Extra-illustrated and with all prints signed by the artist. Published in 1962, just a year before Braque died, the timely Si je mourais là-bas [If I die over there] was a suite of eighteen wood-engravings to accompany poems from Guillaume Apollinaire's Poèmes à Lou, which Braque himself selected and edited accordingly. Braque had been a close companion of Apollinaire, who died forty years prior to the series but gave a lot of good publicity to Braque and his fellow Cubists. Despite this, Braque felt that his friend, who was also an art critic, understood nothing about painting, a source of playful tension between the pair which may have contributed to the obscure nature of the suite's images.

Pierre-Lucien Martin (1913-85) was one of the most successful French binders of the 20th century. He was trained at the École Estiènne in Paris and gained experience in several binderies before emerging as a designer in his own right after the Second World War. His designs are characterised by understated colour, impressive three-dimensional effects, and the intricate but highly logical application of geometry. This volume is a superb example of his work.

Limited edition, one of 40 copies on vélin pur chiffon from a total edition of 180 copies; folio (48 x 38 cm); 61 pp. text, 37 woodcuts (2 double page and 7 within text, 30 in colour) including duplicate suite of 18 woodcuts each numbered 21/40 and signed by Braque, one extra plate in triplicate; full black polished calf by P.-L. Martin with abstract geometric design onlaid in brown and cream calf dated 1964 (binder's mark and date), spine lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, suede endpapers, black calf-backed chemise, brown cloth boards, housed in matching slipcase; slight wear to upper edges of spine, very minor scuff to design.