Picasso and the Human Comedy [cover title] First Edition - Pablo Picasso - Bauman Rare Books

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Picasso and the Human Comedy [cover title]

Pablo PICASSO

Item#: 117098 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Picasso and the Human Comedy [cover title]

Picasso and the Human Comedy [cover title]

Picasso and the Human Comedy [cover title]

"AT ONCE ENTIRELY CHASTE AND EXTREMELY EROTIC": PICASSO AND THE HUMAN COMEDY, 1954 FOLIO FIRST EDITION, WITH 180 PLATES, INCLUDING 12 ORIGINAL COLOR LITHOGRAPHS

PICASSO, Pablo. A Suite of 180 Drawings… Picasso and the Human Comedy. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, (1954). Folio, original pictorial boards, original dust jacket.

First edition of this suite of drawings made by Picasso in Vallauris from November 1953 to February 1954, at the age of 72 and "during a period of acute emotional disturbance." With 180 plates, 16 in color, including 12 original color lithographs, in original boards designed by the artist.

"A short time ago there occurred what is perhaps the most prodigious artistic event of the present century. Pablo Picass, at the age of 72, opened his sketchbook on the 28th of November 1953, and went on drawing in a frenzy of industry until the third of February, 1954… Picasso simply set down on paper the images which passed thorough his mind during those nine weeks, which were for him a period of acute emotional disturbance. This volume takes us, therefore, inside the mind of the most gifted artist of the time" (Rebecca West). This book contains this entire series of drawings, and includes a cover Picasso designed for this work, as well as 12 original color lithographs. This series originally appeared as a double issue of the French art magazine Verve. "Last winter… Picasso was working indefatigably on this series of drawings, which rank among his finest, boldest, and most poignantly human of all he has produced in the course of his long and brilliant career… We have published the series of drawings in its entirety. They form an organic whole… All the drawings are reproduced in the exact size of the originals and in the chronological order of their making" (Preface). Includes Michel Leiris' essay "Picasso and the Human Comedy." Contemporary newspaper clipping of a review of the work tipped to front flap of dust jacket.

Book bright and clean, with edge-toning and chip to spine head. Dust jacket with splits along spine folds, some chipping to top edge, with two tape repairs on verso. A very good copy of this scarce title.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
Association Copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
Book-Plate Label, generally affixed to the front pastedown, identifying a book’s owner.
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Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
Colophon Printed note at the end of a text containing information about the printing of the book.
Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
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Errata List of mistakes and corrections noted after printing, often compiled on a separate sheet or slip and inserted into the text block.
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Half Title Leaf preceding the title page that bears the book’s title, originally used to identify the unbound text block. The book’s binder would often remove and discard the half title at the time of binding. Remaining half-titles are therefore of interest to collectors.
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Incunable From the cradle of printing, i.e., any book printed before 1501.
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Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
Lithograph Illustration produced by transferring an image drawn on a carefully prepared stone to paper. The process allowed illustrations to more closely resemble the original drawings, paintings or sketches, as it gave the lithographer a freedom of line impossible to achieve in earlier intaglio and relief processes. It does not require the same sort of pressure as an engraving to transfer the image, but still has to be printed on separate stock from the text
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Morocco Binding material made from goatskin—versatile, durable, with a distinctive pebbled texture and visible grain. Readily stretched (“straight-grain”), crushed (flattened smooth), tooled in gilt or blind, inlaid with leathers of different colors. So-called because much of the raw material originally came from the tanneries of North Africa (other types of goatskin bindings denoting regions of origin include levant, turkey, niger).
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Period-Style binding executed with materials, tools and techniques to approximate the look of a contemporary binding from the period of the book’s publication. The term implies that the binding is modern, or recent, unless otherwise specified.
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Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
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