Les Poupeés de Dixmude.

Bruxelles.: Editions Cobra., 1950, février.. Original publisher's monochrome printed wrappers with flaps featuring photographs by Roland d'Ursel ('Les ruines de la teinturerie'), title printed in black to spine.. 12mo. (163 x 128 mm).. Leaf with justification verso, half-title, title and Alechinsky's text illustrated with 6 monochrome reproduction photographs with details verso on glossy paper stock, 'Ereskigal / allégorie' by Luc Zangrie and final leaf with achevé d'imprimer. Alechinsky's Surrealist-inspired artist book, his first written work: 'Les Poupées de Dixmude'.From the edition limited to 1,000 copies, this one of 300 numbered copies; 20 hors commerce copies were also issued.Alechinsky's text develops a dream narrative of his experiences in an abandoned chateau outside Brussels, drawing on psychoanalysis through an invented dialogue with his wife, Micky.The evocative photographs by Roland d'Ursel, also used for the wrappers, use imagery of ruins, as often appeared in Surrealist paintings. An image of Hans Bellmer's 1930s 'Poupée' is also featured along with an extract from 'Les Jeux de la Poupée', thus bringing the Surrealist influence to the fore.'Les Poupeés de Dixmude' is scarce and we can locate few institutional copies, one each in Italy, the UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands and three in the US, at Princeton, Yale and the Getty