Salvador Dalí - Les vins de Gala - 1977

Salvador Dalí – Gala’s Wines.
Draeger, Paris, 1977 – Original French edition – A grand surrealist work devoted to wine – With its original case
DALÍ, Salvador (1904-1989).
The Wines of Gala.
Paris, Draeger Éditeur, 1977.
Spectacular work devoted to wine, entirely conceived within the graphic and surreal universe of Salvador Dalí, who notes in the printer’s proof that he designed and materialized this volume dedicated to Gala.
Original French edition published in 1977, printed in France by Draeger, master printer in Paris. Printer’s proof completed in October 1977.
An important large-format volume, bound in publisher’s metallic-silver carton, particularly spectacular, with a polychrome surrealist composition on the first cover, the title The Wines of Gala and the Draeger VIIᵉ Paris inscription. The work comes with its original protective case in sturdy cardboard, a notable feature for a copy of this edition.
The cover design reproduces a typically Dalinian composition, multiplied portraits of Gala, bunches of grapes, a bottle, deformed figures and trompe-l’oeil effects, all set against the silver background of the binding.
The work essentially divides into two main parts.
- The 10 Wines of the Divine, texts by Max Gérard.
Le Vin d’Aÿ
Le Vin de Shiraz
Le Vin du Roi Minos
Le Lacryma Christi
Le Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Les Grands Bordeaux rouges
La Romanée-Conti
Le Château Yquem
Le Jerez
Le Vin de Californie
The second major part, The 10 Wines of Gala, develops a poetic and sensuous classification particularly characteristic of Dalí’s universe: Wines of Joy – Wines of Purple – Wines of the Esteem – Wines of Dawn – Wines of Pleasure – Wines of Light – Generous Wines – Frivolous Wines – Veiled Wines – Wines of the Impossible.
The volume continues with Wines around the World, The Vineyards of France and Advice to the Gourmet Amateur.
A double-page world map of the vineyards, richly illustrated and colored, is among the most decorative components of the book.
Illustration and artistic conception
Very rich iconography in color and black, reproduced on full pages, double pages and in the text. Dalí blends paintings, drawings, surrealist compositions, misappropriations of old works, historical documents, photographs and decorative motifs related to wine, Gala, and his own imagination.
Draeger’s especially elaborate printing makes extensive use of metallic flats, golds, saturated colors and full-page compositions. The endpapers and preliminary pages themselves contribute to the graphic design of the work.
Photographic credits notably include Bernard Biraben, Giraudon, Marc Lacroix, Musées Nationaux, M. R. Schweitzer, Rapho and Viollet.
A page of acknowledgments is specially addressed to Captain Moore, whose help is presented as having been decisive in the realization of the work.
The printer’s imprint bears a gold-drawn composition, signed graphically by Dalí, accompanying the line, The divine Salvador Domenech Philippe Hyacinthe DALI designed and materialized this work dedicated to Gala.
Copy preserving its spectacular silver publisher binding as well as its original illustrated cardboard case.
Good overall condition, binding is glossy and colors well preserved, interior clean and fresh, illustrations particularly luminous. The case shows normal signs of handling and conservation.
295 pages, in addition to the front matter and end matter. Very numerous reproductions, compositions and documents in color and in black and white, including several full-page and double-page.
Silver-metalized publisher binding with polychrome decorative relief.
Original cardboard case present.
Draeger printing, master printer in Paris.
Very fine work of art from the 1970s, at the crossroads of bibliophilia, oenology and surrealism, sought as much for Draeger’s spectacular layout as for Dalí’s artistic intervention and Gala’s omnipresence.
The photos are an integral part of the description.
Shipping Chronopost or other, depending on country, with insurance.