La Guêpe
A crystalline Ponge pamphlet in which the “thing”—the wasp—is clinically observed and verbally dissected. Ponge’s prose-poem turns description into thought: language probes the object until it pushes back. Issued in Seghers’ Collection des 150, it typifies postwar bibliophily: modest in size, exacting in focus. Miguet’s deluxe binding elevates the fragile booklet to a sculptural object, the balsa onlay faintly recalling chitin and compound eyes. An exemplary union of modernist poetics and high craftsmanship for collectors.
Quantity
Ponge, Francis
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
La Guêpe
1945 | Paris | Pierre Seghers
A scarce head-issue copy of Ponge’s object poetics, in an elegant Miguet binding.
A crystalline Ponge pamphlet in which the “thing”—the wasp—is clinically observed and verbally dissected. Ponge’s prose-poem turns description into thought: language probes the object until it pushes back. Issued in Seghers’ Collection des 150, it typifies postwar bibliophily: modest in size, exacting in focus. Miguet’s deluxe binding elevates the fragile booklet to a sculptural object, the balsa onlay faintly recalling chitin and compound eyes. An exemplary union of modernist poetics and high craftsmanship for collectors.
€1,150
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-12 (Duodecimo) approx. 17 × 22 cm
Edition Particulars
One of the first 10 numbered copies on Chine.
Print Run
150
Copy Number
No. IV
Paper
Chine
1
Edition Particulars:
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Condition Report:
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Product DETAIL
Ponge dissects the wasp as a “thing”: form, motion, and menace compressed into a miniature treatise. The poem asks how language can approach the tangible without betraying it. Observation rubs against metaphor; where lyricism might swell, Ponge opts for dryness and precision. The wasp becomes an instrument for sharpening thought rather than venting feeling. At the edges, a flicker of wit: a sting as punctuation.
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
Book
€450
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
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
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€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.
