Alfred Jarry (1873–1907)

First edition in English, first impression, of the first opus in the Ubu plays by Parisian proto-surrealist Alfred Jarry (1873-1907), best remembered for this notorious work and the invention of pataphysics, as well as for riding a bicycle through the streets of Paris painted green in honour of his "green goddess", absinthe. The first edition was published in French in April 1896. Barbara Wright, the translator, wrote the text directly onto litho plates, on which Franciszka Themerson (1907-1988), a Polish, later British, painter, illustrator, filmmaker and stage designer, then drew 204 illustrations. Themerson's continuing involvement with Ubu Roi culminated in a comic-strip version (1967-70) comprising 90 one-metre-long drawings. The play premiered in 1928 at Osvobozené divadlo, with Werich in the role of Ubu. We have only been able to trace one earlier translation of this work, into Czech, by actors and writers Jirí Voskovec (1905-1981) and Jan Werich (1905-1980) as Král Ubu. Quarto. Original black cloth, spine lettered in yellow, yellow endpapers, text printed in black, grey, and red, on grey, white, and yellow paper. With dust jacket. With 2 portraits of the author by L. Lantier and F. A. Cazals, several illustrations to the text by the author and Pierre Bonnard printed in red on grey paper, further illustrations by Franciszka Themerson printed in black on yellow paper.… (more)