Rare Modernist Book, preserving the exceedingly rare rhodoid collage

Robert Delaunay & Anatole Jakovsky (under the pseudonym Anatole Delagrave)

Clefs des paves.

Paris, 1939. 8vo. 18,3 x 14 cms. [4] + 40 pp., printed on different coloured papers + 1 drypoint engraving of the Tour Eiffel by Robert Delaunay (with tissue guard) + a multicolour plastic collage by Delaunay.

No 16 of 100 (or fewer) copies. Colophon signed ”Anatole Delagrave”.

Spiral bound in covers of gold-sprinkled plastic, front cover loose as well as the second text leaf (with quote from Nostradamus).

Very rare. It is suspected that fewer than the announced 100 copies were actually produced, and that the collage was not included with all copies; it is seldom present.

The book is sometimes seen with the Tour Eiffel motif also illustrated on the front cover of clear plastic. The present copy is in a rare variant (similar to Sonia Delaunay’s copy no 17/100), with covers of gold-speckled plastic instead, and without illustration. (The engraving and collage are present, however.)

One of the most innovative books of the early 20th century, with its early use of plastic, its typewriter typography and differnt coloured papers. ”First edition of this utmost delicate book. The handcrafted quality of the publication makes it extremely scarce, as is the original collage by Robert Delaunay.”

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