Céline - Œuvres - 1966-1969

CÉLINE, THE REBELLIOUS GENIUS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
FIRST EDITION IN 5 VOLUMES, 80 INKS AND EXTRAORDINARY PLEXIGLAS DESIGN BINDING
A monumental collection of Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s works, one of the most revolutionary and controversial writers of the twentieth century. First collective edition published in Paris between 1966 and 1969, with a preface by Marcel Aymé and critical apparatus by Jean A. Ducourneau. Five large volumes illustrated by 80 original black-and-white compositions by Claude Bogratchew. An exceptional editorial binding conceived by Henri Mercher, with transparent Plexiglas covers and optical effects of overlay. Copy number 1793, belonging to the limited edition of 4,000 copies on laid paper, complete with all five volumes and their original slipcases.

ABSTRACT
The Œuvres of Louis-Ferdinand Céline, published by the publisher André Balland between 1966 and 1969, constitute one of the most important editorial initiatives devoted to the rediscovery and arrangement of the French writer’s work after his death. This first collective edition, produced under the direction of Jean A. Ducourneau, brings together in five volumes the major novels, theatrical works, ballets, medical writings, and numerous polemical and autobiographical texts of the author. From the epochal Voyage au bout de la nuit to Mort à crédit, from the Guignol’s Band saga to the German trilogy comprising D’un château l’autre, Nord and Rigodon, the collection allows readers to trace the evolution of one of the most original voices in European literature. The edition is enriched by a preface by Marcel Aymé, notes and critical commentary, and 80 black-and-white illustrations by Claude Bogratchew. Of exceptional interest is the editorial layout, conceived under the technical direction of the designer Pierre Faucheux and carried out through a sophisticated binding by Henri Mercher, in which plexiglas, typography, and geometric design blend into a notably modern ensemble. The numbered edition and the originality of the graphic presentation make this publication an interesting example of the meeting between great literature, fine art illustration, and twentieth-century book design.

WHY TO BUY
A collection of great interest for collectors of modern French literature, first collective editions, illustrated books, and design bindings. Céline’s literary importance, an author who revolutionized twentieth-century narrative language, combines with the quality of a publishing project conceived as a true work of book art. The presence of 80 illustrations by Claude Bogratchew gives the collection an autonomous iconographic value, while the involvement of Pierre Faucheux and Henri Mercher places it among the most original achievements of postwar French publishing. Particularly spectacular is the plexiglas binding, with a geometric composition that uses transparency and overlay of graphic motifs to produce dynamic visual effects. The copy belongs to a numbered edition of only 4,000 copies on laid paper, set apart from the 180 copies on vélin pur chiffon. Number 1793 is clearly documented by the justification of the edition. The inclusion of the five volumes and the original editorial slipcases adds further interest. A publication especially suitable for collections dedicated to twentieth-century European literature, editorial graphics, and the history of artist’s books.

