Maldoror (Les Chants De Maldoror / The Songs Of Maldoror) by Lautreamont [ Isidore-Lucien Ducasse], New Translation By Guy Wernham [Edward James Copy] - 1943

1943. First Edition Thus . Hardcover. Very Good. Xi, 303 Pp. Black Cloth, Gilt, Over Rose Boards. #401 Of 1000 Copies Set In Janson Type And Printed On Bethany Paper; No Information Or Printer Or Publisher In Book, But It Looks Like A Standard New York Publisher's Format, Possibly Printed By New Directions And Then Denied Their Imprint. No Illustrations. Les Chants De Maldoror (The Songs Of Maldoror) Is A Poetic Novel (Or A Long Prose Poem) Consisting Of Six Cantos. It Was Written And Published Between 1868 And 1869 By The Comte De Lautréamont, The Pseudonym Of The Uruguayan-Born French Writer Isidore-Lucien Ducasse. In The Eighteen Nineties The Book Was Rediscovered And Hailed As A Work Of Genius By Such Eminent Writers As Huysmans, Léon Bloy, Maeterlinck, And Rémy De Gourmont, And Many Of The Surrealists (Salvador Dalí, André Breton, Antonin Artaud, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Etc.) During The Early 20Th Century Cited The Novel As A Major Inspiration To Their Own Works. Les Chants De Maldoror Is Considered To Have Been A Major Influence Upon French Symbolism, Dada And Surrealism. Some Editions Of The Book Have Included Lithographs By The French Symbolist Painter Odilon Redon. Surrealist Painters Salvador Dalí And René Magritte Also Each Illustrated One Edition Of The Book. The Italian Painter Amedeo Modigliani Used To Carry A Copy Around In Montparnasse And Quote From It. The Outsider Artist Unica Zürn Was Also Influenced By It In Writing Her The Man Of Jasmine. William T. Vollmann Mentioned It As The Work That Most Influenced His Writing. This Copy From The Library Of Silvia (James), Sister Of British Heir And Patron Of The Surrealist Edward James, From Her House Originally Leased By Edward James In Laguna Beach. Edward James, British Heir (Apparently A Son Of Eward Vii), An Occasional Poet, And Surrealist Artist, Was An Important Collector And Supporter Of Surrealism Since The Later 1920'S, And Friend And Supporter Of Its Major Artists. His Family Home, The West Dean Estate, He Donated To Found A College Devoted To Fostering Skilled Useful Arts.He Took As His Personal Home A Smaller House On The Estate, Monkton, Which He Filled With Surrealist And Other Fine Art, Including Work On The House Itself By Noted Surrealists. While In Hollywood, He Advocated For The Saving Of The Watts Towers After They Were Abandoned By Simon Rodia. By His Design And At His Own Expense. Las Pozas ("The Pools") Was Created By James Circa 1949-1984, More Than 2,000 Feet (610 M) Above Sea Level, In A Subtropical Rainforest. It Includes More Than 80 Acres (32 Ha) Of Natural Waterfalls And Pools Interlaced With Towering Surrealist Sculptures In Concrete. Las Pozas Is Near The Village Of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, A Seven-Hour Drive North Of Mexico City.Where It Is Now Maintained As A Foundation.