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Terraqué

SKU TERR-003
Price

€1,500.00

Guillevic’s first book, issued by NRF in 1942, here in an elegant later binding by Mercher. The austere, elemental verse matches the crisp presentation. This review copy bears a fine presentation to “Bizza,” dated 1942, lending notable provenance. With no large-paper issue, attractive copies of the original edition are scarce. A key item for collectors of French poetry and art bindings.

Quantity

Terraqué
1942 | Paris | Gallimard (NRF)
An early, pure Guillevic in exemplary condition, with strong provenance and an elegant Mercher binding. An exemplary meeting of poetry, history and the book arts.

Guillevic’s first book, issued by NRF in 1942, here in an elegant later binding by Mercher. The austere, elemental verse matches the crisp presentation. This review copy bears a fine presentation to “Bizza,” dated 1942, lending notable provenance. With no large-paper issue, attractive copies of the original edition are scarce. A key item for collectors of French poetry and art bindings.

€1,500
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-8 (Octavo) approx. 20 × 26 cm
Edition Particulars
Review copy with fine presentation to “Bizza,” 1942; no large-paper issue.
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Product DETAIL

A compact, cyclic collection where earth and water set the keynote. The poems pursue simplicity, with an almost geological gaze on being. Sea, rock, wind and coastline appear as entities rather than scenery. Wartime austerity inflects the spare metaphors. Short lines, taut musicality, and measured silences shape the voice. The book invites contemplation without rhetoric.

La Dragonne
Jarry, Alfred
La Dragonne

*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

Book
€450
Le Mécanicien et autres contes
Ferry, Jean
Le Mécanicien et autres contes

*Le Mécanicien et autres contes* is the book through which Jean Ferry, in 1950, gave his singular prose its decisive form. The collection appeared in a restricted bibliophilic edition and immediately acquired the aura of a cult book. André Breton contributed an important foreword, printed in red, explicitly placing Ferry near the surrealist sensibility. The volume brings together absurdity, dream logic, and an exceptionally precise narrative voice. Pierre Faucheux’s restrained yet thoughtful design heightens that tension between modernity and strangeness. As the first edition, it is a key book for collectors interested in the less orthodox branches of surrealism.

Book
€550
La Liberté ou l'Amour !
Desnos, Robert
La Liberté ou l'Amour !

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

Book
€3,200
Choix de poèmes
Michaux, Henri
Choix de poèmes

In Choix de poèmes, Michaux’s poetic trajectory is gathered into a compact, portable compass. This édition originale collective was issued by NRF in 1976; the present copy is from the minute head issue of fifteen on vélin pur fil. Miguet’s sober Havana-morocco binding, with panelled frame, marries elegance to rigor—akin to a voice moving between vision and observation. The selection shows the steady pursuit of inner landscapes and linguistic shock. For bibliophiles, luxury paper, original state and atelier binding make a persuasive triad. Provenance from Jacques Dauchez provides a discreet, eloquent seal.

Book
€700
Studies & Dossiers
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Size does (not) matter:

The Paradoxical Power of Format in Avant-Garde Book Art

203e4e834856636f8fcdaae43f6beebe1f11fd74.jpg
Size does (not) matter:

The Paradoxical Power of Format in Avant-Garde Book Art

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