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an old black and white photo of a handwritten poem on a piece of paperan old book with a black and white title on itan old book sitting on top of a table next to a white wall
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122 - DAMAS (Léon-Gontran).
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
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Description
DAMAS (Léon-Gontran). Pigments. Paris: GLM, 1937. — In-12, 192 x 142: (28 leaves, first and last blank), printed cover. Paperback. A first edition that has become very rare, with a preface by Robert Desnos and illustrated with a woodcut frontispiece by Frans Masereel. This collection is the work of Léon-Gontran Damas (1912–1978), a poet from French Guiana and one of the leading figures of the Negritude movement alongside Senghor and Césaire. *Pigments*, his first volume of poetry, rails against the assimilation imposed for three centuries by the colonial powers, and condemns colonisation, exoticism, racism and the bourgeoisie, urging Senegalese war veterans to demystify themselves. A few poems had already appeared in *Esprit* (1934) and *Les Cahiers du Sud* (1936). Published by Guy-Lévis Mano, the book was banned by the censors as soon as war was declared in 1939, due to its calls for critical awareness — or even rebellion — amongst black conscripts, whom Damas regarded as new slaves, largely unaffected, according to the poet, by conflicts within Europe. The engraving is fascinating, and has been analysed perfectly by Yves Bergeret: ‘Masereel, in a rather geometric style typical of the “modernist” movement of that era, depicts a young Black man, naked, bursting forth from an enormous starched shirt collar, symbolic of the financial power of the wealthy world. On the left, the great modern city parts, bowing; on the right, the more supple tropical trees also part. The black figure in the centre stands out like a dense, dark cloud billowing from a volcano. Frans Masereel did not carve this woodcut without recalling the Ballets Nègres, Joséphine Baker, or even the then-new craze for jazz. But his engraving does not seek to appeal to exoticism. It proclaims naked rebellion, the black figure standing out without transition (something the woodcut technique lends itself well to) against a white light reminiscent of an explosion.” He adds: “The space depicted in the engraving is significant: like the mouth of a volcano, the starched collar from which the black man emerges is adorned with a bow tie, a luxury of the white world; the symbolism is obvious, even naïve. But the white giant is decapitated. Behind him rises, as yet barely visible, a black people, their arms sometimes raised, exulting or dancing. The space is compressed; the engraving is narrow and cramped: one feels suffocated in this world. The tall tropical trees sway in the blast of the explosion; the buildings are sent flying at an angle. Yet the explosion marking the birth of ‘négritude’ does not destroy them: Masereel suggests that ‘négritude’ is part of the modern world, where it claims its rightful place; indeed, it will even enrich it. ” (Yves BERGERET, “Pigments by Léon Gontran Damas”, Histoire par l’image [online], accessed 30/08/2026. URL: http://histoire-image.org/etudes/pigments-leon-gontran-damas.) One of 270 copies printed on vellum (no. 204), featuring an autographed dedication by the author addressed to the poet and novelist René Arcos (1881–1959): To René Arcos // with warm regards from // the author // May 1937 // L. G. Damas Cover detached from the spine.
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About the sale Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time 10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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