Andre Balthazar — A Bras le Corps

La Louviere, Le Daily-Bul, 1965 . Paperback. One of just thirty deluxe copies of Balthazar and Bury"s surrealist exploration of the human body, signed by both and illustrated with seven original signed lithographs by Pol Bury. In the original publisher"s card portfolio, preserved in the original glassine wrap.  One of just thirty deluxe copies, numbered I-XXX on Steinbach and Climatic paper, this copy VIII, signed by both André Balthazar and Pol Bury at the limitation. The complete edition comprised 138 copies: 100 numbered 1-100, thirty numbered I-XXX, six lettered A-F, with two hors-commerce copies reserved for Balthazar and Bury. Illustrated with seven original lithographs by Pol Bury: four in black and three in colour. Lacking the initial colour plate. Collated.  In the deluxe issue the lithographs are individually numbered and signed by the artist; those in this copy are numbered 16/38 and signed in pencil by Bury.  A collaborative Belgian avant-garde artist"s book pairing Balthazar"s playful, surreal prose meditations on the human body with Bury"s striking anatomical figures.   The texts successively take parts of the body as their subjects, including La Chair, Le Sang, Le Ventre, Le Coeur, La Peau, Les Poils, Les Ongles, Les Os, Le Squelette, Le Tibia, La Cuisse, Les Pieds, La Main, L"Oeil, Le Nez, La Langue and Les Dents. In the original publisher"s card portfolio, preserved in the original glassine wrap. Externally, very smart. Slight browning to spine. Or or two very minor spots and marks to wraps. Minor edge wear to extremities. Internally, pages loose as issued. Bright and clean. Near Fine . Ill.: Pol Bury. Near Fine .