Description
LEIRIS (Michel).
L’Afrique fantôme.
Paris: Librairie Gallimard, [1934]. — In-8, 227 x 140: 525 pp., (2 ff.), 32 plates, illustrated cover. Paperback, in a modern slipcase.
First edition of the travel diary of Michel Leiris’s journey from Dakar to Djibouti between 1931 and 1933.
‘These notes — taken during the ethnographic and linguistic expedition led by Marcel Griaule from Dakar to Djibouti and published virtually unedited — are not a historical account of that mission. They are simply a personal diary. Readers will find that in many places I come across as peculiar, sorrowful, difficult, biased — even unfair —, inhuman (or ‘human, all too human’), ungrateful, a false brother, and who knows what else? My aim has been, day by day, to describe this journey as I saw it, and myself as I am…’ (p. 9).
The edition is illustrated with a map and 31 photographic plates.
A press copy, which the author presented to Adrien Borel (1886–1966), bearing this autograph dedication signed on the first blank page:
To Dr Borel, // thanks to whom this book was able to be // written… // Michel Leiris
Adrien Borel, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, was Leiris’s analyst from 1929 onwards, a pivotal year in which the writer broke with Surrealism and turned towards ethnology. This dedication bears witness to Borel’s decisive influence on his work; his psychoanalysis liberated his expression and shaped his writing style.
A very well-preserved copy, largely uncut, complete with the insert.
Cover slightly soiled.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time
10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Lot description modified on 10/12/2026 at 10:15 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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