‎MONTHERLANT - Préface de Jacques De Laprade - Préface complémentaire de Philippe de Saint Robert‎
‎Théâtre‎

‎Collection des plus beaux numéros de Comoedia illustré et des programmes consacrés au Ballets & Galas Russes depuis le début a Paris 1909-21. - [THE GREATEST REVOLUTION IN THE HISTORY OF THEATRE AND BALLET]‎

‎Paris, (1909-21). Folio. Silk over bevelled boards. Front board with a splendid large inset colour illustration (from ""The Firebird"" by Natalia Gontcharova). Binding sunned and with professionally restored spine. Corners a bit bumped. A bit of creasing to extremities of some leaves, as the size varies somewhat. A few loose leaves. Profusely illustrated in colour (some pochoir) and in black/white throughout. A very nice copy of this magnificent book. 4 pp., being title-page and note from the editors +1909: 2 pp. introduction + 1909 Saison Russe - Opera et Ballet: 10 pp., including a cover illustration by Bakst +1910: 3 pp. introduction + cover illustration of Comoedia Illustré no. 18 (June 15, 1910) with portrait of Catherine Gheltzer + Comoedia Illustré special issue - supplement to no. 18: 14 pp., including two cover illustrations by Bakst +1911: 2 pp. introduction + Programme Officiel des Ballets Russes. Théâtre du Châtelet. June 1911: the extra goldembellished transparent paper covers + 34 pp., including cover illustration by Bakst (Nijonsky in La Péri) and another eight illustrations by Bakst (costume designs for Narcisse and Dieu Bleu and stage design for Narcisse) + 10 pp. from the sixth season of the Ballets Russes at Chatelet, with costumes by Jean Cocteau + 10 pp. on ""Petrouchka"" and ""Schérezade"" + ""Le Carnaval"" + 1 leaf of text introducing ""Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien"": 12 pp. from Comoedia Illutré devoted to this, including a cover illustration by Bakst (showing Ida Rubinstein as St. Sebastien) +1912: 2 pp. introduction + Comoedia Illustré 7th season: 16 pp. devoted mainly to ""Dieu Bleu"" and ""Daphnis et Chloé"", including cover illustration by Bakst and a further five illustrations by Bakst (costume designs, decor and scene) + 5 pp. from Comoedia Illustré on ""Le Dieu Bleu"" + 1 p. being the illustrated cover for the June 1912 special issue of Comoedia Illusté, showing Karsavina and Bolm in Thamar (costumes by Bakst) + 8 pp. on ""Thamar"", ""Petrouchka"", and ""Scherezade"", including the 4 pp. spread on ""Scherezade"" that is laid in loose and which contains illustrations of Bakst's nine costumes + two covers mounted back-to-back from the special issue of the seventh season of the Ballets Russes, showing Bakst's illustration of Nijinsky in ""L'Après-Midi d'un Faune"" + 8 pp. on ""L'Apres Midi di Faune"" + 10 pp. from Comoedia Illustré on ""Le Carnaval"", ""Daphnis et Chloé"" + 2 pp. (""title-page"" for Ida Rubinstein in ""Hélène de Sparte"" and Salomé) + special issue on ""Hélène de Sparte"": 16 pp., including cover illustration by Bakst (of Ida Rubinsein as Helen) and a further five costume and scenic designs by Bakst + 6 pp. from Comoedia Illustré on Helen of Sparta + 4 pp. from Comoedia Illustré on Oscar Wilde's ""Salomé"" + 20 pp. including illustrations by Bakst for ""Boris Godounoff"", text on and illustrations for ""Jeux"", ""Sacre du Printemps"", ""Kowanchina"", and ""Daphnis et Chloé"" +1913: 2 pp. introduction + Eigth Season of Ballets Russes: 6 pp., including cover illustration of Schollar, Nijinsky, and Karsavina in ""Jeux"" by Valentine Gross + 1 p. (""title-page"" for Ida Rubinstein in ""La Pisanelle ou la Mort Parfumée"" with costumes by Bakst + Comoedia Illustré No. 18, June 1913: 17 pp., including cover illustration of Ida Rubinstein in ""La Pisanelle, in couture by Worth, decor by Bakst, etc. +1914: 2 pp. introduction + 28 pp. on the Ballets Russes 1914-season, including a full-page illustration of Kousnetzoff in costume by Bakst, , costume designs for ""La Légende de Joseph"" by Bakst, and a two-page costume-spread for ""Rossignol"" by Benois + 2 pp. on ""Le Rossignol"" by Maurice Ravel"" + 4 pp. from Ballets Russes on ""Le Coq d'Or"" + 2 pp. on ""Les Ballets Russes de Serge de Diaghilew"" by Calvocoressi + 1915: 1 p. introduction +1917: 1 p. introduction + the special issue of ""programme des Ballets Russes"", 1917: 26 pp., constituting THE MAY 1917 ""THÉATRE DU CHATELET"" SEPARATE PUBLICATION MAINLY DEVOTED TO JEAN COCTEAU'S GROUNDBREAKING BALLET ""PARADE"", INCLUDING APOLLINAIRE'S FAMOUS FOREWORD (COINING ""SURREALISM"") AND THE TWO FAMOUS COLOUR-ILLUSTRATIONS BY PICASSO +1919-20: 2 pp. introduction + 4 pp. of ""Les Ballets Russes a l'Opéra"", Jan-Feb. 1920 + Cover from the Comoedia Illustré special issue with costume designs for ""Tricorne"" by Picasso + the complete programme for the Ballets Russes 1919-1920: 32 pp., including drawings by Picasso, set and costume designs by Derain, and costume designs by Bakst + 1920: 2 pp. introduction + complete special issue for the ""Ballets Russes à l'Opéra"", May-June 1920: 10 pp., including cover design of costumes for ""L'Austice feminine"" and designs by Sert +1921: 2 pp. introduction + 20 pp. from Commoedia Illustré , including drawings of Strawinsky and Picasso and a 2-page spread of costume and scenic designs for ""Le Bouffon"" by Larionow. This is a stunning 380-page limited edition, compiled by the programme publishers of the Ballets Russes themselves, Maurice and Jacques de Brunoff. ‎

