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Il est toujours trop tard. 1924-1928

SKU ILES-001
Price

€950.00

This Antwerp publication by La Serfouette (1969) forms an unusually complete set as a “Réunion des 2 tirages” of *Il est toujours trop tard. 1924-1928*. It brings together two issues: an ‘ordinary’ issue in stiff orange paper wrappers and the deluxe issue with Roger van de Wouwer’s graphics. A telling peculiarity: the ordinary issue’s title page also states “Dix Gravures de Roger van de Wouwer”, yet the plates are in fact absent—functioning essentially as a textual ‘copy’ of the deluxe issue. The deluxe issue, by contrast, is complete and accompanied by a “suite de 10 eaux-fortes originales (avec cuvette)”: ten large black etchings, all signed and justified. The ordinary issue is further enriched with an important “envoi autographe signé à Jeanne Abraham et André Stas (note sur la priorité de parution)”, in which Scutenaire insists that this second edition is “in reality, the original” because it appeared weeks, if not months, before the illustrated issue. Together, the two volumes document textual history, bibliophile strategy, and the paradox of publication priority within Antwerp surrealism.

Quantity

Il est toujours trop tard. 1924-1928
1969 | Antwerpen | La Serfouette
Rare as a complete “Réunion des 2 tirages”: an ordinary issue claiming the plates without them, plus No. 79/150 on Arches with the full plate-marked suite.

This Antwerp publication by La Serfouette (1969) forms an unusually complete set as a “Réunion des 2 tirages” of *Il est toujours trop tard. 1924-1928*. It brings together two issues: an ‘ordinary’ issue in stiff orange paper wrappers and the deluxe issue with Roger van de Wouwer’s graphics. A telling peculiarity: the ordinary issue’s title page also states “Dix Gravures de Roger van de Wouwer”, yet the plates are in fact absent—functioning essentially as a textual ‘copy’ of the deluxe issue. The deluxe issue, by contrast, is complete and accompanied by a “suite de 10 eaux-fortes originales (avec cuvette)”: ten large black etchings, all signed and justified. The ordinary issue is further enriched with an important “envoi autographe signé à Jeanne Abraham et André Stas (note sur la priorité de parution)”, in which Scutenaire insists that this second edition is “in reality, the original” because it appeared weeks, if not months, before the illustrated issue. Together, the two volumes document textual history, bibliophile strategy, and the paradox of publication priority within Antwerp surrealism.

€950
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-folio (Folio) approx. 30 × 40 cm
Edition Particulars
“Réunion des 2 tirages” + ordinary issue on stiff orange paper: title page states “Dix Gravures de Roger van de Wouwer” but plates are absent; “Exemplaire 79/150 sur vélin d’Arches” + “suite de 10 eaux-fortes originales (avec cuvette)” (all signed and justified) + “envoi autographe signé à Jeanne Abraham et André Stas (note sur la priorité de parution)”.
Print Run
150
Copy Number
No. 79
Paper
Vélin d’Arches
Inscription
Envoi,Signed by the Illustrator
1
Edition Particulars:
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.
1
Print Run:
Condition Report:
1
Copy Number:
Condition Report:
1
Paper:
Condition Report:
1
Signed:
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Product DETAIL

The volume gathers Scutenaire’s brief early texts from 1924–1928, where razor-edged aphorism and dry paradox meet. The voice is anti-rhetorical: a clear, often biting minimalism that tilts the everyday toward the absurd. The two issues offer two experiences: ‘naked’ text (the ordinary issue) and text in dialogue with printmaking (the deluxe issue). Notably, the ordinary issue’s title page still reads “Dix Gravures de Roger van de Wouwer”, although the plates are not present. In the illustrated issue, ten large black etchings answer the text with restrained, charged imagery. The set thus becomes a double portrait of the same corpus: reading book and book-object.

Sombre printemps. Traduit de l’allemand par Ruth Henry et Robert Valançay.
Zürn, Unica · Bellmer, Hans
Sombre printemps. Traduit de l’allemand par Ruth Henry et Robert Valançay.

This large and sumptuous edition of Sombre printemps brings together one of Unica Zürn’s most haunting texts and an original burin frontispiece by Hans Bellmer. Issued by Pierre Belfond as the French translation of Dunkler Frühling, it appeared when Zürn’s name had become inseparable from Bellmer’s. That proximity is not merely biographical here; it shapes the entire aura of the book, in which text and image seem to emerge from the same disturbed inner world. The deluxe issue, printed on vélin d’Arches and accompanied by an additional proof on japon nacré, gives the volume a distinctly bibliophilic status. Bellmer’s signed frontispiece does not simply decorate the text, but stands as a visual counterpoint to Zürn’s claustrophobic prose. The publication is all the more poignant for having followed so closely upon Zürn’s death, as though the book became both tribute and posthumous memorial. Within the Cahiers du Regard, it ranks among the most charged and desirable collaborations. For the collector, this copy unites literary intensity, surrealist resonance, and exceptional material refinement.

Ill Book
€1,400
Les Mystères du Confessionnal
Bouvier · Bellmer, Hans
Les Mystères du Confessionnal

A rare illustrated book that explores the decadence and sensual darkness of Catholicism. Hans Bellmer's engravings transform Bouvier's texts into a graphic exploration of forbidden desires. This work, situated at the intersection of literature and art, reveals a unique symbiosis between the provocative texts on the dark side of religion and Bellmer's unsettling, surrealist aesthetic. Bellmer's nine original burin engravings unveil a world of physical and psychological ambiguity and attest to his mastery as a printmaker and his fascination with the human form in all its distortions. The book is a testament to the subversive power of the illustrated edition and the way art and literature can reinforce each other to create an unforgettable statement.

Ill Book
€4,000
Le Cœur à gaz
Tzara, Tristan · Delaunay, Sonia
Le Cœur à gaz

This spectacular bibliophile edition of *Le Cœur à gaz* merges poetry and avant-garde theatre in a visually striking object. Illustrated with twelve lithographs by Sonia Delaunay, including seven full-page plates, it showcases the collaboration between Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara and modernist artist Delaunay. The prints are based on her 1923 costume designs, evoking the radical spirit of the time.

Ill Book
€3,000
Führ 4 für vier
Garnier, Pierre · Finlay, Ian Hamilton · Gomringer, Eugen · Mon, Franz · Rühm, Gerhard · Kolář, Jiří · Spatola, Adriano · Williams, Emmett · Morellet, François · Kriwit, Ferdinand · Ulrichs, Timm
Führ 4 für vier

*Führ 4 für vier*, published in 1969, is an iconic collaborative work that completely blurs the boundaries between concrete poetry and concrete art. Edited by Jürgen Brenner and Kurt Weidemann, this large-format book-object brings together an international selection of the most important avant-garde voices of the 1960s. The work is not merely an anthology but a tactile and visual experiment where transparent sheets, serigraphs, and typographic compositions overlap. Featuring contributions from major figures such as Ian Hamilton Finlay, Eugen Gomringer, and François Morellet, it functions as a total work of art questioning the structural essence of language and form. The edition was strictly limited, and each copy was personally signed by all participating artists, confirming its status as a historical document. For the collector of concrete art and conceptual publications, this is an absolute cornerstone. Its physical execution as a blockbook with silver accents reflects the machine-like and minimalist aesthetics of the era.

Ill Book
€1,750
Studies & Dossiers
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The ‘destroyed’ copies of La lampe dans l’horloge

Books thrive on rumours. This is the story of a first issue Breton ‘made disappear’—and the copies that persisted.

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