Description
MORAND (Paul).
USA 1927. Album of lyrical photographs.
Paris: Published for the pleasure of ‘Plaisir de bibliophile’, 1928. — In-16, 165 x 125: 139 pp., (2 blank leaves at the end), typographic cover. Paperback, padded cover.
First edition of this collection of free-verse poems, recounting Morand’s journey across the United States in 1927.
In this work, the Black presence features prominently, through the discovery of Harlem and Black American culture. The collection includes poems inspired by jazz, the cakewalk and the vibrancy of the Harlem Renaissance. At the Pennsylvania Hotel, Morand recorded his ‘certificates of life’ on a dictaphone — some of which focus on Black neighbourhoods and the music that captivated him.
The edition was printed landscape-style, in the manner of a railway timetable, evoking the movement of a train travelling across the country. It is illustrated with 18 ornaments in two shades of brown by the decorator and bookbinder Pierre Legrain (1889–1929).
The print run was limited to 650 copies, plus a few non-commercial copies, printed on vellum paper.
This copy bears the number 538 and is in very good condition.
Also included, by the same author:
- Syracuse (U.S.A.). Paris: Grasset, 1928. — In-12, 191 x 142: 54 pp., (5 ff., last page blank), typographic cover. Paperback, padded cover.
First edition of this novella. It is the first of only two titles published in the luxury collection ‘Les 4 M’, the second being Montherlant’s *Les Iles de la Félicité*, published in 1929.
One of the first 36 numbered copies from Madagascar (no. 27).
Scattered foxing.
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
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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