vigilant, vulnerable tone. This copy is handsomely bound in brown morocco with balsa boards by Miguet, a tactile nod to lightness under tension. For bibliophiles, it is an exemplary union of poetry, craft, and experiment. The volume embodies the independence of the post-war small press and Michaux’s radical sensitivity.