Sims Reed Rare Books×

MERZ 4: BANALITÄTEN

Schwitters, Kurt

Hannover. Redaktion des Merzverlages. 1923, juli
Kurt Schwitters' 'MERZ 4: BANALITATEN'.

MERZ 4 features literary contributions from Schwitters, Soupault, Ribemont-Dessaignes, Tzara ('DADA est une promenade'), Hausmann ('CHAOPLASMA'), Malespine ('SENTIMENT (demi tarif)'), Arp ('Die Hasenkaserne') and El Lissitzky ('Topographie der Typographie'). As one might expect, the printed text in German or French, follows dada practise and caprice throughout.

Artistic contributors included Picasso (credited as Sacipos for 'Le Lonvoi' ('Violin'), Schwitters, van Doesburg, Arp, Segal and Moholy-Nagy.

'MERZ est le journal le plus sot du monde. Aus dem Inhalt: Malespine. Rellisverse. saci Pos. [Picasso]. Rietveld. Chaoplasma. Typographie usw.' (From the cover).

'Cet été les éléphants porteront des moustaches, ET VOUS?' (Philippe Soupault in the text).

[see Ades pp. 123 - 126 & 129 (for a detailed list of the content); see Le Fonds Paul Destribats 204].
[8 leaves; pp. 33 - 48]. 8vo. (230 x 146 mm). Printed text illustrated with monochrome illustrations of paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture and architectural projects as well as typographic text ornaments and dada typography; printed text and illustration on rose paper as issued. Original publisher's grey printed wrappers with typographic dada designs to covers, stapled as issued.
#47429

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