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Lettre contre la cabbale
adressée à Jacques Prevel

SKU LETT-008

*Lettre contre la cabbale adressée à Jacques Prevel* belongs to Artaud’s late, incandescent texts, where letter, accusation, and conjuration converge. Its addressee, Jacques Prevel, was one of the intimate witnesses of Artaud’s final years and recorded his words and gestures at close range. This 1949 edition appeared shortly after Artaud’s death and carries the tension of a text at once personal, polemical, and visionary. The edition on white vellum makes the text less inaccessible than manuscript material or deluxe issues, while preserving the force of an autonomous Artaud publication. This copy is number 420 of 1,800.

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Lettre contre la cabbale
adressée à Jacques Prevel
1949 | Parijs | A Paris Chez Jacques Haumont
A late Artaud letter as an incandescent document of struggle, suspicion, and poetic disruption.

*Lettre contre la cabbale adressée à Jacques Prevel* belongs to Artaud’s late, incandescent texts, where letter, accusation, and conjuration converge. Its addressee, Jacques Prevel, was one of the intimate witnesses of Artaud’s final years and recorded his words and gestures at close range. This 1949 edition appeared shortly after Artaud’s death and carries the tension of a text at once personal, polemical, and visionary. The edition on white vellum makes the text less inaccessible than manuscript material or deluxe issues, while preserving the force of an autonomous Artaud publication. This copy is number 420 of 1,800.

€220
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-18 (approx. 17x11 cm)
Edition Particulars
One of 1,800 numbered copies on white vellum.
Print Run
1800
Copy Number
No. 420
Paper
Vélin blanc
Inscription
No inscription

Product DETAIL

In this work Antonin Artaud addresses Jacques Prevel directly to express his horror of the Kabbalah and numerology. He describes how these systems in his view imprison the human spirit in a web of abstract symbols and artificial structures. Artaud prefers physical reality and the pain of existence over the 'lies' of esotericism. The text is structured as a feverish monologue in which he attacks the hierarchies of the cosmos. He warns Prevel against the spiritual dangers of these doctrines. Ultimately it is a plea for a return to physicality and the liberation of the soul from religious dogmas. The text carries the atmosphere of his stay in Rodez and its aftermath.

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Studies & Dossiers
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When a Signature Becomes Provenance

A signature confirms; a dedication connects; an association copy tells a story.

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The Fragile Meaning of ‘Complet’

In auction descriptions, “complete” often sounds reassuring — but it is only meaningful when verified against the colophon, the justification, and the bibliography. For The Hidden Page, clarity begins where vague market language ends.

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The Avant-Garde and the Illustrated Word

How the Twentieth Century Recast the Book as an Artistic and Ideological Medium

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