BELLMER dreams that Marcel DUCHAMP is working on "The Doll Games".

Hans Bellmer (1902.1975)

Autographed letters signed to Henri Parisot.

Two quarto pages on orange onion skin paper.

[Paris. June 1945?]

« I could ask Marcel Duchamp for a "ready-made" text. »

A magnificent letter from Hans Bellmer, lost in conjecture about the poets and publishers likely to work on The Doll's Games. Mentioning, among others, Leonora Carrington, Marcel Duchamp, André Breton, and Paul Éluard, the artist describes the spirit that guided his work: " Overall, given this series of drawings, it is about the atmosphere, this unique, precise passage between childhood and puberty in a little girl. The drawings were made in this climate, for this purpose; solely."

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Dear friend, I just received issue #1 of "Les Quatre Vents"! Thank you! It's a pleasure to see it fresh off the press: it's well done. You've managed to find some important things, and what's more, we're discovering some interesting young people. (But why is Gisèle Prassinos among the young people? What's become of her?)

right away André Frédérique ! Obviously, "Cadran" and "L'enfant boudeur"—that's what we love. He has the taste, the knowledge, and the homesickness (for childhood). If my drawings mean anything to him, I would be happy if he would agree to write a poetic prose piece about it.

Overall, this series of drawings captures the atmosphere, that unique and precise transition between childhood and puberty in a little girl. The drawings were created in this climate, for this purpose ; solely. (Eluard admirably captured this atmosphere in his texts for the "Games of the Doll").

Naturally, given this color (the minor key), the texts I write will have no obligation (on my part) to follow the illustrative content of the drawings. There is absolute freedom here. Create a small monument to the minor key—mint tones, etc. That's all. It could become a marvel. The only real problem will be reproduction.

Of course, my only thought (without really thinking) was of halftone engravings like the ones GLM [Guy Lévis Mano] reproduced in his magazine. But there's nothing particularly charming about them. The character of the drawings would need to be reproduced. Like a facsimile. So, in two colors (lithographed?). Which company should I contact for that? There are certainly some in Paris who could do it. Zervos or Ms. Buchen surely know a lithography workshop capable of handling it without any trouble. It would be magnificent! An expensive edition, of course—but that's exactly what people would want. 

Ultimately, we should tackle this right now in a concrete way: a two-color photolithograph ! If you find a print shop that would do it, you should show them or leave them an original—for example, "The Peppermint Tower in Praise of Greedy Little Girls." The shop would tell me the price of the reproduction (2 plates). The format: 14 cm wide—the height will vary depending on the drawing. This idea excites me (because these drawings don't translate very well in photos). I would first have a two-color lithograph (brown and black) made at my own expense, and that would thrill even the most reluctant poets and writers !

With a good copy in hand, it would be easier for me to approach one or another of my writer friends. I'm thinking of Leonora Carrington. As for Péret and Breton, I wrote to Breton a few weeks ago without receiving a reply. I could ask Marcel Duchamp for a "ready-made" text. Do you think William Faulkner would be a suitable candidate? "The Sound and the Fury" would have a rather remarkable flavor.

Finally, the question of reproduction is the most important, above all. The only difficulty is that almost all the drawings are gone, scattered. And reproduction can only be done after the original. It's a pain. Eluard has two: "The Hands" and "The Little Girl in Front of the Mirror." Ms. Lizica Codreano has two (does she still live in Paris?). Mr. René Berger, in Buenos Aires, has two or three. You have three. Naturally, reproducing them in halftone engraving from Caillet's photographs would save me all this trouble. But that's nothing.  

I'm eagerly awaiting the first copies of your "Golden Age" series. If it's possible, I'll do something, that's for sure. But my life is so complicated that I haven't been able to work for a long time. However, a solution is near. I'll keep you posted! Please send me the photos of Caillet and the invoice as soon as possible. Yours sincerely, Bellmer.

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