La Lune ou le Livre des poèmes (The Moon or the Book of Poems) [INSCRIBED BY ALBERT-BIROT]
Paris: Les Éditions Jean Budry, 1924. Hardcover. 1/25. Octavo. 3 plates, 229 [7]pp. Original half black Morocco over cream paper with Morocco lining at foredges and gilt lettering and date on spine, protected by modern mylar. Housed in Morocco paper-covered slipcase with lined leather foredge. Top edge silver. Cream endpapers. Title page with publisher's device and tissue guard. Gray paper spine with black lettering of original softcover bound in at rear.
No. 6 of 25 machine numbered copies of the deluxe edition on China paper. - Not in Monod. - Our copy with a full-page handwritten and signed 1966 inscription by the author to the Belgian author Jo Verbrugghen: ("For J.O. Verbrugghen this copy of "La Lune" on China paper–is a sure way to land on the moon, and even to return from it. Paris 1966 P. Albert-Birot."
A collection of poetry by the French avant-garde poet and dramatist Pierre Albert-Birot (1876-1967), partly with experimental typographic design that may be considered a precursor of "Concrete Poetry," published in a total of 326 copies. Between 1916 and 1919 Albert-Birot had published the journal "Sic", to which Apollinaire, Breton, Tzara, Picabia, Picasso, and Matisse, among others, contributed. - Provenance: Bibliothèque Jean E. Leclercq, with mounted morocco bookplate with gilt-stamped, framed owner's name on the second flyleaf recto. - Few leaves with minor imperfections in margins of pages, otherwise a very well-preserved copy of this bibliophilic treasure. Due to the inscription this is a unique item. Fine condition. Item #55894
Price: $4,500.00