News | May 23, 2025

French Bibliophile Pierre Brossette's Artists' Books Collection Sold for €6.2M

Christie's

Matisse's Jazz

Christie's' Cabinet des Livres by Pierre Brossette sale of the Lyon businessman's collection totalled €6,163,668, exceeding the sale's high estimate, with 21 lots selling for more than €100,000 including four above €300,000. 

Highlights included:

  • The imperial copy of La Fontaine's Fables illustrated by Jean-Baptiste Oudry, bound with the coat of arms of Maria Feodorovna (€378,000)
  • Three photographic bindings by Paul Bonet created for André Breton's works, L’immaculée conception, Nadja, and L’Amour, La poésie by Paul Éluard (€869,400)
  • Matisse's Jazz, bound by Rose Adler in 1953 (€327,600)
  • the finest known copy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Émile, ou De l’éducation (€176,400)
  • a copy of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary dedicated to Alexandre Dumas (€214,200) and L’Education sentimental to George Sand (€151,200)
  • an exceptionally fine set of the first edition of The Count of Monte Cristo that belonged to Parisian dandy and contemporary of the author Lord Henry Seymour (€214,000)
  • the complete works of Honoré de Balzac, inscribed by the author to his mother (€176,400)
Nadja, Paris: Gallimard, 1928. The finest copy of Nadja, a gift from André Breton to Rene Char, bound by Paul Bonet at the latter's request. With its first binding from the 1934 series of photographic bindings. A deluxe copy, enriched with original documents.
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Christie's

Nadja, Paris: Gallimard, 1928. The finest copy of Nadja, a gift from André Breton to Rene Char, bound by Paul Bonet at the latter's request. With its first binding from the 1934 series of photographic bindings. A deluxe copy, enriched with original documents.

L'Immaculée conception, Paris: Éditions surréalistes, José Corti, 1930. No. 1, on China paper, with a dedication from André Breton and Paul Éluard to René Gaffé, in a photographic binding by Paul Bonet.
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Christie's

L'Immaculée conception, Paris: Éditions surréalistes, José Corti, 1930. No. 1, on China paper, with a dedication from André Breton and Paul Éluard to René Gaffé, in a photographic binding by Paul Bonet.

 


 

Le Comte de Monte-Christo, Paris: Baudry (vols. 1-14) and Petion (vols. 15-18), printed by Bethune and Plon (vols. 1-8) and A. Henry (vols. 9-18), 1845. An extremely rare copy of the first edition.
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Christie's

Le Comte de Monte-Christo, Paris: Baudry (vols. 1-14) and Petion (vols. 15-18), printed by Bethune and Plon (vols. 1-8) and A. Henry (vols. 9-18), 1845. An extremely rare copy of the first edition.

Madame Bovary, Paris: Michel Lévy Frères, 1857. With dedication from Flaubert to Dumas: "To Mr. Alexandre Dumas, homage from an unknown man. Gve Flaubert."
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Christie's

Madame Bovary, Paris: Michel Lévy Frères, 1857. With dedication from Flaubert to Dumas: "To Mr. Alexandre Dumas, homage from an unknown man. Gve Flaubert."

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