116 - Henri MICHAUX. *Les Rêves et la Jambe*. A Philosophical and Literary Essay. Antwerp, Ça ira, 1923. In-12, paperback, slipcase.

Henri MICHAUX. *Les Rêves et la Jambe*. A Philosophical and Literary Essay. Antwerp, Ça ira, 1923. In-12, paperback, slipcase. First edition of the author’s first book, printed in a run of 400 copies on vellum paper (no. 9). Without going so far as to have *Les Rêves et la Jambe* destroyed, as the legend goes, the author forbade the reprinting of “this wretched little book.” He paid no heed to the unsold stock, part of which resurfaced in the mid-1980s. (Imbert, “Bibliography” in Henri Michaux, peindre, composer, écrire, BnF, 1999, no. 4.) A very touching autographed dedication on the half-title page: to the perceptive and intuitive critic / and above all to my dear By / this is dedicated / Mamich This enigmatic dedication—undoubtedly the only one the poet ever signed with the name “Mamich”—is the first ever addressed to Gabrielle Friedrich, executive secretary of the Kra publishing house, where Michaux worked between 1925 and 1927. She played a crucial role in Michaux’s life and was undoubtedly one of the women he loved most. In *Ecuador*, Michaux refers to her as “By,” and in the poem “Amour,” as “Banjo” or “Banjoby.”