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a book that is open on a white surfacean open book with a handwritten title on it
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60 - Paul ÉLUARD. *Facile*. Poems by Paul Éluard, photographs by …
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Estimate €5,000 - €6,000
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Description
Paul ÉLUARD. *Facile*. Poems by Paul Éluard, photographs by Man Ray. Paris, GLM, 1935. Large 8vo, tab-bound, black half-calf in the Bradel style, palladium title, Plexiglas covers, slipcase (D.H. Mercher). First edition. Copy numbered on vellum. A famous album featuring 12 photographs by Man Ray: these were reproduced using the heliogravure process. The front cover is illustrated with a photographic montage. Superb photographs by Man Ray featuring effects which he himself had experimented with and perfected: solarisation, shadow effects and double exposure. The text and images aim to celebrate the light falling on the naked body of Nusch, Paul Éluard’s partner. (Coron, Les Éditions GLM, bibliography, no. 73.) A beautiful autographed copy, signed on the half-title page: to Paulette and Monny de Boully / this book of happiness, / with all my affectionate best wishes, / Paul Éluard / Dec. ’46 Monny de Boully (1904–1968), a Franco-Serbian poet, and his wife Paulette Grobermann (1902–1995) were associated with the Surrealists. Two years later, Monny de Boully published *L’Ombre blanche* with Guy Lévis Mano, the publisher of *Facile*. Three original photographs by Man Ray of Nusch Éluard’s nude body, in the same format as the book, have been bound at the end. These prints from the 1960s bear a blue ink stamp on the reverse: “Original print / Man Ray Studio / Paris.” These are three images that were used to illustrate *Facile*: they were originally exhibited in 1938 at the International Exhibition of Surrealism. According to an accompanying note, the binding, carried out by D.H. Mercher, was designed by Man Ray.
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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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