MARKET VALUE
The 1966–1969 Balland first collective edition presents a nuanced market, where the 4,000 copies on laid paper and the extraordinary binding are sought after. The plexiglas-covered variant designed by Mercher is particularly interesting to bibliophiles of book design. For a complete set of five volumes, belonging to the numbered ordinary edition, in the original plexiglas binding and with the five slipcases, a price range of roughly 700–800 euros may be considered appropriate.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Editorial binding executed by Engel to a design by Henri Mercher, with smooth black leather spines bearing the author’s name and titles in clear type, and the plexiglas transparent boards. Geometric graphic composition with a wide arc of gray circle and the author’s name formed by a black hatch, reproduced on the flyleaves in a slightly decentered position to produce a particular optical moiré effect through transparency. Each volume retains its own black cardboard editorial slipcase. The cases show some damage and edge wear. Illustrated edition with 80 full-page black-and-white compositions by Claude Bogratchew, distributed across the five volumes. Text set in Bodoni size 10 and printed on laid paper by Imprimerie Darantière of Dijon. In old books with a centuries-old history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the actual condition of the item. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. 5 volumes: I: XLIII, 814 pp.; II: 759 pp.; III: 598 pp.; IV: 493 pp.; V: 511 pp. As well as the index and colophon pages.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Louis-Ferdinand Céline.
Œuvres.
Paris, André Balland, 1966–1969.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The publication of Céline’s Œuvres between 1966 and 1969 marks a significant moment in the history of European literary reception in the postwar era. Having died in 1961, Céline left a narrative patrimony of extraordinary originality but also a deeply controversial reputation because of his antisemitic writings and his positions during the German occupation of France. Jean A. Ducourneau’s editorial project aimed to gather, organize, and comment on the author’s major works, offering readers a cohesive overview of his narrative, dramatic, and essayistic production. Published in 1932, Voyage au bout de la nuit revolutionized French prose through the use of a language heavily influenced by orality, popular slang, and a radically disenchanted view of modern society. With Mort à crédit, published in 1936, Céline further developed this experimentation, introducing a fragmented narrative rhythm, interjections, suspensions, and syntactic constructions that would deeply influence later literature. In the postwar novels, and especially in the German trilogy, Céline’s writing attained forms of exceptional expressive intensity, combining autobiographical memory, grotesque distortion, and chaotic representation of war. The Balland edition also holds notable importance in the history of French editorial design. Pierre Faucheux and Henri Mercher’s design transcends the traditional model of bookbinding, introducing modern materials such as plexiglas and exploiting the optical properties of transparency. The cover design, built through geometric arches, color contrasts, and dashed letters, is one of the most distinctive features of the set. The result is a publication in which literary content and the book’s material form engage in a particularly original dialogue, expressive of the graphic experimentation of the sixties.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Louis-Ferdinand Céline, pseudonym of Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (Courbevoie, 1894 – Meudon, 1961), was a French physician and writer, considered one of the most influential and controversial figures in twentieth-century European literature. He served in World War I, where he was wounded, then studied medicine and practiced in France and abroad. His literary debut occurred in 1932 with Voyage au bout de la nuit, a novel that immediately aroused enormous interest for its radical linguistic innovation and its pessimistic portrayal of the human condition. The work earned the Prix Renaudot and established Céline as one of the most original voices of contemporary French fiction. In 1936 he published Mort à crédit, a novel focusing on the protagonist Ferdinand’s childhood and youth, characterized by even more experimental prose. At the end of the 1930s Céline published violent antisemitic pamphlets, which constitute a historically grave and indispensable part of his intellectual biography. During World War II he expressed collaborationist views and, after the Liberation, left France, first taking refuge in Germany and then in Denmark. Condemned in France in 1950 and benefitting from amnesty in 1951, he returned to the country, settling in Meudon, where he resumed medical and literary activity. In later years he published D’un château l’autre in 1957 and Nord in 1960; Rigodon, the concluding novel of the German trilogy, appeared posthumously in 1969. His influence on modern narrative lies especially in the transformation of literary language through spoken rhythm, the systematic use of ellipses, syntactic fragmentation, and the subjective representation of reality. His stylistic importance coexists with the need for critical appraisal of his political responsibilities and his writings of hatred.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The first collective edition of Céline’s Œuvres was published by André Balland over four years, from 1966 to 1969, under the direction of Jean A. Ducourneau. The edition was conceived as a unitary bibliographic and artistic project, intended to gather the author’s principal works in five large-format volumes. The typographic composition was done in Bodoni size 10 and the printing performed by Imprimerie Darantière of Dijon on laid paper. The bindings were entrusted to Engel, following Henri Mercher’s designs and under Pierre Faucheux’s technical direction. The visual apparatus includes 80 original compositions by Claude Bogratchew, distributed across the five volumes. The total run was strictly limited to 4,180 numbered copies, divided into 180 copies on Vélin pur chiffon and 4,000 copies on laid paper. The colophon in the fifth volume documents the completion of printing on February 25, 1969 and identifies this copy as number 1793. The material design stands out for the use of a modern editorial binding, in which the transparent plexiglas boards allow the overlay of printed graphic motifs, creating depth and a sense of movement. The presence of the original slipcases adds further interest to the preservation of the set. Editorally, the collection represents one of the early major efforts at critical organization of Céline’s work after the author’s death, anticipated by later reference editions published in the second half of the twentieth century.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Œuvres, Paris, André Balland, 1966–1969, five volumes, first illustrated collective edition, with preface by Marcel Aymé, introductions, notes and commentary by Jean A. Ducourneau, and 80 compositions by Claude Bogratchew. Graphic design under the technical direction of Pierre Faucheux, with editorial bindings executed by Engel to Henri Mercher’s design. Limited run of 4,180 numbered copies, of which 180 on Vélin pur chiffon and 4,000 on laid paper. Copy no. 1793. The publication holds a significant place in Céline bibliography, representing one of the first organic collections of the author’s posthumous production. The edition also documents the important collaboration between literary publishing, contemporary illustration, and French graphic design of the 1960s. The peculiar use of plexiglas in the binding, together with the overlay of geometric compositions, distinguishes it from traditional complete works collections and makes it interesting in the history of modern binding and the illustrated book of the twentieth century. The series constitutes a significant example of a numbered edition in which the literary work is enhanced through a unified typographic, artistic, and material project."