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a red book with gold lettering on it sitting on a white surfacea close up of an open book on a white surfacean old book with a drawing of three people sitting on it
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Estimate €1,500 - €2,000
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Description
COCTEAU (Jean) Paris, Société Littéraire de France, 1919. *Le Potomak*, 1913–1914, preceded by a prospectus, 1916, and followed by *Les Eugènes de la guerre*, 1915. Small 8vo (19.2 x 12.4 cm), Jansenist-style binding in purple morocco, ribbed spine, gilt head, untrimmed, covers and spine preserved, slipcase (E. Hotat et fils).   First edition. Illustrated with reproductions of drawings by Cocteau, in a style reminiscent of both the Shadoks and a precursor to the Surrealists’ automatic drawing. Limited first edition of 62 numbered copies on Dutch laid paper; one of the 50 (no. 60) each containing an original drawing by the author.   ‘Accompanied by aphorisms, poems, disguised memories and pastiches, the Eugènes insinuate themselves into the jumble of madness known as “Potomak”, the creature of the depths that winds its way through this crisis notebook. The Potomak, a moral manual written to the sound of Stravinsky, stakes its claim on the harmonics that will emerge from the cacophony’ (Pierre Bergé, *Album Cocteau*, 2006, p. 71). A very fine copy.
See original version (French)
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About the sale Books, Manuscripts & Antique Engravings, including the José Luis Dotti Library
Auction location
Auction time 09/23/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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