Julio Florencio Cortázar Descotte — Prosa del observatorio

Barcelona: Editorial Lumen. First edition, first printing. 79 pp., 22.5 x 21.5. Condition: Very Good (VG). Mild toning to edges of paper; else fine Without dust jacket (as issued). Prosa del observatorio is a hybrid publication featuring a photographic essay and literary text by Argentine author and photographer Julio Cortázar. Published in 1972 by Editorial Lumen in Barcelona, the work was released as a commemorative book for the International Year of the Book. The book includes 36 black and white photographs taken by Cortázar in 1968 during a trip to India, documenting the astronomical observatories of Jaipur and Delhi, including the Jantar Mantar complex built in 1728 by Jai Singh I. Cortázar's accompanying text explores the philosophical and cultural distinctions between Eastern and Western perspectives on time and astronomy. Antonio Gálvez provided technical collaboration on the photography.