FR EN
1 / 2
an old book with a picture of a man on itan old book with a black and white photo of a man in a space suit
Premium Leducq Maison de Ventes aux enchères

184 - [NOZIÈRES]. Violette Nozières. Brussels, Éditions Nicolas Fl…
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,500 - €2,000
Sale commission
Description
[NOZIÈRES]. Violette Nozières. Brussels, Éditions Nicolas Flamel [E.L.T. Mesens], undated [1933]. In-8, paperback, illustrated cover, full margins, modern red paper slipcase. First edition: one of the 20 first-print copies on Holland paper, the only large-format paper (no. XVIII). A famous pamphlet published by the Surrealists in defence of the young Violette Nozières, who was sentenced to death for poisoning her parents with sleeping tablets. Whilst her mother survived, her father, whom she accused of incest, died. A symbol of society’s hypocrisy, Violette Nozières quickly became the muse of the Surrealists, who dedicated this collection of poems and drawings to her: “But the father, who could feel the fire of his locomotive just below his navel, was raping Violette in the garden arbour, amidst the shovel handles that inspired him; she would then return to study, caught between the ill-fated engine driver and her mother, who was plotting her revenge” (Benjamin Péret). André Breton believed that the father had given his daughter a “first name in the first part of which one can psychoanalytically unravel his agenda”. The illustration comprises 8 drawings by Salvador Dalí, Hans Arp, Yves Tanguy, Magritte, Max Ernst, Victor Brauner, Marcel Jean and Alberto Giacometti, based on texts by André Breton, René Char, Paul Éluard, Maurice Henry, Mesens, César Moro, Benjamin Péret and Gui Rosey. Handwritten dedication on the half-title page: To Madame Valentine Hugo, a tribute from the publisher Mesens, 13 April 1934 One of the founders of Surrealism in Belgium, Édouard Léon Théodore Mesens (1903–1971) operated under the pseudonym Éditions Nicolas Flamel. He later went on to run the London Gallery. A perfect copy, preserved as published, with full margins.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
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
You may also like