Mesens. — *Alphabet sourd aveugle*. Preface and note by Paul - Lot 192

Mesens. — *Alphabet sourd aveugle*. Preface and note by Paul Éluard. Brussels: Éditions Nicolas Flamel, 1933. In-4, paperback with orange cover, slipcase, and case. Published by Éditions Nicolas Flamel (founded by Mesens himself in 1933), this collection of twenty-six poems arranged in alphabetical order features a beautiful photographic frontispiece of Mesens in the style of Man Ray’s rayograms. The slipcase, made of metallic gray cardboard and titled on the spine, features, in a window cut into the front cover, an anaglyptic Braille inscription spelling out the author’s name. The metallic gray slipcase is decorated with a vertical white band dotted with small black dots reminiscent of Braille. A “V”-shaped cutout along the edge of the slipcase allows the book to be removed easily. First edition in a beautiful slipcase. Mesens was a leading figure in the Surrealist movement in Belgium and later in London. A humorous note from E.A.S. (September 1933) reads: “…Marcel Defosse [who] will not prevent me from giving this copy… to Denis Marion.” Marcel Defosse (1906–2000) was a French-speaking Belgian writer, lawyer, journalist, chess player, film critic, and playwright who wrote under the pseudonym Denis Marion.