Bellmer, Hans; and Paul Éluard

Les Jeux de la poupée.  Illustrés de textes par Paul Éluard.  Paris: Les Éditions Premières, 1949



4to (9 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.; 250 x 190 mm, uncut).  Title-page with mounted handcolored silver print (cropped) by Bellmer, 6 diagram vignettes in introductory text ("Notes au sujet de la jointure à boule"), 15 fine mounted handcolored silver print photographs by Bellmer; some light browning and soiling, not affecting photographs.  Publisher's flexible boards covered in black construction paper wrappers with mounted photo identical to title-page photo, pink spine label, pink printed wrap-around band with title, original glassine; top 1/2 in. of spine missing, some wear to binding, inner hinge cracked, glassione chipped.

4to (9 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.; 250 x 190 mm, uncut). Title-page with mounted handcolored silver print (cropped) by Bellmer, 6 diagram vignettes in introductory text ("Notes au sujet de la jointure à boule"), 15 fine mounted handcolored silver print photographs by Bellmer; some light browning and soiling, not affecting photographs. Publisher's flexible boards covered in black construction paper wrappers with mounted photo identical to title-page photo, pink spine label, pink printed wrap-around band with title, original glassine; top 1/2 in. of spine missing, some wear to binding, inner hinge cracked, glassione chipped.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Copy 71 of 119 numbered copies (of a whole edition of 142).  First edition of a books that was originally to have been published by Christian Zervos in 1939.  The war put a stop to the project and it was not revived until 1949, when this edition was brought out by Heinz Berggruen.  Bellmer's pseudo-scientific introductory text was originally written in German in the 1930s and was translated into French with the help of Georges Hugnet.  

Much has been written about Bellmer's grotesque dolls and his many photographs of them.  While many critics and admirers remained coy about the sexual content of the works, the artist himself said simply, "I tried to rearrange the sexual elements of a girl's body like a sort of plastic anagram."  It was left to the artist's biographer, Peter Webb, to point out that the photographs perhaps contained "intimations of rape."