Facile.

presentation copy inscribed by man ray

A presentation copy of one of the key French surrealist books of the 1930s, inscribed:

'For Louis & Peggy Kannenstine / Cordially / Man Ray'.

Facile is a beautiful synthesis of image and text, combining Paul Éluard's love poems written for his wife Nusch (born Maria Benz) with Man Ray's nude photographs of her. The book shows the range of techniques Man Ray experimented with, including solarisation, double exposures, and superimposed and negative photographs.

Louis Kannenstine was an American writer and scholar who wrote extensively about Djuna Barnes. His book 'The Art of Djuna Barnes, Duality and Damnation' (1977) was long considered the standard work for insight into her writing. He met his wife, artist Margaret 'Peggy' Lampe, at Washington University, Saint Louis, where they both studied in the late 1950s.

First edition, inscribed by Man Ray in blue ink on title-page, number 510 of 1000 copies on vélin, there were also 200 hors-commerce copies and 25 on Japon; folded sheets (242 x 179 mm, 9½ x 7 in); black & white photographs printed in gravure by Breger, pages toned as usual; photo-illustrated card covers, light wear to extremities, sides rubbed, short tear to foot of spine conserved, publisher's press-numbered ticket laid in, a very good copy; [28]pp.

The Book of 101 Books Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century pp86-7; The Photobook A History, I pp104-5; The Open Book pp118-9; 802 photo books from the Auer collection p217; Paris, Les livres de photographies 1920-1950 pp152-3.