Patrick J. Kearney

A Catalogueof the Publications ofRené Bonnel(1884 - 1975)

René Bonnel’s Ex-Libris

Scissors & Paste Bibliographies
Santa Rosa, CA2019

Introductory Note

Appearances to the contrary, this little catalogue was for themost part completed prior to receiving from a friend in Paris aXerox copy of Claudine Brécourt-Villars’ article and catalogue‘René Bonnel, un franc-tireur de l’édition des années folles’(Revue de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, no. 7, January2001). Ms. Brécourt-Villars lists all of the works to be foundbelow, with the notable exception of Les Dix livres de cuisined’Apicius which in fairness is not a clandestine work, nor in thestrict meaning of the word is it an erotic one either. She also
includes a handful of others that may not have been publishedby Bonnel. I have added these to the end of my list, together
with my reasons for thinking why they should be excluded. As
usual I will be happy to make corrections should I be wrong in
my assumptions.
Bonnel seems to have published just three non-clandestine
works: the Apicious, already mentioned; Alcide Bonneau’stranslation of Forberg’s De figuris Veneris, reprinted from theLiseux edition of 1882, and a partially original collection oferotic poems by Théophile Gautier.
2

A bookseller in Paris named S. Goudemare issued a catalogue devoted to Bonnel’s openly published works in 1991
which he called ‘La Bande à Bonnel,’ presumably a tongue-incheek reference to ‘La Bande à Bonnot,’ a group of pre-WWI
French anarchists led by Jules Bonnot, the alleged inventor of
the getaway car. Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to locate acopy of Goudemare’s catalogue, and I’d be grateful for any assistance in doing so.

ASince the above paragraph was written, M. Alexandre
Dupouy of Les Larmes d’éros/éditions Astarté (58 rue Amelot,75011 Paris) generously provided me with a copy of Sylvain
Goudemare’s catalogue. To my chagrin, it did not, as I had
fondly anticipated, provide a list of Bonnel’s non-clandestine
publications, and I am forced to the conclusion that with theone or two exceptions to be found noted below there wasn’t a‘respectable’ side to his business. ‘La Bande à Bonnel’ is actuallya catalogue of books written, edited and published by the ‘Bonnel Gang’ which included Bonnel himself, and Pascal Pia, Eddydu Perron, André Malraux and others. It is nevertheless a catalogue of great interest and provided me with a new entry which
I had overlooked, to be found listed under ‘Baudelaire’ below.
All references below to Pascal Pia are for the excellent second edition of his Les Livres de l’Enfer published at Paris in1998 by Arthème Fayard.
Patrick J. Kearney

3A

1. [ALIBERT, Francois-Paul.] — Le Supplice d’unequeue. Avec un frontispice gravé à la point sèche [byPedro Creixams]. 1931. 8vo. pp. 98. Limited to 90
copies, with five exemplaires nominatifs reserved forthe author and publisher. The limitation notice states
the work to have been published by ‘Editions de l’Ilede la Barthalesse.’ [Pascal Pia, Les Livres de l’Enfer, 2ndedition, pp. 720,1]
2. APICIUS CÆLIUS [or Cœlius]. — Les Dix livres decuisine d’Apicius. Traduits du latin pour la première
fois et commentés par Bertrand Guégan. Paris: RenéBonnel, éditeur, 8, rue Blanche, 1933 [5 octobre 1934.]
8vo. pp. lxxviii-323. Illustrations. [Bibliothèque Nationale: 8-V-51300. - British Library: 20009.ff.23.]
3. APOLLINAIRE, (Guillaume) [?Pascal Pia]. - Cortège
priapique. La Havane [Paris]: Au Cabinet des Muses[René Bonnel & René Picart], 1925. 4to. pp. 25. Witha Preface signed ‘Leger Alype’ [i.e. Pascal Pia]. Limited4