‎Very rare limited original edition of this splendid production by the Brunoff-brothers, which constitutes a collection of the most important, most influential, and most beatiful parts of the original Ballets Russes-publications, together with explanatory forewords By V. Svetloff, written and printed for this collection. ALL THE PROGRAMMES ARE THE ORIGINAL PRINTINGS, collected and bound here in this special compilation, which presents a selection of extracts from the magazines, together with the souvenir programmes (that were published as supplements), arranged in chronological order. This work vividly documents the famous ballet company that premiered such groundbreking productions as Igor Stravinsky's Firebird, Petrushka, Rite of Spring, Parade, etc.Among the most important of all the publications present, is the magnificent May 1917 ""Théatre du Chatelet"" separate publication (mainly devoted to the ballet ""Parade""), which constitutes one of the most important publications in the history of modern art. It is here, in his presentation-article to ""Parade"" that Apollinaire coins the term ""surrealism"" and thus lays the foundation for the seminal cultural movement that Bréton came to lead. Furthermore, the ballet ""Parade"" represents a historical collaboration between several of the leading artistic minds of the early twentieth century: Erik Satie, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Léonide Massine, and Serge Diaghilev, and is especially famous, not only for its contents and its music, but also for its magnificent costumes designed by Picasso, the drawings of which are presented in the present publication for the first time - most famously the front cover for the ""Parade""-programme, which depicts the ""Costume de Chinois du ballet ""Parade""/ aquarelle de Picasso"", an etching with original, stunning pochoir-colouring (hand-painted by Picasso himself!).This one programme epitomizes the importance and infuence of the magnificent ""Comoedia Illustré"", of which all the most important contributions are collected here, in this one stunning volume. This amazing ballet monthly was published in Paris between 1908 and 1921. The special issues are generally speaking the most important ones, as they were often devoted to the annual Paris season of Serge Diaghilev's Balletes Russes and Ida Rubinstein's Galas Russes and document the amazing endeavours of these. These groundbreaking special issues (the May 1917 being merely an example), are geerally lavishly illustrated, usually in full colour, often heightened in gold, with costume and set designs and enriched with portraits of the leading singers and dancers in the ballets. The vast amount of colour illustrations throughout this collection includes contributions to the magnificent history of the Ballets Russes by such distinguished artists as Pablo Picasso and Léon Bakst. As the groundbreaking 1917 ballet ""Parade"" - the first of the modern ballets - originally presented for the first time in the present publication, marks Picasso's entry into the public and bourgeois institutions of ballet and theatre and presents Cubism on the stage for the first time, so Bakst's splendid costume and set designs depicted over numerous issues here for the first time presents the application of art nouveau design concepts to the stage. The present compilation of original publications presents an outright revolution in the history of art, theatre, and ballet on many levels.The introductory leaves to each year are almost all written by Svetloff (= Valerian Ivchenko), who was a famous Russian critic and the first biographer of Anna Pavlova.‎

