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an image of a painting of a person sitting on a chairan open book with a picture of a colorful object on itan open book with a picture of a blue object and a red object on it
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71 - Paul ÉLUARD. À toute épreuve.
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Estimate €20,000 - €25,000
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Description
Paul ÉLUARD. À toute épreuve. À toute épreuve. Woodcuts by Joan Miró. Geneva, Gérald Cramer, 1958. Folio, taupe morocco leather, plain spine, large mosaic design on the covers in four shades (yellow, red, blue and black), black box linings, red box endpapers, edges gilt on markers, upper cover, illustrated, preserved and bound at the end, slipcase, case (Ivor Robinson, Oxford, 1959). First illustrated edition. Printed in a run of 130 copies on Arches vellum paper (no. 50). A marvellous book illustrated by Joan Miró, featuring 80 woodcut compositions in black and colour: “One of the most original and beautiful books of the century” (Riva Castleman). À toute épreuve is an exceptional book. Even if one might prefer the rigour of Parler seul, it displays such freedom, such inventiveness, with no lulls whatsoever; it is such a pleasure to leaf through it […] that one forgives Miró for having given these poems—some of which are comparable in their brevity to haikus—a visual presentation so different from that of the original edition: significantly greater, whilst being rendered almost too discreet in the display of forms and symbols that the woodcut has brought to the fore” (Antoine Coron). Twenty years later, Antoine Coron writes, Miró “attributed to this book, within his oeuvre, ‘capital’ importance, going so far as to write to Cramer on 17 October 1979: ‘It was with you that I began my career as an illustrator.’” Contemporary tripled mosaic binding by Ivor Robinson (1924– 2014), one of the leading English bookbinders of the 20th century. Spine and edges of the covers somewhat browned. The dust jacket is faded. (Cramer, *Joan Miró, Illustrated Books*, no. 49.—Coron, *From Goya to Max Ernst*, *Illustrated Books from the R.M. Library*, no. 68.—Castleman, *A Century of Artists’ Books, p. 101: the bibliographer notes “the truly exuberant embellishments that dance on the pages of this perfectly produced book.”)
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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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