Alfred Jarry.

Lot 9
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Alfred Jarry.
Ubu Roi. Drama in five acts in prose restored in its entirety as it was performed by the puppets of the Théâtre des Phynances in 1888 and the Théâtre de l'OEuvre on December 10, 1896, with music by Claude Terrasse. Paris, Édition du Mercure de France, 1897. In-12 : red half-maroquin à la Bradel with corners, untrimmed, gilt head, covers preserved (Bernasconi). Autographic facsimile edition, partly original. Printed at 300 copies, it reproduces for the first time the music of Claude Terrasse. One of ten numbered copies on Japon impérial (n° 19), the only deluxe edition after 10 Chine. Last publication of Jarry at the Mercure de France, probably without the consent of Alfred Vallette. A copy from the library of Paul Eluard, with his bookplate "Après moi le sommeil" drawn by Max Ernst: it is enriched with eight autograph documents addressed to Rachilde and Alfred Vallette by Alfred Jarry and Claude Terrasse, of which 4 are unpublished. Six autograph letters and cards signed by Alfred Jarry, notably: - a remarkable unpublished letter to Rachilde decorated with a dried butterfly, "the first butterfly of spring". He evokes with great humour Prrou and Minouphlette, Colette's and Rachilde's cats: Speaking of insects, we do not doubt the merits of 'Prrou' à Colette, but, as we would write in a Mirlitonesque monster for Terrasse: It is the Prrou-t-à Colette But how will Minouphlette [....] Will she keep her innocence in his presence? There is then a question of "phynances" promised by the natives of the Etron-Chaud and of little cardboard puppets that "spring has invited him to procreate". Jarry also alludes to a translation project with Doctor Saltas of Emmanuel Rhoïdis' satirical novel La Papesse Jeanne, which was to have appeared posthumously in 1908: La Dragonne is still on the drawing board, and so is the new in-18, but in fact we can only count on the Greek novel at Fasquelle - La Dragonne having been accepted -. Let us hope that our dear friend Saltas, in a commendable but too Peloponnesian haste, has not sent it back to its national calendars! (No place or date [Laval, early March 1906?], 4 pages in-12). - In a business card sent around February 8, 1907, Jarry promises his correspondent for Tuesday "even though it is Gras, that is to say closed, I believe to the outside public - some mauve candles and perhaps some edible things", as well as a new in-18° that he will bring back to Paris. - Two other postcards are addressed to Rachilde, one from Brussels illustrated with Manneken-Pis in full holiday dress, hand-coloured, signed Alfred Jarry, Eugène Demolder, P. Ubu, bearing "Ainsi avons-nous évangélisé le peuple" (postmarked 22 March 1902). The other one from Laval, probably from the beginning of 1906, attached to "two small books from Sansot's opening the series of our posthumous works". - An unpublished postcard and a letter are addressed to Alfred Vallette from Isère on February 26 and 29, 1904, while he was working with Claude Terrasse on the last painting of Pantagruel: The notables of Grand-Lempsiquois, by our care, speak the pure accent of M. Ubu. Ubu. [...] We have founded two schools that are enemies of these peaceful bowlers, called Conflabo and Riflacul" (1 page in-12). - One of the two letters from Claude Terrasse bound at the end of the volume, also evokes the writing of Pantagruel: We are terribly taken by our big machine. We still have a painting to finish, another to finalize and to review the whole thing [...] What a task! great god! Father Ubu had no idea (February 18, 1904, 1 1/4 page in-8). The second one was written after Jarry's death, on March 28, 1908, during the rehearsals of Ubu roi at the Théâtre Antoine. We also find mounted on the preliminary sheet a proof on China paper, numbered 5/20, of the real portrait of Monsieur Ubu, engraved on wood by Alfred Jarry. Used for the pre-original of 1896, this wood was replaced by a galvano plate in the later editions. Remarkable provenance that of Paul Eluard, a faithful defender of Alfred Jarry: he is notably the author of a text published on the occasion of the performance of Ubu enchaîné by Sylvain Itkine in 1937, entitled Mérite d'Ubu. The Lambiotte collection contained another copy of this edition on ordinary paper, bound in sow skin, also from the Eluard library (Sale IV, 1977). "Without doubt the greatest political novel of all world literature" (Charles Moser)
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