‎Important ensemble de documents adressés à Jean-Louis Barrault, certains relatifs au théâtre ou au cinéma.‎

‎- Tapuscrit du scénario du film intitulé Mirages de François Campiaux (scénariste) et Alexandre Ryder (réalisateur), adaptation d’une pièce de théâtre de Léopold Marchand. — 1 vol. in-4, 56 ff., 1 f. blanc, agrafé, couverture fragile.Sorti sur les écrans le 28 janvier 1938, il rassemblait à l’affiche Jean-Louis Barrault, Arletty, Jeanne Aubert, Michel Simon, Paul Derval... On notera la mention finale à la page 56 : « A partir du bas de la page 53 - le film sera tourné en couleurs. » - Tapuscrit d’un scénario d’une certaine Ellen Goldenberg et la lettre manuscrite signée qui l’accompagne. — 1 f. manuscrit, [4 ff.] tapuscrit sur papier calque, maintenus par un trombonne.La lettre est datée du 17 février 1937, elle présente quelques déchirures en marge.- Copie de travail de la traduction d’un texte de John Ford intitulé Dommage qu’elle soit une putain.- Ensemble de documents manuscrits, relatifs à une pièce de théâtre inédite intitulée L’Amour des Anges. Les documents ne portent aucune signature et ne sont pas de la main de Jean-Louis Barrault. Une note les acompagnant indique : « Ci-joint une scène d’une pièce intitulée “L’Amour des Anges” qui ne verra sans doute jamais le jour, bien que presque terminée - le sujet rêve-réalité sans frontière définie… »L’ensemble comprend : 5 pages numérotées de 15 à 19 et un feuillet non numéroté ainsi que (8 ff.). Sur l’une des pochettes en carton contenant les feuillets manuscrits se trouve agrafée la carte de visite de Roger Dornès (peut-être une piste).- Un ensemble de lettres adressées à Jean-Louis Barrault. Parmi les auteurs de ces missives on retrouve Paul Vialar, Paul Disier (journaliste au Figaro), Charles Dullin (à propos de son rôle de Sylvio et de ses projets d’école), Pierre Darius (des éditions parisiennes), Rodolphe Marcilly (réalisateur), Marcel Paston (directeur du Nouveau Théâtre Antoine et du Théâtre de la Renaissance), André Arnyvelde (journaliste et auteur dramatique), Henry Barraud (compositeur), Maurice-Edgar Coindreau (traducteur de Faulkner), etc. ‎

‎Kjærlighed paa Nicolai Taarn eller Hvad siger Parterret. Heroisk Vaudeville i 1 Act. - [ANDERSEN'S THEATRE-DEBUT]‎

‎Kjøbenhavn, Reitzel, 1829. Small 8vo. Original blank wrappers.A few scattered brownspots, but a very good copy in completely original condition, as it was issued.‎

‎First edition of Hans Cristian Andersen's third publication in book form and his first dramatic work. This seminal publication marked his stage-debut and was not only the first work that he wrote for the theatre, but also the first of his works that was performed on the stage. It is with the present work, ""Love in Nicolai Tower"" that Hans Christian Andersen inaugurated his dramatical production, a genre that came to define much of his literary production for the next forty years, over the cause of which he produced about as many plays - i.e. ab. 40. The question as to acceptance from the theatre and the the set-up of the plays, however, -especially at the beginning of his career - would often postpone the actual theatre debut by many months, sometimes years. Thus, many of his early plays were only performed on the stage much later. ""Kjærlighed on Nicolai Taarn"", however, was accepted almost immediately and was performed already the following year, marking his theatre debut.‎

