Sims Reed Rare Books×

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].
[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

Other Items

Bigarrure
From the edition limited to 1162 copies.
£300
Icart, Louis. Hermant, AbelBigarrure1928
The World Through Lenses
Shimomura Shotaro's beautiful presentation series of 1930s Modernist travel photographs.
£17,500
Shimomura ShotaroThe World Through Lenses1935
Pantagruel. Les Horribles et Espouvantables Faictz...
André Derain's superb woodcuts - the only colour illustrations he made for a book - for François Rabelais' 'Pantagruel'.
£9,500
Derain, André. Nasier, Alcofrybas (Pseud. of François Rabelais)Pantagruel. Les Horribles et...1943
Les Fleurs Animées, par J.-J. Grandville
Grandville's 'Les Fleurs Animées', an excellent copy in the first publisher's cartonnage.
£5,500
Grandville, (Jean-Ignace-Everard Gérard)Les Fleurs Animées, par...1847
Un Autre Monde: Transformations, visions, incarnations,...
An excellent copy of Grandville's finest book and magnum opus, an extraordinary imaginative tour de force in the original publisher's polychromatic binding.
£9,500
Grandville, (Jean-Ignace-Everard Gérard). Delord, TaxileUn Autre Monde: Transformations,...1844
Les Papillons. Métamorphoses Terrestres des Peuples...
'Les Papillons' in the publisher's polychromatic binding.
£4,750
Varin, Amédée. Nus, Eugène & Antony MerayLes Papillons. Métamorphoses Terrestres...c.1852
Petrificada Petrificante. (Pétrifié Pétrifiante)
Tàpies illustrating Paz.
£5,500
Tapies. Paz, OctavioPetrificada Petrificante. (Pétrifié Pétrifiante)20th October, 1978
A Catalogue of Superobjects - Supercomfort...
The superb, subversive photographic portfolio satirising capitalism and communism.
£20,000
Komar & MelamidA Catalogue of Superobjects...1977
Aesop's Fables with his Life: in...
A superlative large paper copy in a contemporary English binding by the Barlow's Aesop Binder of Barlow's undoubted masterpiece of English book illustration.
£35,000
Barlow, Francis. (Aesop). Behn, AphraAesop's Fables with his...1687
La Petite Classe
An excellent, complete example of the de luxe issue of Louis Legrand's beautiful 'La Petite Classe'.
£12,500
Legrand, LouisLa Petite Classe1908