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47 - Robert DESNOS. *Le Vin est tiré*… Novel.
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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Description
Robert DESNOS. *Le Vin est tiré*… Novel. Paris, Gallimard, 1943. In-12, paperback, in a modern paper slipcase. First edition, of which no large-format copies were printed. A press copy to which the publication announcement on salmon-coloured paper has been attached. A precious autographed copy, signed on the flyleaf: ‘To Paul Éluard this poorly constructed book which owes only to its ferocity the esteem one might have for it To Nouche, affectionately Desnos’. A superb “exchange of letters” between two Resistance poets, in the midst of the war. On 19 February 1943, Robert Desnos and Paul Éluard met to prepare for the publication of *L’Honneur des poètes*, the Resistance anthology due to be published in July under the auspices of Éditions de Minuit, for which Éluard would assume literary direction from June onwards in the absence of Pierre de Lescure, who was being sought by the Gestapo. One can imagine that it was on that day that Desnos dedicated his book to Éluard and his partner Nusch. They were all active in the Resistance at the time. A year later, Desnos would be arrested. *Le Vin est tiré* is not merely a disillusioned novel about drug addiction—from which Desnos managed to free himself—but also “an allegory of the dark years and the struggle required to resist German subjugation.” Fond of proverbs, the poet alludes to the expression ‘Quand le vin est tiré il faut le boire’ (‘Once the wine is drawn, you must drink it’), which means one must bear the consequences of one’s actions… For the poet, the allusion is twofold. He has come to terms with the past: he has emerged from the world of opium. Now, he plunges into the murky and dangerous world of the Resistance because he is a ‘freedom addict’” (Anne Egger, Robert Desnos, p. 908).
See original version (French)
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About the sale Henri Michaux, the Sven Pitsey collection
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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