‎Le Riche Mecontent, ou le Noble Imaginaire. Comedie. Representee sur le Theatre Royal de l'Hotel de Bourgogne (+) Les Engagement du Hazard, Comedie (+) Les Yvrongnes, comédie satiribulesque. - [THREE RARE FRENCH PLAYS]‎

‎Paris, Baptiste Loyson, 1662 (+) Paris, Coube, 1657 (+) Cologne, Pierre Marteau, 1687. 8vo. In contemporary ful calf with four raised bands and gilt ornamentation to spine. Super ex-libris to boards. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Light wear to extremities, parts of gilting on spine worn off. Internally lightly browned and closely trimmed, occassionally touching letters. (10), 82, (12), 94, (4), 52 pp.‎

‎Three early French plays, all first editions, from what is widely regarded as being the golden age of French playwriting. All are of the utmost scarcity and we have only been able to trace one auction-record, namely that of “Le Riche Mecontent” (Sold at “Early English Literature and Americana duplicates and selections from the Library of Henry E. Huntington”, 1920 - described as ""Very scarce""). These plays are all examples of French comedy from the 17th century, a period marked by the flourishing of theater in France, particularly in Paris. This era witnessed the development of a distinct French theatrical tradition with an emphasis on comedic works. These plays incorporate satire, using humor, irony, or ridicule to criticize and mock societal norms, behaviors or specific social groups “Le Riche Mecontent” was written for Hôtel de Bourgogne, a theatre, built in 1548 for the first authorized theatre troupe in Paris, the Confrérie de la Passion. It was considered the most important French theatre until the 1630s, it continued to be used until 1783. Nicolas de Péchantré (1638 – 1708), author of 'Les Engagement' and 'Les Yvrongnes' obtained three times the laurel at the Academy of Floral Games, and acquired great popularity by his tragedy of Greta. Georges Vicaire, French bibliophile and bibliographer, attributed “Les Yvrongnes” to Péchantré. Brunet 1, 1800 (Le Riche Mecontent). Not in Graesse, Barbier or Tchemerzine.‎

‎A Mr. D'Alembert...sur son Article Genève dans le VIIme. Volume de l'Encyclopédie et particulierement, sur le projet d'établir un Théatre de Comédie en cette Ville. - [THE PLACE OF ENTERTAINMENT IN SOCIETY]‎

‎Amsterdam, M.M.Rey, 1758. 8vo. Beautiful contemporary full mottled calf with five raised bands and gilt red leather title-label to richly gilt spine. All edges Minor loss to lower capital, but apart from that an absolutely beautiful copy, internally as well as externally. Very nice, clan and fresh. Printed on good paper, with good margins. Engraved title-vignette. XVIII, 264, (8) pp.‎

‎The rare first edition of this important work, which inaugurated one of the most significant intellectual debates of the 18th century.The letter is Rousseau's answer to the article on the city of Geneva, which his friend d'Alembert had written for the French ""Encyclopédie"". In the article, d'Alembert had suggested that the citizens of Geneva establish a theatre which - so d'Alembert - would lead to a refinement of the mores and ways of the Genevans, not to mention adding a bit of sparkle to a city which he described as dreary and sad. The response by Rousseau opened up what was one of the most important intellectual polemics of the 18th century.Rousseau, a citizen of Geneva by birth, uses the article by d'Alembert as a springboard for a reflection on the place of culture in society. He relates the institution of the theatre to the question of political morality and attempts to define boundaries between the morally innocuous and corruptive forms of entertainment. The letter is permeated by a pronounced Platonism. The arguments which Rousseau advances against the theatre closely recall those advanced by Plato in the Republic against the poets. As Plato, Rousseau focuses his attention on the artificial nature of the theatrical spectacle, which leads the mind astray, away from the concerns of an industrious and fulfilled life. For anybody with an interest in the work and life of Rousseau, the ""Lettre à d'Alembert"" is an invaluable document. Not only does it connect Rousseau's earlier writings - the Discourse on the Arts and Sciences (1750) and the Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality among Men (1754) - to his later major work"" it also offers an insight into the differences of opinion that would lead Rousseau to break with the circle around the encyclopaedists. The present edition is unknown to Dufour and Tchmerzine, but recent research has determined that this is the actual first printing (see for instance: Azers, ""Histoire de l'Impression et la publication de la ""Lettre à d'Alembert"""", Sénelier).‎