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a close up of a book on a white surface with the title of the bookan open book with a black and white image of a pair of shoesan open book with a black and white drawing on itan open book with a picture of a vase on itan open book with a drawing of a cat in a crown on top of it
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198 - Francis PONGE. Cinq sapates. Etchings by Georges Braque.
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Estimate €1,500 - €2,000
Sale commission
Description
Francis PONGE. Cinq sapates. Etchings by Georges Braque. Paris, 1950. Folio, loose-leaf, bound cover, publisher’s brown canvas slipcase. First edition: illustrated with five original half-page etchings by Georges Braque. A single print run of 101 copies, all on Richard de Bas Auvergne laid paper (no. 8). “This is indeed […] a book of great commitment: Ponge strove relentlessly to achieve the very best for this act of self-giving and the world; Braque did not merely slip compositions in the ‘Braque style’ between the pages, but immersed himself deeply in the subject and, on five astonishing occasions, reinterpreted the object under Ponge’s consideration. […] And the mutual freedom of the two members of this daring duo hardly seems to suffer from the absence of a publisher—far from it” (Yves Peyré). Autograph dedication signed on the half-title page, on which the name has, alas, been crossed out: To … whose precocious passion for beauty I admire – your old friend, Francis Ponge. This is undoubtedly Franz Hellens (1881–1972): the Belgian writer was a friend of Francis Ponge’s. He was also associated with Henri Michaux, whose first text he published in the journal he was then editing, *Le Disque vert*, and it was he who recommended Michaux to Jean Paulhan – whose role in Henri Michaux’s life, as we know, was subsequently significant. A few notes. (Peyré, *Peinture et Poésie*, p. 149.—Coron, *50 illustrated books since 1947*, no. 13: “Cinq sapates stands out not only as one of the finest books of the post-war period, but also as the purest of the books illustrated by the painter during the same period”. – The Artist and the Book, 1860–1960, no. 37.)
See original version (French)
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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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