Le Bookiniste

Titres et Pains Perdus [Lost Titles and Loaves]

[INSCRIBED] Alechinsky, Pierre

Paris: Éditions Denoël, 1965. First Edition, First Printing.

16mo (6 7/8 x 7 1/2 inches; 175 x 190 mm); [128] pages, in plasticized illustrated boards issued without a dust jacket. 

INSCRIBED by Pierre Alechinsky on the title page to Jan Cox and Yvonne Van Ginneken: "à Jan, à Yvonne / si loin, si proche / ces titres à lire / entre les pains / à retrouver. / Je pense à vous. / Pierre." (Translation: "So far, so near, these titles to read between the breads to be found again. I'm thinking of you.") 

A rather Dadaist inscription, in keeping with the general tone of "Titres et Pains Perdus" (Lost Titles and Loaves, although "Pain Perdu" in the singular can also refer to French toast). Here, Alechinsky is telling Jan and Yvonne to read the titles or captions that appear among the bread figurines featured in the book. 

The recipients were old friends from Alechinsky's Cobra days in the early 1950s. In the mid-1950s, Cox became head of the painting department at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he taught for nearly 20 years. Van Ginneken was an artist. This copy is apparently a press copy, as the word "Presse" is embossed in two leaves near the end. 

The book is a collaborative effort among a group of friends. Alechinsky has written the texts (all in French), while Suzy Embo has contributed most of the photographs (there are photos from other sources too). Embo's sculptor husband, Reinhoud, has made tiny figurines using bread dough. Another friend, René Bertholo, has contributed a number of drawings. 

In press interviews, Alechinsky has discussed the importance of "titres," or titles, in his works, or what he has referred to as "disparate packets of words." Indeed, he said in an interview appearing in Le Carnet et les Instants no. 205 (2020), "I've always accorded great importance to titles, for my paintings and for my books." (Our translation). Not surprisingly, Alechinsky often uses text in his paintings. He says in the introduction (translating) that the titles form a type of poem. He has used "Titres" in the titles of subsequent books. 

CONDITION: Spine tips chipped, a bit of flaking along other parts of spine and to board edges, corners bumped, some foxing and soiling to top, fore, and bottom edges, but internally clean and unmarked. About Very Good. Item #2314

Price: $250.00