Breton (André), Éluard (Paul) - Lot 101

Breton (André), Éluard (Paul) L'Immaculée Conception. Éditions Surréalistes, Librairie José Corti, Paris, 1930. Frontispiece (heliogravure reproduced in point) by Salvador Dali (Mischler-Löpsinger 2) in the one hundred and sixteen first copies (3 on chine, 13 on japon and 100 on hollande), which also feature the ink signature of the authors on the label. First edition (24 x 19 cm). Bound in marbled paper boards, title label on spine. The very first copy received by Valentine Hugo, enriched and annotated by herself, along with other documents, and where she underlined in green Breton's contribution and in amaranth Éluard's from the manuscript she had acquired to finance the edition. This copy, numbered 145, was the first received by Valentine Hugo, as she explains in an annotation at the beginning: "This copy arrived at my home (r. Vignon) by mail, without cover, marked with suspicious stamping. André Breton and Paul Éluard gave me another with the same dedication, deleting 'des auteurs'. Based on the manuscript I owned, which is now at Picasso's, I noted Breton's handwriting, underlined in green, and Éluard's, underlined in amaranth. The text of the copy is thus entirely underlined in green and amaranth in the passages corresponding to Breton and Éluard's respective contributions. Valentine Hugo also points out that she gave the dedication to Georges, Myrtille and Nicolas Hugnet for Christmas 1966. In all, 9 pages of the copy are annotated by Valentine Hugo, including the authors' bibliography, the missing dedication ("Exemplaire de Madame Valentine Hugo / 'Dans nos rapports avec l'existence / le tout est que nous avons un peu entretenu / le rythme' / affectueux hommage / André Breton / Paul Éluard"), and other comments, in particular: "p. 28 'Où il est au pouvoir de cet esprit de se soumettre à volonté les principales idées délirantes sans qu'il y aille pour lui d'un trouble durable'. Yes, but I saw André Breton (I was living at 9 rue Vignon in 1930, and had helped publish this work) in the salon overlooking the balcony on pl. de la Madeleine come to see me, on his way back from Cernay-la-Ville, quite downcast, almost haggard, from fatigue, coming as if to take refuge in the calm with Paul Éluard at the end of the afternoon, so weary that he had become gentle and charming and talkative, he who was so boring [biffé] secret usually. Paul Éluard had to go straight home, so tired was he". This note is of key importance to the realization of Essais de simulation des pathologies psychiatriques, noting that the mental effort required was anything but trivial and benign. This recalls Breton's comments on the automatic writing of Les Champs magnétiques ten years earlier, which he felt could lead to a form of mental derangement. Pages 45 to 48 are missing and have been replaced by Valentine Hugo with copies, also underlined. The copy on page 47 is duplicated, with an annotation stating that she "owned the large manuscript - ten years later I gave it to Picasso after noting the writing". This copy contains a handwritten note from Valentine Hugo listing the 3 copies she received: the present copy no. 145, the first, then copy no. 311 with the same dedication minus "des auteurs", and copy no. 2/5 HC on gold paper, which had been dedicated by Éluard to his wife Nusch on August 21, 1934, then re-dedicated to Valentine Hugo "qui aimait Nusch et que Nusch a tant aimée" on March 5, 1947 (given according to a note from Valentine Hugo to Cécile Éluard on February 5, 1955). Copy 00 on chine is not mentioned. Also included are 2 envelopes addressed by Éluard to Valentine Hugo (the first, 42 rue Fontaine, and the second 2 rue de Sontay), and one from Éluard's last wife with the note "merci, Valentine! Write often". Valentine Hugo has also inserted a leaflet with a list of Éluard's poems, a photograph and portrait drawing of Éluard that she owned and then sold to Marc Loliée, and a photograph of Éluard by Dora Maar with an explanatory leaflet stating that she received a signed copy of it from Éluard on rue Legendre. Provenance: Valentine Hugo; Jean-Paul Kahn.