La Dragonne
€450.00
*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
Quantity
Jarry, Alfred
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
La Dragonne
1943 | Paris | Gallimard
A rare posthumous Jarry, the volume is both a literary document and a first-rate large-paper copy. In this carefully presented state, it remains a highly desirable piece for any serious Jarry collection.
*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
€450
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-12 (Duodecimo) approx. 17 × 22 cm
Edition Particulars
One of 20 deluxe copies on vélin pur fil.
Print Run
20
Copy Number
No. III
Paper
vélin pur fil
Inscription
No inscription
1
Edition Particulars:
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Condition Report:
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Product DETAIL
The novel unfolds as a wayward and often disorienting prose text in which Jarry bends conventional narrative forms to his own purposes. Characters, situations, and tone seem constantly to shift, as though the book deliberately resisted any single, stable reading. Beneath that apparent caprice lies a sharp sense of parody and literary dismantling. The text belongs to the group of Jarry projects known only belatedly, and therefore carries the aura of a work transmitted through manuscript survival. Jean Saltas’s preface frames that publication and helps situate the volume within Jarry’s legacy. *La Dragonne* is thus at once a novel, a curiosity, and an important document of an exceptional literary career.
Ferry, Jean
Le Mécanicien et autres contes
*Le Mécanicien et autres contes* is the book through which Jean Ferry, in 1950, gave his singular prose its decisive form. The collection appeared in a restricted bibliophilic edition and immediately acquired the aura of a cult book. André Breton contributed an important foreword, printed in red, explicitly placing Ferry near the surrealist sensibility. The volume brings together absurdity, dream logic, and an exceptionally precise narrative voice. Pierre Faucheux’s restrained yet thoughtful design heightens that tension between modernity and strangeness. As the first edition, it is a key book for collectors interested in the less orthodox branches of surrealism.
Book
€550
Aragon, Louis · Aveline, Claude · Morgan, Claude
Ensemble de trois volumes clandestins et publics des Éditions de Minuit (1943–1946)
This set of three slim octavo pamphlets captures the book’s wartime double life: two clandestine Éditions de Minuit publications issued under the Occupation, followed by a “first public edition” after Liberation. It comprises *Le Musée Grévin* (Aragon, under the pseudonym François La Colère; achevé d’imprimer 6 October 1943) and *Le Temps Mort* (Claude Aveline, under Minervois; achevé d’imprimer 1 June 1944), both printed “aux dépens de quelques lettrés patriotes” and regarded as the original clandestine editions. Completing the trio is *La Marque de l’homme* (Claude Morgan, under Mortagne), published in 1946 as the “première édition publique,” in a limited run of 2,000 numbered copies—this copy being No. 1, the first off the presses. Together, the volumes trace Minuit’s passage from perilous secrecy to postwar legitimacy, while retaining the urgency of the Resistance moment. Condition is notably fine: original wrappers preserved, two covers lightly sunned, interiors immaculate.
Book
€400
Desnos, Robert
La Liberté ou l'Amour !
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
Book
€3,200
Michaux, Henri
Choix de poèmes
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.
