Ernst, Max; and Paul Éluard

Les Malheurs des immortels.  Paris: Libraire Six, (1922)



4to (9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in.; 248 x 190 mm).  21 illustrations by Ernst reproducing collaged wood-engravings.  Publisher's printed wrappers; some soiling and creasing.

Jozsef Molnár (presentation inscription)

Manet to Hockney 66

4to (9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in.; 248 x 190 mm). 21 illustrations by Ernst reproducing collaged wood-engravings. Publisher's printed wrappers; some soiling and creasing.
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.

First edition.  Presentation copy, inscribed and signed by Éluard to Jozsef Molnár on the half-title.  Molnár (1918–2009) was a Hungarian writer, journalist, publisher and printer. 

There is no limitation statement in Les Malheurs des immortels, but the edition was small.  It is the first work to contain Ernst's illustrations produced by collaging images from nineteenth-century periodicals and trade catalogues.  "[T]he prose poems were written jointly by Ernst and Éluard in Cologne in March 1922 and in the Tyrol the following June" (Manet to Hockney).  A second edition was published in Paris in 1945.