Le Parti pris des choses
These two copies of Le Parti pris des choses form a remarkable paired witness to Francis Ponge’s visit to Zurich in March 1949. The book itself is one of the decisive prose works of French modernity: not lyrical confession, but a precise encounter with the mute dignity of things. Ponge gives ordinary objects — soap, bread, an oyster, a pebble, a cigarette — a language at once exact, ironic and sensuous. The double inscription to Frank Thiessing and to Madame Frank Thiessing gives the pair a strongly personal resonance. Frank C. Thiessing belonged to the Swiss world of graphic design, publishing and visual modernism, notably in relation to Hans Erni. These copies therefore connect Ponge’s literary materialism with the artistic and typographic networks of post-war Zurich.
Quantity
Ponge, Francis
Le Parti pris des choses
1942 | Paris | Gallimard
A rarely meaningful pair: two copies of Ponge’s key book, both inscribed on the same day in Zurich. The combination of literary modernity, personal presentation and Swiss design provenance gives the ensemble unusual resonance.
These two copies of Le Parti pris des choses form a remarkable paired witness to Francis Ponge’s visit to Zurich in March 1949. The book itself is one of the decisive prose works of French modernity: not lyrical confession, but a precise encounter with the mute dignity of things. Ponge gives ordinary objects — soap, bread, an oyster, a pebble, a cigarette — a language at once exact, ironic and sensuous. The double inscription to Frank Thiessing and to Madame Frank Thiessing gives the pair a strongly personal resonance. Frank C. Thiessing belonged to the Swiss world of graphic design, publishing and visual modernism, notably in relation to Hans Erni. These copies therefore connect Ponge’s literary materialism with the artistic and typographic networks of post-war Zurich.
€1,300
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-12 (Duodecimo) approx. 17 × 22 cm
Edition Particulars
Two copies, each with an autograph presentation inscription by Francis Ponge: one to Frank Thiessing and one to Madame Frank Thiessing, both dated Zurich, 19 March 1949.
Inscription
Envoi
Product DETAIL
Le Parti pris des choses consists of short prose pieces in which Francis Ponge places a concrete object, natural phenomenon or everyday reality at the centre. The reader encounters bread, the oyster, the cigarette, the orange, rain, the pebble and the snail, among other subjects. Each text begins from close observation: form, surface, smell, texture, movement and use are examined as though the object were being granted its own voice. There is no continuous plot, but rather a sequence of linguistic and sensory approaches to the material world. Ponge tries to avoid the clichés of the lyrical self and to find a language that does not dominate things but comes near them. The collection is therefore description, meditation and poetic experiment at once. Its modernity lies in the shift from human emotion to objective attention.
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