Au château d'Argol
€610.00
Julien Gracq’s debut novel, issued by José Corti, sets a gothic castle on the Breton coast as the stage for a charged, almost dream-logic encounter between three figures. The prose is musical and image-rich, favouring symbolic landscapes and metaphysical weather. Born near Surrealism yet distinctly independent, the book establishes Gracq’s lucid enchantment from the start. For bibliophiles this is a key title: an early Corti publication, scarce in appealing condition, and the opening note of a major twentieth-century voice. Its limited print-run and initially slow reception add to the sense of discovery. This copy is on publisher’s stock.
Quantity
Gracq, Julien
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
Au château d'Argol
1938 | Paris | Jose Corti
A pivotal debut that sets Gracq’s tone and signals a discreet yet durable modernity. In good, honest condition it is a desirable acquisition. A rare Corti printing with lasting sheen. We also include a copy of this second printing from 1945.
Julien Gracq’s debut novel, issued by José Corti, sets a gothic castle on the Breton coast as the stage for a charged, almost dream-logic encounter between three figures. The prose is musical and image-rich, favouring symbolic landscapes and metaphysical weather. Born near Surrealism yet distinctly independent, the book establishes Gracq’s lucid enchantment from the start. For bibliophiles this is a key title: an early Corti publication, scarce in appealing condition, and the opening note of a major twentieth-century voice. Its limited print-run and initially slow reception add to the sense of discovery. This copy is on publisher’s stock.
€610
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-12 (Duodecimo) approx. 17 × 22 cm
Edition Particulars
Copy on publisher’s stock within a total run of 1200; together with a copy of the 1945 reprint.
Print Run
1200
Inscription
No inscription
1
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We welcome private inquiries, collaborations with institutions, and acquisition requests. Each message is treated with discretion and respect. We welcome private inquiries, collaborations with institutions, and acquisition requests.
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Product DETAIL
In this concentrated narrative, Herminien, Albert and Heide move through the castle and its surrounding woods, where nature and architecture act like characters. The plot is minimal yet taut; jealousy, seduction and sacrifice unfold in a ritual of glances and silences. The Armorican landscape turns inward, with light and stone galvanising consciousness. Gracq’s cadence—solemn, deliberately archaizing—heightens a mythic register. The novel is both gothic and modern: a meditation on desire, death and fate, held within rigorous composition. Its final image remains ambiguous, resonant like a legend.
Jarry, Alfred
La Dragonne
*La Dragonne* belongs to the posthumous publications that further deepened the enigmatic and unfinished aspect of Alfred Jarry’s oeuvre. This first edition, with a preface by Jean Saltas, presents a late prose work that still bears the full force of the imagination behind *Ubu roi*. The book moves between novel, satire, and verbal hallucination, revealing Jarry as a writer who continually places narrative logic under strain. That is precisely what gives it such appeal for collectors: one reads here not only a text, but a literary legacy still in formation. The Gallimard edition, dated 1943 and also described in trade sources as an early 1944 issue, reflects the sustained twentieth-century rediscovery of Jarry. This copy also belongs to the extremely small issue on vélin pur fil. In its elegant binding, the volume acquires a classical dignity that beautifully contrasts with the unruly spirit of the
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La Liberté ou l'Amour ! by Robert Desnos is a monument of Surrealist literature, presented here in an exceptional binding by master bookbinder Jean de Gonet. This 1927 edition contains the full text, including the notorious passages censored at the time. The work is a feverish exploration of eroticism and freedom, written in the automatic style that Desnos perfected. The combination of Desnos's rebellious text and De Gonet's industrial, architectural aesthetic makes this copy a unique collector's item. Furthermore, it bears the signature of Czech artist Adolf Hoffmeister, adding to its historical significance. For the bibliophile, this book represents the perfect symbiosis between avant-garde literature and innovative bookbinding art. With its dreamlike logic, unsettling eroticism, and atmosphere of veiled desire, this book can evoke Stanley Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut
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In Choix de poèmes, Michaux’s poetic trajectory is gathered into a compact, portable compass. This édition originale collective was issued by NRF in 1976; the present copy is from the minute head issue of fifteen on vélin pur fil. Miguet’s sober Havana-morocco binding, with panelled frame, marries elegance to rigor—akin to a voice moving between vision and observation. The selection shows the steady pursuit of inner landscapes and linguistic shock. For bibliophiles, luxury paper, original state and atelier binding make a persuasive triad. Provenance from Jacques Dauchez provides a discreet, eloquent seal.
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In Poteaux d’angles, Henri Michaux returns to compact, probing prose balanced between poem and notebook. Issued by L’Herne in 1971, this copy is from the exceedingly scarce head issue on Hollande paper. Miguet’s raspberry-morocco panelled binding lends a mineral poise that suits Michaux’s angular sentences. The brief pieces act as beacons—jottings, sallies, flashes of insight and refusal. For bibliophiles the trio is ideal: original edition, luxury paper, and a fine atelier binding. The Jacques Dauchez provenance seals its pedigree.
