CHAR René Le Marteau sans maître. Suivie de Moulin Premier 1927-1935. Version définitive.

Goeppert/Cramer, 42.

first edition illustrated by Picasso.

One of 25 copies of the large paper issue on Arches wove paper, the only one to contain the original etching (and not a drypoint as erroneously indicated in the justification) by Picasso, who signed the justification in red pencil.

An association copy, printed for Dominique Corticchiato, none other than the son of the publisher and printer José Corti.

“It was Paul Eluard, one of Picasso’ closest friends since 1936, who told René Char how much Picasso liked his first book, Le Marteau sans maître, which had been published in 1934 by José Corti’s Édition Surréalistes. That edition of the book was accompanied by a drypoint by Wassily Kandinsky… In 1945, when the second edition of Le Marteau sans maître was to be published, Picasso gladly seized the opportunity of making an etching for the book he liked to much. The etching is dated January 9, 1945 and shows a face in which cubist and surrealist stylistic elements complement each other. The second edition of Le Marteau sans maître includes the original five collections of poems (Arsenal, 1929 ; Artine, 1930; L’Action de la justice est éteinte, 1931 ; Poèmes militants, 1932 ; and Abondance viendra, 1933), as well as a new series entitled Moulin premier (1936). The title of the book expresses the author’s desire to destroy the world with its empty idols and meaningless words in order to let the pure sounds of ‘verbal magic’ resound. These poems, primarily surrealist in inspiration, are dedicated to André Breton, Paul Eluard, Christian and Yvonne Zervos, among others” (Goeppert/Cramer).

Copy with corrected proofs

This copy is exceptionally enriched with 2 sets of corrected proofs. The first contains the additions and corrections made by René Char to a copy of the 1945 edition. To avoid too many changes to the edition, René Char notes at the beginning: ‘Attention! In order not to be obliged to change the entire pagination, we will use the extra blank page at the beginning of the book by moving back the half-title and the title page, etc.’. The poet corrected the list of his works, printed opposite the title page, and moved the dedication to his wife (which he had copied by hand). Page 11 now contains his poem ‘Vers quelle mer enragée’, which he took from a printed copy, mounted on a loose leaf and with the word ‘pressentie’ added to line 13. The body of the work is interspersed with a few typographical corrections and the pagination given in the table of contents is up to date. The printed cover contains several notes and corrections and reads: ‘Exemplaire corrigé pour la 3e édition’ (Corrected copy for the 3rd edition).

The second set of proofs was used for the 4th edition, published in 1963. It contains a number of autograph corrections, as well as handwritten observations relating in particular to the justification for this new edition.

A very fine set of this significant work by René Char.