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Vache bleue dans une ville. Texte d'André Frénaud

Dubuffet, Jean. Frénaud, André

Paris. Mourlot, imprimeur, pour le compte de Pierre Seghers, éditeur. 1944
A beautiful copy of 'Vache bleue dans une ville' with a long manuscript poem by Frénaud and a superb association, uniting the poet, Frénaud, the artist, Dubuffet, Dubuffet's wife, Lili, and Frénaud's wife, the binder Monique Mathieu.

From the edition limited to 150 copies on Auvergne, numbered in blue crayon to the justification (rear wrapper).

Frénaud's extensive manuscript, the prose poem 'Ma petite vache', is in red ink to an inserted leaf recto and verso: 'Ma petite vache / à Lili et Jean Dubuffet / Si tendrement elle tournait vers moi son visage que / j'ai bientôt su que c'était moi-même qui me regar- / dais hypocrite voyeur mon faux semblable ô ma / sœur en vérité il n'y a rien que nous autres et / si soudaines vaches pour nous reconnaître avec une / aussi sereine complaisance et une langue de lan- / gage si bien pendante et une main de pis / à quatre doigts et avec ces cinq cornes dont / deux véritables et une oreille et une queue / et la si doucereuse langue sans tache, ma vache, / et elle portait sa bouse en tache fière sur son / justaucorps comme un blason, et Dubuffet / lui avait fait encore un soupçon d'universelle / géographie sur toute sa quadrature et des yeux / fastes pas cynique crénelés si affectueux, le / Dubuffet qui le 9 novembre 1944 m'a bien / affectionné, moi aussi, et d'ailleurs vous en êtes / une autre Monsieur Dubuffet et nous en ferons / encore des vaches et nos pis ne se dégonfleront / pas du tout à la vôtre / 31-1-45 / André Frénaud'.

'Vache Bleue dans une Ville' features a 1944 prose poem by André Frénaud dedicated to Jean Dubuffet (dated '20 juillet') paired with Dubuffet's lithograph 'Vache no. 4' with its dedication 'à André / Frénaud / amitié / J. Dubuffet' dated '9 Nov 44' as frontispiece. The book itself features the date 'le 25 décembre 1944' to the achevé d'imprimer while Frénaud's manuscript, another prose poem, is dated '31-1-45'. The book and its presentation unite Dubuffet and Frénaud, Dubuffet's wife Lili - also mentioned in Frénaud's presentation - as well as Frénaud's wife Monique Mathieu who bound the book, her abstract geometric motif recalling Dubuffet's frontispiece the 'Vache no. 4'. Frénaud's long manuscript - the Surrealist prose poem 'Ma petite vache' - reflects the language and content of the printed Surrealist prose poem 'Vache bleue dans une ville' (and the two were composed within six months of each other). The two works by Frénaud and the lithograph by Dubuffet reflect back and forth and are reinforced too by Monique Mathieu's abstraction to the front cover of the binding.

Dubuffet's lithograph 'Vache no. 4' was also included in his 'Matière et Mémoire ou les Lithographies à l'Ecole', the collection of lithographs he issued that were composed while he undertook a 'stage' at Mourlot Frères in 1944.

[Webel 51].
[5 unnumbered leaves including inserted leaf with Frénaud\''s presentation]. Square 8vo. (202 x 176 mm). Front wrapper / initial leaf with title, inserted blank leaf with elaborate presentation by Frénaud in red ink recto and verso, leaf with monochrome lithograph illustration ('Vache no. 4') with lithograph dedication: 'à André / Frénaud / amitié / J. Dubuffet / 9 Nov 44'), leaf with Frénaud's text 'à Jean Dubuffet' recto and verso, final leaf (rear wrapper) with conclusion of Frénaud's text recto and achevé d'imprimer and justification verso. Full blue limp crushed morocco by Monique Mathieu with her signature gilt and dated 1976, front cover with elaborate asymmetric excisions, inserted sections of asymmetric tan suede and blue toned calf to form an abstract geometric motif recalling a cow, morocco doublures and endleaves, original printed printed Auvergne wrappers with title to front cover and justification and achevé d'imprimer to rear wrapper preserved, chocolate reverse calf-lined blue cloth chemise with gilt title to spine and blue cloth slipcase.
#48673

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