HENRY (Maurice). Les Métamorphoses du Vide. [Paris], Les Edi - Lot 192

HENRY (Maurice). Les Métamorphoses du Vide. [Paris], Les Editions de Minuit, [1955]. In 4, [32] ff. of which 16 are openwork to reveal the motif on the next page, close to the system book. Publisher's green half cloth, top cover illustrated in color with a daylight motif revealing the first page, Editions de Minuit monogram on the second cover. Rare "livre à transformations" narrating the dreams of a man, Adrien. This copy, with its yellow cover and central cut-out, is the only princeps in existence, the very first edition having been destroyed in a fire in 1954. The technical nature of manufacturing makes it difficult or costly to produce an identical edition, so we often find only an unopened black reprint published shortly afterwards. Printed on both sides of each sheet in black with primary colors, for a total of 64 images. Artist's signature in the last plate, sometimes text printed in cursive within the images. This "dreamlike, poetic" work, with its cartoon-like dynamism, is considered one of the finest book-objects of the 20th century. Artist and poet Maurice Henry (1907-1984), a member of André Breton's group, is representative of the experimental spirit of Surrealism in the 1950s. Vignes, Bibliographie des Éditions de Minuit, 198. Inside spine slightly detached, but a fine copy.