- Lot 536

Lot n° 536
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400 - 450 EUR
- Lot 536
Jean COCTEAU - Enigma. Poem. Paris], Les Éditions des Réverbères, [1939]. Brochure in-8 agenda, sewn. [16] pp. ORIGINAL EDITION. Manuscript text in capital letters of this major poem, entirely engraved with drypoint, about the enigma of existing and the "difficulty of being". Frontispiece by Jean Cocteau. Limited edition of 130 numbered copies justified in blue pencil and signed with the author's first name accompanied, as it is often the case, by a star (n° 116). Platelet became very rare - in a letter dated February 1952, the author specifies that he himself "does not possess a copy"! - (cf Cocteau, "Oeuvres poétiques complètes" Biblio de la Pléiade, 1999, p. 1711-1712). According to the same exegete of the poet, "It may be that the circulation was less than that announced" (ibid.). Finally, in all likelihood, the extreme fragility of the handmade paper made it difficult to withstand the test of engraving. This extremely rare booklet, not put on the market, was intended for the subscribers patrons of the magazine. It materializes the sympathetic help that the author gave to the group he publicly supported.
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