La Première Aventure Céléste de Mr Antipyrine
Janco, Marcel. Tzara, Tristan
Zürich. Collection Dada (l'imprimerie j heuberger). 1916, 20th Jul
Sold
An excellent copy of the first edition of Tzara's first book and the first publication of Zurich dada.
Although the edition is unspecified on the justification other than ten examples on 'Hollande' with hand-coloured woodcuts, Castleman gives an entire edition of 510 copies.
The wrappers for the book are considerably larger than the printed text and illustration and the Yapp edges are most often chipped and worn with consequent restoration; the present copy, entirely unrestored, is in exceptional condition with only some minor creasing and one very small tear to the wrapper edge.
' ... La Première Aventure Céleste de M. [sic] Antipyrine, une belle impression, hasardeuse, balbutié (les coquilles sont corrigées à la main); le texte est un poème-théâtre dont le lyrisme intense malmène l'attendu poétique ... Rien n'est plus émouvant que cette danse du text et des compositions somptueuses en regard ... un livre on ne peut plus simple, artisanal, parfait dans son imperfection.' (see 'Marcel Janco - Gravures et Reliefs' by Yves Peyré).
'When Janco went to Zurich to study architecture he met Arp and his own countryman Tzara. Together they constituted the core of Dada, bringing to the Cabaret Voltaire their tatses in art for exhibitions and their unconventional antics. After he and other Dada artists went to Paris he became disenchanted, particularly with those who were inclined to the theories that would mature into Surrealism.' (Castleman).
'It is the first volume of the Dada series and the first book published by Tzara, who was 19 at the time. Mr. Antipyrine's name comes from the pills the poet used to take against headaches and not from a certain type of fire extinguisher, as suggested sometimes. The volume includes a selection of his early poems, 'Cântece africane (African Songs)', the first Dada manifesto under his own name, not under the ones of his characters.' ('Tzara. Dada. Etc.').
[Berggruen 1; A Century of Artist's Books 176; Tzara. Dada. Etc. 5; Ex-Libris 5, 294; see 'Dada', Editions du Centre Pompidou, 2006].
Although the edition is unspecified on the justification other than ten examples on 'Hollande' with hand-coloured woodcuts, Castleman gives an entire edition of 510 copies.
The wrappers for the book are considerably larger than the printed text and illustration and the Yapp edges are most often chipped and worn with consequent restoration; the present copy, entirely unrestored, is in exceptional condition with only some minor creasing and one very small tear to the wrapper edge.
' ... La Première Aventure Céleste de M. [sic] Antipyrine, une belle impression, hasardeuse, balbutié (les coquilles sont corrigées à la main); le texte est un poème-théâtre dont le lyrisme intense malmène l'attendu poétique ... Rien n'est plus émouvant que cette danse du text et des compositions somptueuses en regard ... un livre on ne peut plus simple, artisanal, parfait dans son imperfection.' (see 'Marcel Janco - Gravures et Reliefs' by Yves Peyré).
'When Janco went to Zurich to study architecture he met Arp and his own countryman Tzara. Together they constituted the core of Dada, bringing to the Cabaret Voltaire their tatses in art for exhibitions and their unconventional antics. After he and other Dada artists went to Paris he became disenchanted, particularly with those who were inclined to the theories that would mature into Surrealism.' (Castleman).
'It is the first volume of the Dada series and the first book published by Tzara, who was 19 at the time. Mr. Antipyrine's name comes from the pills the poet used to take against headaches and not from a certain type of fire extinguisher, as suggested sometimes. The volume includes a selection of his early poems, 'Cântece africane (African Songs)', the first Dada manifesto under his own name, not under the ones of his characters.' ('Tzara. Dada. Etc.').
[Berggruen 1; A Century of Artist's Books 176; Tzara. Dada. Etc. 5; Ex-Libris 5, 294; see 'Dada', Editions du Centre Pompidou, 2006].
[8 unnumbered leaves]. 8vo. (235 x 166 mm). Printed title with blank verso and seven leaves with Tzara's verse drama 'La Première Aventure Céléste de Mr Antipyrine' with 6 full-page woodcut plates in azure and black and final monochrome woodcut tail-piece by Marcel Janco; three corrections in manuscript to text: 'LA PARABOLE' for 'LA PARAPOLE' (in pencil), 'chacun' for 'chaq' un' (in ink) and 's'aplatisse' for 's'aplatissa' (in ink), justification printed to rear wrapper recto. Original publisher's blue / grey stapled printed wrappers with typographic woodcut title by Janco in black with manuscript price: '2 Fr.' to front cover, printed advertisements to rear cover.
#45640