to 125 copies on papier des Manufactures Impériales duJapon. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés. m. Ye. 690.]
4. APOLLINAIRE, (Guillaume). - Les Exploits d’une
jeune Don Juan. Avec douze lithographies originales[by G.-L. Roux]. Cologne [Paris]: A la couronne desamours [1926]. 4to. pp. 80. Twelve plates. Limited to137 copies. Contains a brief bibliographcal note, unsigned, by Pascal Pia. The plates were printed separatelyfrom the book by Mme. Duchatel. [Bibliothèque Nationale (2 copies): Enfer 1439. - Rés. p. Y2. 2616.]
5. APOLLINAIRE, (Guillaume) [?Pascal Pia, in part]. Julie ou la rose. A Hambourg et se trouve à Paris [1927].
16mo. pp. 28. Limited to 65 copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés. p. Ye. 2056, formerly Enfer 1605.]
6. APOLLINAIRE, (Guillaume). - Les Onze mille
verges ou les amours d’un hospodar by G. A. [With apreface dated ‘Mai 1930.’, unsigned but by Louis Aragon.] Monte-Carlo: Les Ygrées, 1930. 16mo. pp. 168.
Limited to 130 copies.
7. APOLLINAIRE, (Guillaume). - Les Onze mille
verges ou les amours d’un hospodar by G. A. [With apreface dated ‘Mai 1930.’, unsigned but by Louis Aragon.] Nice: La Ratapignata, 1931. 16mo. pp. 168. Limited to 130 copies.
8. APOLLINAIRE, (Guillaume). - Les Onze mille
verges ou les amours d’un hospodar by G. A. [With apreface dated ‘Mai 1930.’, unsigned but by Louis Aragon.] Menton-Garavan: P.L.M, 1932. 16mo. pp. 168.
Limited to 130 copies.
9. APOLLINAIRE, (Guillaume) [?Pascal Pia]. - Le Verger des amours. Orné de six pointes sèches [by Foujita].
Monaco: 1924 [1927]. 16mo. Unpaged, but comprising5

ƒƒ. 40 in total. Limited to 120 copies on vergé de Rives
a la forme, and three exemplaires nominatifs on Chine.
[Bibliothèque Nationale: Enfer 1110.]
10. ARAGON, (Louis). - Le Con d’Irène. 1928. 4to. pp.
88. Etched frontispiece and four plates [by André Masson]. Limited to 135 copies, and ‘15 exemplaires nominatifs.’

6

B

11. BATAILLE, (Georges). - Histoire de l’œil par Lord
Auch. Avec huit lithographies originales [by AndréMasson]. Paris: 1928. 4to. pp. 104. Frontispiece and 7plates. Limited to 134 copies. The plates were printed
separately from the book by Mme. Duchatel. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés. m. Y2. 1004.]
12. BAUDELAIRE, (Charles) [Pascal Pia]. - Années deBruxelles: journaux inédits/Charles Baudelaire [PascalPia]. Publiés par Georges Garonne [Pascal Pia], avec
un dessin inédit de Ch. Baudelaire [Pascal Pia] et desnotes de Féli Gautier [Pascal Pia]. Paris: Éditions de laGrenade, 1927. 8vo. Pp. [81] [Printed by Gaston Coquette, 69, rue de la Glacière.] Limited to 150 copies.
[Bibliothèque Nationale: RES 4- LN27- 62238.]
13. BOURDEL, (Pierre Du) [Pierre Dumarchey, aka
Pierre Mac Orlan] - Mademoiselle de Mustelle et sesamis. Roman pervers d’une fillette élégante et vicieuse,orné d’un cuivre grave par Ferdine Zombi [Gaston7Louis Roux]. Saint Domingue: A La Boutique depoèsie [René Bonnel & Pascal Pia], 1928. 8vo., ‘sousétuis.’ Limited to 128 copies.
This is the second edition of this novel. The wrappers were printed
in burlesque imitation of the Bibliothèque Rose series of children’sbooks published by Hachette.

