Sims Reed Rare Books×

La Lunette Farcie

Dubuffet, Jean

Alès / Paris. PAB. (P[ierre]. A[ndré]. B[enoit].). 1963
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Dubuffet's extraordinary collaboration with PAB, a scintillating exemplar of inventive typography and illustration.

From the edition limited to 55 copies signed by Dubuffet on the justification, with this one of 5 hors commerce examples inscribed 'H. C.'.

Dubuffet's extraordinary collaboration with PAB features swirling typographic arrangements - the text appears to be rubber stamped - of Dubuffet's words that dominate the pages. Dubuffet's original lithographs provide windows in each blizzard of words that open onto different worlds. PAB seems to have confined himself, unusually it must be said, to creating the mise en page for the book which combines Dubuffet's words with his own lithographs. The text was printed by l'Imprimerie Union and the lithographs by Serge Lozingot on the artist's own press.

'He [Dubuffet] created the atmospheric abstractions by chance, experimenting with a variety of 'accidental' happenings to produce textures on the lithographic plates, which might include indiscriminate scratching and the random exposure of the plates to fire, liquid, dirt, or other elements. Otherworldly images are surrounded by the artist's ramblings that consist of words arranged more by sound or look than by meaning. The unpunctuated writing, reproducing the artist's own stenciled [sic] words, is placed in different orientations around the pages, making the text even more problematic.' (From the MoMA catalogue).

'Les lithographies illustrant cet ouvrage ont été composées à partir des matrices utilisées pour les planches des Phénomènes.' (Webel II, pg. 34).

[Livres Réalisés de P. A. Benoit 425; Webel 882 - 895].
[4 bifolia: 8 unnumbered leaves]. Folio. (445 x 390 mm). Printed dedication from Dubuffet to P. A. Benoit dated 'Janvier 1962' to verso of first leaf (recto blank), six leaves with Dubuffet's text recto and verso with 10 original colour lithographs, verso of final text leaf with achevé d'imprimer and justification, final leaf recto with 'exemplaire' and manuscript number and Dubuffet's signature. Loose as issued in original publisher's printed lithograph wrapper with flaps by Dubuffet, original publisher's black cloth portfolio with flaps and ties, printed title in white to front cover.
#48728

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