[Egypt]. SVED, Etienne. [Jean COCTEAU]. - Lot 208

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  3. [Egypt]. SVED, Etienne. [Jean COCTEAU]. - Lot 208
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Lot n° 208
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[Egypt]. SVED, Etienne. [Jean COCTEAU]. - Lot 208
[Egypt]. SVED, Etienne. [Jean COCTEAU]. [Maalesh. Preparatory study with original prints]. No place, no publisher, (ca. 1950s–1960s). Small folio, (20) pp., text excerpts mounted alongside 27 black-and-white silver gelatin prints. Bound in a sturdy paper slipcase, the front cover of which is covered with a large black-and-white silver gelatin print depicting a photomontage of the title, pages of card stock under tracing paper (a few slight stains and foxing spots on some prints; slight shrinkage of the paper; edges of the cover photo slightly worn and dog-eared; stains on the tracing paper). Probably a mock-up created using original silver gelatin prints for the intended publication of *Cocteau et Sved*, which was ultimately published only in 2003. Featuring 9 large prints (approx. 25.5 x 33 cm) and 18 small or medium-sized prints (approx. 14 x 18 or 16 x 20 cm) depicting views of ancient sites, men and women of Egypt, dressed or nude, portraits... The large photomontage with the title on the front cover likely shows the actual cover design that was intended for the book. The last page contains preparatory notes in pencil regarding the cost of publication, the number of photographs and pages of text, as well as the printing processes and paper types under consideration (offset, weight). These annotations may have been written by Etienne Sved or by a publisher. *Maalesh, Voyages en Égypte* is a collaborative work combining text by Jean Cocteau and images by photographer Etienne Sved. In 1949, Jean Cocteau wrote *Maalesh, Journal of a Theater Tour* (1950, Gallimard) following a trip and theatrical performances in the Middle East. In 1951, the Hungarian-born photographer Etienne Sved, who had lived in Egypt, conceived a visual correspondence between his photographs of Egypt and Cocteau’s text. Conceived in the early 1950s, this project for a poetic photo-novel remained in manuscript/draft form for more than 50 years before finally seeing the light of day in 2003, published by Le Bec en l’air in collaboration with the Nicéphore Niépce Museum.
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