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an open book with a drawing of a man and a woman on ita black book with red writing on it and a white backgrounda close up of a book with writing on itan open book with a drawing of a bird on it
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Estimate €4,500 - €5,000
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Description
Henri MICHAUX. Paintings and Drawings, with a foreword and captions taken from the author’s poetic works. Paris, Éditions du Point du Jour, 1946. Quarto, paperback, black cover printed in solid red, with the publisher’s slipcase and dust jacket. First edition with the preface. An important album containing 43 full-page reproductions of drawings and paintings by Henri Michaux, each protected by a red-printed border featuring extracts from the author’s poems. Printed in a run of 950 copies on Rives B.F.K. paper. One of the 13 copies reserved for the author and the publishers (copy C), printed especially for René Bertelé. It bears this long and beautiful autograph dedication, signed: FOR / RENÉ BERTELÉ, author of this book so beautiful / that at times I am embarrassed by it, / and ready to apologise for it and / compelled to acknowledge the very best / of friends, the most devoted, / the only one who could have / had this idea and the patience to / bring together the elements, at length, / artfully / H Michaux The dedication is accompanied by a superb original drawing, signed in Indian ink, covering the facing page. Enclosed are 18 proofs of the illustrations as well as an original photograph of a watercolour. This is the second book by Henri Michaux published by René Bertelé, shortly after *Apparitions*; this alone speaks to the value of its provenance, as the friendship between the two men only ended with the publisher’s death. The editors of the Pléiade highlight another of René Bertelé’s qualities: that of having understood, “with particular acuity, just how dual this work was, composed of words as much as images” – and we know just how much Michaux cherished this volume of *Peintures et Dessins*. (René Bertelé Collection Auction, 1997, lot 185.) (BnF, Henri Michaux, 1999, no. 102: “For *Peintures et dessins*, an extremely lavish publication for its time, Michaux wrote a preface (*En pensant au phénomène de la peinture*). […] When Paulhan read it, he was thrilled: ‘Listen, Henri, you absolutely must let me publish your “phenomenon of painting” in the *Cahiers* [of La Pléiade]. It’s marvellous […]. I’m completely moved by it.’”
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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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