Penrose, Valentine. Dons des Féminines. Préface de Paul Eluard. 32 l. With 49 mostly full page reproductions of surrealistic collages. 33,5 x 25,5 cm. Original boards. (Paris), "Les Pas Perdus", (1951).
One of 350 numbered copies (entire edition: 400). "One of the first women to participate in the Surrealist movement, Valentine Penrose (1898-1978) was an exceptional poet whose work was filled with strange and beautiful imagery, eroticism, exoticism, legends and magic. Of the same generation as André Breton and the other founders, Penrose became a part of the movement during the 1920s. She was admired as a poet, in particular by Paul Eluard, who wrote complimentary prefaces for Herbe à la lune (1935) and Dons des féminines (1951). Her sensuality and often daring eroticism, her celebration of feminism, her musical rhythm and surprising images make her poems all the more exquisite. Like so many women associated with the group, her beauty was an additional attraction to the male members. Roland Penrose, Max Ernst and Wolgan Paalen and Man Ray all did her portrait" (Jean-Michel Place). - A good copy.