O solitude ! O fontaines !
*O solitude ! O fontaines !* belongs to the refined, understated poetry books through which GLM secured a distinctive place in the Parisian literary world of the 1930s. Paul Dermée, poet, critic, and early associate of the avant-garde, gathers here a sequence of poems centred on solitude, inwardness, and controlled lyrical tension. The reproduction of a drawing after Pablo Picasso gives the volume a discreet yet prestigious artistic frame. That alliance between typographic restraint and a major modern artist is precisely what makes the book so appealing to collectors. It was not conceived as a showpiece of luxury, but as a compact and carefully balanced poetic object. This copy acquires added individuality through Dermée’s autograph inscription to the poet René Lacôte. The two accompanying prospectuses further extend its documentary interest. The result is not only an original literary edition, but also a small archive of friendship, milieu, and poetic self-fashioning.
Quantity
Dermée, Paul
Picasso, Pablo
O solitude ! O fontaines !
1937 | Parijs | GLM (Guy Lévis-Mano)
A superb example of GLM typography, ennobled by the hand of Picasso. The association with René Lacôte and the accompanying documents make this a museum piece of the literary avant-garde. A rare testimony to friendship and poetic integrity in a turbulent era.
*O solitude ! O fontaines !* belongs to the refined, understated poetry books through which GLM secured a distinctive place in the Parisian literary world of the 1930s. Paul Dermée, poet, critic, and early associate of the avant-garde, gathers here a sequence of poems centred on solitude, inwardness, and controlled lyrical tension. The reproduction of a drawing after Pablo Picasso gives the volume a discreet yet prestigious artistic frame. That alliance between typographic restraint and a major modern artist is precisely what makes the book so appealing to collectors. It was not conceived as a showpiece of luxury, but as a compact and carefully balanced poetic object. This copy acquires added individuality through Dermée’s autograph inscription to the poet René Lacôte. The two accompanying prospectuses further extend its documentary interest. The result is not only an original literary edition, but also a small archive of friendship, milieu, and poetic self-fashioning.
€425
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-12 (Duodecimo) approx. 17 × 22 cm
Edition Particulars
Copy on vellum paper, enriched with an inscription from Paul Dermée to René Lacôte and two inserted prospectuses.
Print Run
275
Copy Number
No. 255
Paper
vélin
Inscription
Envoi
Product DETAIL
The collection contains a series of lyrical poems centered on themes of solitude, nature, and inner reflection. Paul Dermée employs a hushed language to describe the human condition and the solace found in one's surroundings. The poems are built around abstract images of fountains and silence, acting as metaphors for spiritual purification. The work exudes an atmosphere of intellectual isolation and poetic purity. Although Dermée has roots in the avant-garde, this collection demonstrates a more personal, almost classical lyricism. The text invites contemplation on the relationship between the individual and the world.
Michaux, Henri · Bettencourt, Pierre
Arriver à se réveiller
A rare first edition of Arriver à se réveiller, written by Henri Michaux in the tremulous post-war years. The text unfolds as an inward journey toward lucidity, where sleep and waking mirror each other. Printed and published by Pierre Bettencourt in his own workshop, the edition’s small run preserves the work’s intimacy. The title-page vignette, a linocut by Bettencourt, sets a spare, rhythmic visual key that amplifies Michaux’s vigilant, vulnerable tone. This copy is handsomely bound in brown morocco with balsa boards by Miguet, a tactile nod to lightness under tension. For bibliophiles, it is an exemplary union of poetry, craft, and experiment. The volume embodies the independence of the post-war small press and Michaux’s radical sensitivity.
Illustrated Book
€680
Éluard, Paul
Au rendez-vous allemand
Au rendez-vous allemand is one of the emblematic collections of Éluard’s wartime poetry. The book appeared in 1944 from Les Éditions de Minuit, the publishing house that, under the Occupation, became a moral landmark of the French literary Resistance. The volume gathers poems in which love, mourning, revolt and hope appear not as abstractions but as immediate necessities under German rule. The frontispiece, a portrait of the poet after Picasso, gives the book a powerful artistic signature: two voices of modern France, poet and artist, stand here in the same struggle. This is an ordinary, unnumbered copy, but signed by Éluard on the first page. That signature makes the book more than a Resistance document: it becomes a tangible witness to literary presence in a historically charged year. For the collector, it unites the clandestine aura of Minuit, Picasso’s name and Éluard’s own hand.
Illustrated Book
€350
Brillat-Savarin, Jean-Anthelme · Dufy, Raoul
Aphorismes et variétés.
An elegant *livre d’artiste* pairing Brillat-Savarin’s witty gastronomic aphorisms with twenty full-page original etchings by Raoul Dufy. Dufy’s airy, musical line lends the text a radiant cadence, turning the maxims into vignettes of conviviality and taste. Limited to 200 copies on Rives wove; this is no. 19, for the subscriber Mr Bernard-Beaumaine. Untrimmed copy with original covers and spine preserved, luxuriously rebound by F. Rousseau in 2001. Clear provenance enhances its appeal. Wrapper slightly toned; box with only the faintest rubbing. A refined encounter between culinary letters and modernist design.
