C’est les bottes de 7 lieues. Cette phrase “Je me vois”
An exceptional example of Surrealist collaboration between poet Robert Desnos and artist André Masson. Published in 1928, this edition consists of 90 copies on vergé d’Arches, all signed by both contributors. Masson’s four original etchings accompany the poetry with dreamlike expressiveness. This particular copy includes a personal inscription from Desnos to Georges Malkine and features a handwritten 16-line poem titled “À la date fixée”. The 1977 binding by Georges Leroux is an artwork in its own right: box leather, crumpled copper and cabochons combine into a sculptural design. The original cover is bound in, and the volume is housed in a chemise and slipcase. Additional materials include a subscription bulletin and a letter by Fern Malkine-Falvey discussing Desnos. This volume embodies the literary, artistic and personal interconnections at the heart of Surrealism.
Quantity
Desnos, Robert
Masson, André
C’est les bottes de 7 lieues. Cette phrase “Je me vois”
1928 | Paris | Éditions Surréalistes
Unique Surrealist artist’s book with poetry, etchings, deluxe binding, and rare documents.
An exceptional example of Surrealist collaboration between poet Robert Desnos and artist André Masson. Published in 1928, this edition consists of 90 copies on vergé d’Arches, all signed by both contributors. Masson’s four original etchings accompany the poetry with dreamlike expressiveness. This particular copy includes a personal inscription from Desnos to Georges Malkine and features a handwritten 16-line poem titled “À la date fixée”. The 1977 binding by Georges Leroux is an artwork in its own right: box leather, crumpled copper and cabochons combine into a sculptural design. The original cover is bound in, and the volume is housed in a chemise and slipcase. Additional materials include a subscription bulletin and a letter by Fern Malkine-Falvey discussing Desnos. This volume embodies the literary, artistic and personal interconnections at the heart of Surrealism.
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Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-4 (Quarto) approx. 25 × 32 cm
Edition Particulars
1 of 90 on vergé d’Arches
Print Run
90
Copy Number
60
Paper
vergé d’Arches
Inscription
Signed by the Author,Signed by the Illustrator
Product DETAIL
The collection opens with “Destinée arbitraire”, dedicated to Georges Malkine. Desnos’ poetry is introspective and associative, with a dreamlike, non-linear structure. Themes such as identity, desire and transience recur. The interplay of text and image heightens the evocative effect. The handwritten poem adds a personal touch.
Morand, Paul · Hugo, Jean
Les Amis nouveaux
This first separate edition of *Les Amis nouveaux* combines Paul Morand’s swift, ironic prose with nine original copper drypoints by Jean Hugo. The brief novella compresses a love triangle into the tense intimacy of a single dinner. Morand’s controlled dialogue and incisive observations reveal how rivalry can unexpectedly turn into mutual understanding. Hugo accompanies the text with a refined linear vocabulary that heightens its worldly lightness and psychological ambiguity. The bistre or sanguine tones give the prints a warm, almost intimate presence on the page. As a numbered large-paper copy on vergé d’Arches, the book has considerable bibliophilic appeal.
Illustrated Book
€260
Michaux, Henri · Bettencourt, Pierre
Arriver à se réveiller
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.
Illustrated Book
€680
Char, Rene · Stael, Nicolas de
Arrière-histoire du poème pulvérisé
*Arrière-histoire du poème pulvérisé* is a later illustrated edition of a key text in which René Char looks back on the genesis and inner background of *Le Poème pulvérisé*. Published in 1972 by Imprimerie Union, it opens with a colour frontispiece by Nicolas de Staël. The pairing of Char and de Staël is especially charged: two post-war voices, each seeking concentration, clarity, and rupture in his own medium. This copy is one of only six hors commerce copies on Arches and is signed. The autograph presentation inscription to Doctor Marcel Zara, with poetic quotation and October 1972 dating, makes it a deeply personal copy.
Illustrated Book
€920
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