Le Corbusier - Des canons, des munitions ? Merci ! Des Logis... s.v.p. - 1938

Des Canons, des Munitions? Merci! Des Logis ... s.v.p, published in 1938, is regarded as a masterpiece of Le Corbusier’s book design. Instead of straightforward text and illustrations, the book is a marvelous jumble of typefaces and illustrations that achieve an almost Dada-like effect.

A showcase for Le Corbusier’s Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux, which he created for the Paris International Exposition of 1937, this book served as a plea for the application of the same technologies that were utilized for the fabrication of munitions and armaments of war to the realization of an enlightened architectural urbanism—as signaled by the book’s title, which translates loosely as “Cannons, Munitions? Thank You, We’ll Have Housing, If You Please.” The title was increasingly relevant in response to the re-arming of France during the tensions of the late 1930s.

The publication includes a fascinating text by Le Corbusier that argues for the application of military technology to progressive urban architecture, while the cover features a photomontage of a city, a cannon, fighter planes, and artillery shells. The title page bears a parenthetical note: “Ce titre date de janvier 1937; il n’est nullement une allusion à l'actualité brûlante des réarmements de 1938,” which translates to “This title dates from January 1937; it is in no way an allusion to the pressing news of the rearmaments of 1938.”

First edition copy of this rare book with the impressive modernist photomontage cover.

Condition:
Very good first edition copy of this rare and important book. Former owner's bookplate and signature to blank front pages. Two pages have very small spots where the pages were stuck together. Dried water stains to edges of last 30 pages. Front cover faded along the edge and small piece of rear cover torn. Interior clean and fresh. Please examine listing photos carefully