Cocteau, Jean

Dessins [first edition, with original drawing bound in]

Paris: Librairie Stock, 1923. First edition. Quarto. [272] pp. Original printed wrappers, glassine. Some minor handling wear, front and rear cover slightly shorter than text block, near fine. Of a total edition of 625 copies, this is one of 100 copies on Madagascar, with an original drawing by Cocteau bound in with annotated title (“avec dessin ou annotation de l’auteur sur page de garde”). The drawing is of a terrier with a bow on its collar, initialed and annotated by the artist, “Chien fait par Picasso dans un seul bout de carton.”

A beautiful, fairly early collection of Cocteau’s drawings, printed on rectos only and presented without text in some thematic sections (including “Le mauvais lieu,” which includes scenes of bars populated by cross-dressers, same-sex couples, and others), and many portraits, including Satie, Radiguet, Bakst, and Picasso, to whom the book is dedicated. Housed in a custom clamshell box. OCLC locates less than twenty copies in America across several records. Item #1962

Price: $6,000.00