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From Rome to Revolution: Paris Books Highlights

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The Books and Manuscripts sale in Paris on 30 October includes 15th and 16th-century French and Italian books, scientific rarities and 18th-century neo-classical French and English bindings in perfect condition. Other highlights include books by Picasso and Miró, unpublished manuscripts by Sade, as well as rare books by Marcel Broodthaers. The sale is led by three masterpieces - a unique monumental poster of the Déclaration des droits de l’homme printed in 1793, an exceptional copy of Piranesi’s Vedute di Roma, bound before 1780, and Louis Brun’s extraordinary editor copy of Du côté de chez Swann, inscribed to him by Proust. Click ahead to see a selection of highlights.

Livres et Manuscrits
30 October 2017 | Paris

From Rome to Revolution: Paris Books Highlights

  • Piranesi, Giambattista, Vedute Di Roma Disegnate ed Incise da Giambattista Piranesi Architetto Veneziano. [Rome, 1748-1775]. Estimate €50,000–80,000.
    The Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome) is Piranesi’s masterpiece, an exceptional set of etchings of ancient and modern Rome, which he spent his lifetime adding new plates to, while modifying the existing ones. This copy was composed in 1773, as shown by the presence of the catalogo (index leaf), which Piranesi updated when adding new plates to the series. It contains 107 plates. All were printed during Piranesi’s lifetime, half of them are in their earliest state, and they were bound immediately, a rare and remarkable trio of factors.

    Livres et Manuscrits
    30 October 2017 | Paris

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  • Révolution - Déclaration des Droits de L'homme 1793. Déclaration des Droits de L’homme et du Citoyen. Se Vend chez les Citoyens Robert et Arthur, a la Manufacture de Papiers Peints, Rue des Piques. a Paris [1793]. Estimate €100,000–150,000.
    This monumental poster of the 1793 ‘Déclaration des droits de l’homme’ was commissioned to hang in one of the Revolution’s public buildings during the Reign of Terror. More than 2.5 m high, it is of mixed techniques - wallpaper, stencil, woodcut, gouache and typography. It was designed by the famous ‘Maison Arthur et Robert’, whose director Jean-Jacques Arthur was a close friend to Robespierre and an active revolutionary. (He was beheaded two days after Robespierre in July 1794.) Public posters of the French Human rights as monumental as this one are excessively rare. Only two large format 1793 Declarations (but of a very different design) have been preserved in public collections. This one has remained unknown and can be considered unique.

    Livres et Manuscrits
    30 October 2017 | Paris

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  • 12 exceptional original drawings to illustrate "Juliette", commented by Sade. circa 1800. Estimate €40,000–60,000.
    This lot is essential to understand the publishing process of  Juliette , the most scandalous novel by Sade. Considered by R. Peyrefitte as the crowning jewel of his collection, this album includes a lot of unpublished documents such as extremely rare pornographic drawings (probably by Bornet) and autograph slips by Sade himself. This is one of the first times that the involvement of the writer in the choice of the illustrations is shown. It is a unique opportunity to compare the drawings and the engravings. It appears that the publisher and engraver took into consideration Sade’s remarks.

    Livres et Manuscrits
    30 October 2017 | Paris

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  • Proust. Du côté de chez Swann. Grasset, 1913.
    Estimate €400,000–600,000.
    One of the five copies on Japan paper, with an inscription to Louis Brun, bound with letters and manuscripts related to the publishing process. Among the eight manuscripts contained in the book, there is a very important letter from Proust to his publisher, Bernard Grasset, warning him of his intention to join the N.R.F, and two letters from Proust to Louis Brun where he sets up a promotional strategy. This copy is the one dedicated to Louis Brun , director of “Editions Grasset”. The dedication sums up the publishing history of La Recherche, initially printed in 1913 by Bernard Grasset and afterwards by Gallimard in 1916. This copy followed the same journey: firstly owned by Louis Brun, Grasset’s partner, and then by Roland Saucier, famous bibliophile and director of the Librairie Gallimard.

    Livres et Manuscrits
    30 October 2017 | Paris

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  • Saint Exupéry. Illustrated letters to his childhood friend, Charles Sallès. Estimate €30,000–50,000.
    This beautiful correspondence is illustrated and mostly unpublished. The letters follow Saint-Exupéry’s life from June 1917 to summer 1928 leading the reader through his career as a pilot and his debut as a writer. They allow us to admire his drawing skills, especially in a letter illustrated like a comic book where he is comparing his life to Sallès’s. Plus, they offer an insight into Saint-Exupéry’s mind. Sometimes, he confides in his friend about the difficulties of his job and his sorrow after the death of his sister, Marie-Madeleine.

    Livres et Manuscrits
    30 October 2017 | Paris

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  • Broodthaers, Marcel. Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard. Image. 1969. Estimate €8,000–10,000.
    This is one of the only 90 copies on tracing paper numbered and signed (n°62). Marcel Broodthaers made this extremely rare edition in tribute to Mallarmé using different pieces of ink to replace Mallarme’s words and imitating the Gallimard edition. He used more modern paper while respecting the right number of copies of the original edition. Two cardboards were added so that the reader can read despite the transparency of the tracing paper.

    Livres et Manuscrits
    30 October 2017 | Paris

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  • Picasso, Pablo – Iliazd, Pismo [Lettre]. [Paris], Latitud Cuarenta y Uno, [1948]. Estimate €20,000–30,000.
    One of the 50 copies on Japan paper (n° 14) including four etchings and two engravings by Picasso. After L’Afat in 1940, for the second time, Picasso and Iliazd were collaborating into the writing of this poetic letter which is an answer to Olga Djordjadze who asked the Russian poet in Cannes, in 1946, to write in Russian for her. This is one of the most ground-breaking works by Iliazd . In addition to the unusual mediums and the personalized typography, it offers a beautiful group of a few engravings by Picasso in a Cubist or in more classic style.

    Livres et Manuscrits
    30 October 2017 | Paris

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