Le vrai visage du Marquis de Sade (The True Face of the Marquis de Sade)
<p>The Surrealists greatly admired the infamous heretic Marquis de Sade and his rejection of the arbitrary moral pressures of his time. In 1939 Jean Desbordes, a fledgling Surrealist under the wing of fellow poet Jean Cocteau, wrote the first detailed biography of Sade. Mary Reynolds, the designer of the book’s unique binding, made material and color choices that directly reflect the Sade’s libertine lifestyle and writing: blood red covers are bridged by raised diagonal bands resembling the welts that form on skin following the impact of a switch or whip, and a sturdy black spine displays the author and title in gilded lettering. The feel of the raised bands is a tactile and intimate connection among author, binder, and reader. The book bears an inscription from Desbordes to Reynolds on the half-title page.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1939
- Dimensions
- 21.1 × 13.1 × 3 cm (8 5/16 × 5 3/16 × 1 3/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Mary Reynolds
Artist
Textile
Mary Reynolds was an American artist and bookbinder active in Paris during the mid-twentieth century. Working primarily in hand-bound volumes and paper arts, she developed a distinctive practice that merged fine art with the craft tradition of bookbinding. Her work bridged Surrealist circles and the material culture of the book object itself. This profile will be expanded as more verified source material becomes available.
Full artist profile →More
More by Mary Reynolds
Saint Glinglin: précédé d'une nouvelle version de Gueule de Pierre et des Temps mêlés: Roman (Saint Glinglin: Preceded by a New Version of Stone Mouth and Mingled Time)
1949 · Full green morocco binding; horizontal onlay across covers and spine; broken china teacup handle attached by onlay to spine; title stamped in gold on front cover; author stamped in gold on back cover; marbled endpapers; original paper covers bound in
Exercices de style
1947 · Quarter black calfskin binding with marbled paper; calfskin label on cover with title stamped in gold; author stamped in gold on spine; top edge colored; marbled endpapers; original paper covers bound in
Le Diable au corps: Roman
1947 · Chêneuarter vellum binding with green paper; morocco spine label with author and title stamped in gold; decorated endpapers; original paper covers bound in
Le Foyer des artistes
1947 · One-quarter vellum binding, sides covered with red paper speckled with gold stars; original paper covers bound in
Le surmâle: Roman moderne (Superman: A Modern Novel)
1945 · Full black morocco binding with onlay; metal corset stay attached to spine; title stamped in gold on spine; mauve endpapers printed with wire-mesh pattern; original paper covers bound in
Loin de Rueil (Skin of Dreams)
1944 · Full red morocco binding with raised bands; author and title stamped in gold on spine; endpapers of trial proofs for Marcel Duchamp's 1935 cover of Minotaure; original paper covers bound in
Record
Verified by Watts Index- Artist
- Mary Reynolds
- Year
- 1939
- Dimensions
- 21.1 × 13.1 × 3 cm (8 5/16 × 5 3/16 × 1 3/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1939-047761
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified