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an open book with a drawing of a horse and a bird on itan open book with a drawing of a man on a horsea brown book with a cover open and a bookmark in the middle
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140 - Henri MICHAUX. Exorcisms.
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Estimate €4,000 - €5,000
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Description
Henri MICHAUX. Exorcisms. Paris, Robert J. Godet, 1943. Small quarto, paperback, hardback-style cover, slipcase by Annie Boige. First edition: illustrated with 12 full-page drawings within the text and a four-colour print on coated paper. Limited edition of 277 copies: one of the 250 on vellum (no. 97). Superb autograph dedication signed in Indian ink, accompanied by original drawings by René Bertelé on the half-title page: May the sorcerers and a few of their EXORCISMS be of help to you … or at least provide inspiration with the friendship of Henri Michaux. from the collection of René Bertelé The drawings depict a group of three figures and an eye. (Drawings reproduced in *La Pléiade* I, p. 1345.) Also enclosed is an original drawing in Indian ink, signed HM (26.8 x 20.8 cm), depicting an abstract figure in motion which does not form part of the book. In 1943, when *Les Exorcismes* was published, René Bertelé (1908–1973) had only recently met Henri Michaux: they met in Marseille in April 1942, whilst Bertelé was preparing a *Panorama of Young French Poetry*. Three years later, in 1946, he published two major works by Henri Michaux: *Apparitions* and then *Peintures et Dessins*. And, to top it all off, on 15 September 1946, Seghers published, as part of the famous *Poètes d’aujourd’hui* collection, the first monograph devoted to Michaux, written by none other than Bertelé himself. The very warm dedication on this copy of *Exorcismes* would thus be the first indication of a friendship between the two men that never wavered. The drawing and the book are contained in a very elegant box by Annie Boige. (René Bertelé Collection Auction, 1997, lot 177, with a reproduction of the dedication.- Imbert, Robert J. Godet, editor of Bataille, Michaux and Desnos, 2000, no. 9. – Peyré, Painting and Poetry: Dialogue through the Book, no. 44.)
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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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