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Maître Jean Emmanuel PRUNIER
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[MANUSCRIPT] [SWITZERLAND] [MOUNTAINEERING] Rose & Espine, o…
See original version (French)
67
-
[MANUSCRIPT] [SWITZERLAND] [MOUNTAINEERING] Rose & Espine, o…
See original version (French)
Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
Voluntary lot
Description
[MANUSCRIPT] [SWITZERLAND] [MOUNTAINEERING] Rose & Espine, or the true, chronicle-like chronicle of the illustrious and veritable adventures of two poor wayfarers in the Oberland, together with a most vivid and honourable description of the said deeds and actions, narrated under the shade and protection of beautiful portraits and gallant paintings for the complete delight and orthodox enjoyment of all blessed readers
An extraordinary late 19th-century manuscript recounting a travel narrative in an extremely elaborate style, parodying Rabelais and his fantastical and linguistic world. The two protagonists of the tale are friends, presumably bound by strong ties, as the epistolary page and dedication reads ‘Dearest sir and beloved brother!!!’, under the fanciful names of Brother Pocula and Brother Trocquart.
The manuscript bears on its numbered first page a ‘notice’ with a fictitious publisher’s detail: ‘Pantin, at the author’s, at the bleeding leg of lamb, 18 October 1894”, followed by a page of moralising: “Upstream from your hole, do not strain to fart; like that fool at the bottom of a well who pissed all over the street”, signed Lor-a-Vac (most likely an anagram, albeit a difficult one to decipher). The third numbered page is the actual title page, ‘Rose & Espine’, featuring magnificent animal-themed initials.
A full calfskin binding of the period by Engel (a bookbinder known for his cardboard bindings produced on behalf of Hetzel, the publisher of Jules Verne), spine and covers richly decorated with gilded frames and motifs in the antique style, gilded scroll borders on the endpapers and marbled endpapers. Scuffing, small losses and cracks at the joints.
Complete collation of VII pp.; (1ff.), 343 handwritten text pages, each with a neat frame and without a single erasure, and XIII pages of plates. The work is divided into two parts: the first book with 17 chapters and the second book with 20 chapters and an epilogue.
Numerous in-text illustrations, a few out-of-text (all compiled in a table of engravings, each with a title), a wealth of initial letters, some of which are highly elaborate (a technique reminiscent of shadow puppetry, evoking the world of the ‘Black Cat of Montmartre’, is frequently employed), 35 mounted photographs, each enriched with ornamentation and drawings accompanying the photograph in a highly refined composition. Printed on laid paper, crafted in the style of an authentic print found amongst the finest books for discerning bibliophiles.
Through this highly erudite Rabelaisian language (the author clearly seeks to construct a genuine pseudo-Renaissance language, with archaic spelling, syntax, turns of phrase and vocabulary), we follow our two travellers from Lucerne to Oberhofen via Lake Lucerne, Lake Urner-see, Witznau, Gersau, a stop at the Tellsplatte site and Fluelen (and the Bristenstock mountain), Wasen, Goschenen (a photograph humorously captioned ‘Do give a good scrub, good folk, to the marvellous urinal at Groschenen’), Andermatt, the Schöllenen Gorges on the River Reuss between Goschenen and the Devil’s Bridge (the latter featured in a fine photograph showing ‘Trocquart’ sketching the scene), Uri (the famous Uri Tunnel featured in a photograph captioned “This is the very deep hole of Uri”), the Rhône Glacier, the Grimsel Pass, Handeck and the view of the River Aare, Meyringen and the Reichenbach Falls (where the famous character Sherlock Holmes met his end!), Brienz, the Giessbach Falls, Interlaken and Spiez, amongst others…
A veritable chronicle of Alpine adventures, these accounts of journeys through the Swiss Alps are told in the style of a genuine medieval legend, punctuated by the twists and turns, pranks and merriment characteristic of the genre. The extensive illustrations greatly enhance the heroic atmosphere; the photographs allow us both to admire the magnificent landscapes and to experience, alongside the two protagonists, these ‘stops’ along the route, which serve as breaks between hikes. Some photographs depicting the two companions themselves, striking carefully considered poses, make them endearing (photographs of ‘my friend Trocquart in the snow, on the descent from the Furca’, pipe in hand, and of ‘Trocquart amongst the rhododendrons’, or even the one captioned ‘This picture of Pocula in the snow is a bit of a contrarian image. You lovers of dogmatic truth, take it all with a pinch of salt and you’ll be well served’)
As for the initials, headings, lamp-base decorations and various drawings that adorn the manuscript (and frame the pasted-in photographs), they are brimming with references and lend the work great narrative interest.
Although identifying the two protagonists is difficult, the first two chapters are devoted to portraits of each of them, Pocula being the elder, born in Dammartin in Franche-Comté and evidently a veteran of the 1870 war, married to a woman from Île-de-France; Trocquart the younger, whose nickname derives from his past as a student of surgery in Paris. The resemblance to the iconic Verlaine–Rimbaud duo, moreover, leads us to believe that they may have served as inspiration for the creation of these two characters, who were fond of smoking and drinking. Consultant: Alexis Baude
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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