La Belle et la Bête. Journal d’un film
*La Belle et la Bête. Journal d’un film* is one of Cocteau’s most appealing hybrid books, poised between literature, cinema, and self-documentation. It is not a novelisation of the film, but the diary of its making, a text in which Cocteau records the creation of his work step by step. The reader is thus granted access to the workshop behind one of the most celebrated French films of the twentieth century. Published in 1946 by J. B. Janin, in immediate proximity to the film itself, the volume still carries the urgency of production, exhaustion, and wonder. The photographic plates after scenes from the film make it both a visual and a literary document. For the bibliophile, its attraction lies in the combination of cinematic importance and Cocteau’s personal voice. This copy gains further distinction through an inscription to Julien Cornilleau, with the names Jean Marais and Josette Day also appearing below in blue ink. It thus becomes not only an original edition linked to the film, but a tangible trace of the circle that brought it into being.
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Cocteau, Jean
La Belle et la Bête. Journal d’un film
1946 | Paris | J. B. Janin
A unique cinematic history document, signed by Cocteau and the entire legendary cast.
*La Belle et la Bête. Journal d’un film* is one of Cocteau’s most appealing hybrid books, poised between literature, cinema, and self-documentation. It is not a novelisation of the film, but the diary of its making, a text in which Cocteau records the creation of his work step by step. The reader is thus granted access to the workshop behind one of the most celebrated French films of the twentieth century. Published in 1946 by J. B. Janin, in immediate proximity to the film itself, the volume still carries the urgency of production, exhaustion, and wonder. The photographic plates after scenes from the film make it both a visual and a literary document. For the bibliophile, its attraction lies in the combination of cinematic importance and Cocteau’s personal voice. This copy gains further distinction through an inscription to Julien Cornilleau, with the names Jean Marais and Josette Day also appearing below in blue ink. It thus becomes not only an original edition linked to the film, but a tangible trace of the circle that brought it into being.
€950
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-12 (Duodecimo) approx. 17 × 22 cm
Edition Particulars
With autograph inscription to Julien Cornilleau and signed by Jean Marais and Josette Day.
Inscription
Envoi
Product DETAIL
At the centre of this book lies the making of Cocteau’s film *La Belle et la Bête*. In diary form, he records during the shoot and post-production the practical difficulties, artistic decisions, physical exhaustion, and moments of exhilaration that accompanied the project. The reader follows no fictional plot, but the concrete unfolding of a cinematic creation, through sets, lighting, actors, décor, and technical obstacles. Jean Marais, Josette Day, and the film crew appear throughout, directly or by implication. Cocteau shows how weather, illness, shortages, and invention constantly interact. The result is a vivid account of a work that is at once artisanal and visionary. The text documents not only a famous film, but Cocteau’s own understanding of cinema as a poetic machine. It is therefore at once a shooting diary, an artist’s testimony, and a meditation on creation under pressure.
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.
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Au rendez-vous allemand is one of the emblematic collections of Éluard’s wartime poetry. The book appeared in 1944 from Les Éditions de Minuit, the publishing house that, under the Occupation, became a moral landmark of the French literary Resistance. The volume gathers poems in which love, mourning, revolt and hope appear not as abstractions but as immediate necessities under German rule. The frontispiece, a portrait of the poet after Picasso, gives the book a powerful artistic signature: two voices of modern France, poet and artist, stand here in the same struggle. This is an ordinary, unnumbered copy, but signed by Éluard on the first page. That signature makes the book more than a Resistance document: it becomes a tangible witness to literary presence in a historically charged year. For the collector, it unites the clandestine aura of Minuit, Picasso’s name and Éluard’s own hand.
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A rare homage by Julien Gracq to André Breton, published by José Corti in a limited edition of 70 copies. This essay is both a powerful literary portrait and a visual tribute, thanks to Hans Bellmer’s iconic line portrait on the cover. Bellmer, known for his surrealist and psychosexual art, ties the book to the avant-garde movements of the 20th century. Gracq’s analysis is rigorous and insightful, reflecting his close engagement with Breton’s ideas. The collaboration between these two major figures and the fine print quality make this a coveted item for collectors of surrealist literature.
Illustrated Book
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