Marcel Pagnol / Dubout - Topaze - 1952

Monte-Carlo, Aux Editions du Livre, (27 October) 1952. 1 volume (165 x 225 mm) of 265 pages, [1] and 1 leaf. Paperback, dust jacket and publisher's case somewhat worn. Limited edition of 5000 copies on crève-cœur vellum. Color lithographs by Dubout, printed by Mourlot. With an autograph letter from the author.

“The collaboration of these two great southerners, the writer Marcel Pagnol and the illustrator Albert Dubout, is regarded as essential for understanding their respective works. Yet it did not take effect until 1936, although Pagnol had been writing for the theater since 1923. Dubout, at the time 31 years old, was already famous. It was through the caricaturist Toé, director of publicity for the writer’s film company, that Dubout met Pagnol and produced the first poster for César, which had just been brought to the screen. From then on, from Fanny to Manon des Sources, the artist created posters for all of Pagnol’s films, which notably contributed to the immense popularity of the playwright’s work. Alongside this, through the quality of Dubout’s illustrations, the literary sales of Pagnol’s novels benefited as well (.). A master of play, Dubout lets his unleashed imagination roam, dotted with comic and risqué connotations. He favors the most astonishing contrasts and sometimes uses upward- and downward-looking angles, familiar to cinema. This is the case in the illustrations for Topaze, for example, to reinforce the economic and political power of certain individuals, or to highlight the social context in which they operate” (Solange Vernois, “Marcel Pagnol and Albert Dubout: the dynamics of creation,” in Tierce, University of Poitiers, no. 2-2017).

After César, Marcel Pagnol entrusted in 1948 to Dubout the illustrations for the Marius, Fanny, César trilogy. It was a huge success. This was followed by Topaze in 1952, then the Childhood Memories trilogy, between 1958 and 1965.