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a pile of old papers that are on top of each otheran open book with a drawing of a person on a cross
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169 - Henri MICHAUX. Four Hundred Men on the Cross.
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Estimate €6,000 - €8,000
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Description
Henri MICHAUX. Four Hundred Men on the Cross. Saint-Maurice d’Ételan, Pierre Bettencourt, 1956. Quarto, paperback, cloth-bound cover, modern slipcase. First edition: limited print run of 270 copies. One of the 10 special copies reprinted on pearlescent Japanese paper (no. 8): it is accompanied by the typescript of the work (7½ pages in quarto format containing numerous handwritten corrections and deletions). Autograph inscription signed by the author: “Begun in 1952.” A remarkable publication by Pierre Bettencourt, distinguished by its original layout. “Michaux is perfectly at home here, and the reader contemplates this book of dialogue that resonates within them. […] This little book is a masterpiece of empathy. The accuracy of the inspiration that flows through the page and establishes its typographical truth is striking. The result, so miraculous, filled Michaux with wonder; he was always astonished to have been understood to such an extent” (Yves Peyré). It is illustrated with three out-of-text drawings by Henri Michaux depicting Christ on the cross, reproduced as photogravures. “Some copies will even contain only two: present at the end of the binding process in Saint-Maurice-d’Ételan, Henri Michaux had removed one of the three drawings, as the bottom of the monogram had been cut off” (Jean-Pierre Martin, p. 494). He referred to this with humour in a letter to Jean Paulhan when sending him a copy: “From the fine Bettencourt (typographically), two poor drawings and… an experiment.” One of the three illustrations bears Henri Michaux’s autograph initials in pencil, as is customary for the first copies printed on Japanese paper. (Peyré, Peinture et poésie, p. 156.- Imbert, Nomenclature des livres et plaquettes publiés ou édités par Pierre Bettencourt, p. 34 no. 20.- BnF, Henri Michaux, peindre, composer, écrire, Paris, 1999, no. 170: “A sculptor and writer, but also a lover of books as objects and, as such, a typographer and layout designer, Pierre Bettencourt produced, between 1939 and 1956 on his own press, fifty-four small books entirely designed by himself. This one, whose typographical virtuosity is dazzling, is the last in the series.”)
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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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