LAURENCIN, Marie; Jean Tardieu.

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Anthologie poétique. First and limited edition, number 515 of 999 copies; this copy inscribed by Marie Laurencin to the poet and dramatist Jean Tardieu at the foot of her illustration on p. 38: "A Jean Tardieu, bien sympathiquement, Marie Laurencin, Janvier 1944". A beautifully produced book, particularly so considering wartime conditions.Painter, printmaker, and stage designer Marie Laurencin (1883-1956) is "known for her delicate portraits of elegant, vaguely melancholic women" (Britannica). She studied at the Humbert Academy in Paris and after an introduction to Picasso became involved with the avant-garde. Getrude Stein was one of her earliest supporters. She was romantically involved with Apollinaire, whose work she here illustrates: a group of poems, including "Marie", and "Crépuscule", which is dedicated to her.The recipient, Jean Tardieu (1903-1995), published several poetry collections in the 1930s and after the war became a moving force in French radio. A number of his plays were staged, and he was linked with the work of the Theatre of the Absurd. "Alone among the playwrights of the avant-garde, Tardieu can claim that his work spans the entire gamut of exploration" (Esslin, p. 227).The publishing house of Pierre Trémois, founded in 1922, specialized in illustrated books. The poems for this publication were gathered by Renée Garcia, who later co-founded the literary quarterly Cerf-Volant, and comprise contributions by, among others, Mallarmé, Jules Laforgue, Apollin

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