Plain-chant
Paris, Stock, 1923.
1 vol. (120 × 185 mm), 2, [2] leaves, 48 pp. and 1 leaf. In wrappers.
First edition.
A deeply personal presentation copy, inscribed by Cocteau to his elder sister Marthe:
“Ma sœur, nous ne nous voyons plus – mon cœur vous visite, Jean, juin 1923.”
[“My sister, we no longer see each other — my heart visits you. Jean, June 1923.”]
A deeply personal presentation copy, inscribed by Cocteau to his elder sister Marthe:
“Ma sœur, nous ne nous voyons plus – mon cœur vous visite, Jean, juin 1923.”
[“My sister, we no longer see each other — my heart visits you. Jean, June 1923.”]
Cocteau was the youngest of three children, twelve years younger than Marthe. Despite the extraordinary documentation surrounding his life, very little is known of their relationship, and no correspondence between brother and sister appears to survive. No other book inscribed by Cocteau to Marthe has been traced.
Written in the autumn of 1922, Plain-chant surprised even its author by the suddenness of its composition: Cocteau told Max Jacob that he had “received” forty pages of poetry, as though by revelation.
A rare and intimate family association copy.
#26840
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