Poèmes
This extremely rare private edition of Alfred Jarry's Poèmes is a unique document in the Franco-Dutch literary exchange. The collection was printed between 1926 and 1928 at the initiative of the great Dutch writer and bibliophile E. du Perron, who held a deep admiration for Jarry's rebellious spirit. Limited to just thirty copies, not intended for trade, this work embodies the exclusive world of "editions printed for an amateur." The frontispiece features a powerful portrait of Jarry after a drawing by Picasso, underlining the connection between the father of pataphysics and the central figure of modernism. For the connoisseur, this book represents a rare synthesis of bibliophilic passion, international avant-garde, and literary friendship. It is a tangible testament to how Jarry's legacy lived on in the circles of early twentieth-century intellectuals.
Quantity
Jarry, Alfred
Picasso, Pablo
Poèmes
Aux frais d'un amateur [E. du Perron]
A rare literary gem from E. du Perron, where Jarry's verses and Picasso's line-work converge in an edition of only 30 copies.
This extremely rare private edition of Alfred Jarry's Poèmes is a unique document in the Franco-Dutch literary exchange. The collection was printed between 1926 and 1928 at the initiative of the great Dutch writer and bibliophile E. du Perron, who held a deep admiration for Jarry's rebellious spirit. Limited to just thirty copies, not intended for trade, this work embodies the exclusive world of "editions printed for an amateur." The frontispiece features a powerful portrait of Jarry after a drawing by Picasso, underlining the connection between the father of pataphysics and the central figure of modernism. For the connoisseur, this book represents a rare synthesis of bibliophilic passion, international avant-garde, and literary friendship. It is a tangible testament to how Jarry's legacy lived on in the circles of early twentieth-century intellectuals.
€750
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Edition Particulars
One of only 30 copies, printed at the expense of the poet-bibliophile E. du Perron.
Print Run
30
Product DETAIL
The collection gathers a selection of poetic texts by Alfred Jarry, showcasing his characteristic blend of symbolism, absurdism, and linguistic virtuosity. The poems explore themes such as death, sensuality, and the destruction of bourgeois values, often with a hermetic touch. Jarry uses unusual meters and neologisms to create an alienating effect on the reader. Central to the work is the tension between raw reality and pataphysical abstraction. The texts range from lyrical reflections to biting grotesques reminiscent of his Ubu cycle. E. du Perron selected these verses as a tribute to the "authentic" voice of the French poet. The simple typography keeps the focus on the text, without distracting ornamentation. The whole provides an intimate portrait of Jarry as a poet, separate from his better-known theatrical work.
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
Char, Rene · Stael, Nicolas de
Arrière-histoire du poème pulvérisé
*Arrière-histoire du poème pulvérisé* is a later illustrated edition of a key text in which René Char looks back on the genesis and inner background of *Le Poème pulvérisé*. Published in 1972 by Imprimerie Union, it opens with a colour frontispiece by Nicolas de Staël. The pairing of Char and de Staël is especially charged: two post-war voices, each seeking concentration, clarity, and rupture in his own medium. This copy is one of only six hors commerce copies on Arches and is signed. The autograph presentation inscription to Doctor Marcel Zara, with poetic quotation and October 1972 dating, makes it a deeply personal copy.
Illustrated Book
€920
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
The Architecture of Absurdity: Alfred Jarry, Pataphysics and the Destructive Aesthetics of the Ubu Cycle
From schoolyard prank to cultural revolution: how Alfred Jarry created Père Ubu and the science of pataphysics, permanently transforming modern theater, literature, and philosophy.