Le Mécanicien et autres contes

Emmène-moi au bout du monde !... marks Blaise Cendrars' triumphant return to the novel after a long hiatus. Published in 1956 by Denoël, this work is an explosive blend of the theatrical world, Parisian intrigue, and Cendrars' signature raw vitality. Dedicated to the actress Marguerite Moreno, the book captures the atmosphere of post-war Paris. This specific deluxe copy on large paper bears witness to Cendrars' status as one of the great masters of modern French literature. The text is a feverish journey through the human soul and the physical city. For the bibliophile, this rare early printing represents the essence of Cendrars' late style.

*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

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.

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