8F

14. FORBERG, (Friedrich Carl). - Manuel d’érotologieclassique. [i.e. the commentary by F. C. Forberg, entitled De figuris Veneris, extracted from his edition of theHermaphroditus of Antonius Beccadelli.] Texte intégral trad. du latin par Alcide Bonneau. Paris: impr. pourRené Bonnel, 1933. 8vo. pp. 225. [Bibliothèque Nationale: 8. Y2. 90000 (1042).]
15. FOUGERET DE MONTBRON, (Jean Louis). Margot la ravaudeuse. Avec 12 gravures sur cuivre [byDemetrius Galanis]. Imprimé sur le copie de Hamburg
pour quelques bibliophiles [1934]. 24mo. pp. 190. Limited to 250 copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Enfer 1207
(wanting the plates). - British Library: P.C.15.de.26(with 2 additional plates).]
16. FRICK, (Louis de Gonzague). - Le Calamiste Alizé.
Onze poésies illustrées de onze eaux-fortes originales
par A. B. [Auguste Brouet.] n.p., n.d.. [c. 1930.] 8vo.
ff. 16. Limited to 100 copies.
9This the second edition, and reproduces the text of the poems infacsimile of the original manuscript. The first edition, including justfive poems, was published in 1921 by Simon Kra. Louis de Gonzague Frick (1883 – 1958) was an eccentric poet who attended
school with Apollinaire, and later supported younger poets likeRobert Desnos, and Robert Valançay and was active in Dada and
Surrealist circles. He famously went to war in 1914 wearing a monocle and white gloves.

17. FRICK, (Louis de Gonzague). - Le Calamiste Alizé.
[quote :] Ephebe sois toujours prêt à sortir ton prick |Devant l’Almée en rut qui tangue comme un brick.
n.p., n.d. [c. 1940.] 4to. ff. 14. Limited to 65 copies.
A reissue of the edition of c. 1930 with the same illustrations.

10G

18. GAUTIER, (Théophile). - Poésies libertines comprenant treize pièces inédites publiées par un bibliophile,accompagnées de huit illustrations. [With an Introduction, unsigned, by René Jasinski.] Paris: Imprime pourRene Bonnel, 13, rue Ravignon, 13. 8vo. pp. 90. Limited to 255 copies, comprising 250 on Arches and 5 onHollande. A vignette on the front wrapper is the exlibris of the publisher, designed for him by Demetrius
Galanis. [Bibliothèque Nationale (2 copies): Enfer 1153and 1469.]
The front wrapper has the imprint : ‘Paris: Édition réservée auxsouscripteurs, M.CM.XXXV’.

11J

19. JARRY, (Alfred). - Les Silènes. Avec un frontispiecegravé à l’eau-forte [by Demetrius Galanis]. Papeete: LeBibliophiles Creoles [1926]. 4to. pp. 64. Limited to 104
copies, of which 100 were on vergé de Rives B.F.K.
and 4 on Japon. [Bibliothèque Nationale (2 copies):
Enfer 1049 and 1490.]

12L

20. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - Aphrodite. Mœurs antiques. Edition intégrale, comprenant des passages libres inédites etillustrée de seize gravures au burin et a la pointe sèche[by Serge Czerefkov]. Tiflis: Bagration Davidoff, Editeur [Rene Bonnel & Pascal Pia], 1928. 8vo. Three volumes, pp. 170, 176, 46. The third volume comprises“Notes sur Aphrodite [by Pascal Pia] accompagnées dequatre pages libres inédites reproduites en fac-similé.”
Sixteen engraved plates. Limited to 166 copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Enfer 1065 (vol. 2 only); Enfer
1395. - British Library: P.C. 15. e. 25 (vols. 1 & 2 only).
- Compiler’s collection.]
21. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - Histoire de roi Gonzalve et desdouze princesses. Madrid: Aux dépens d’un bibliophile[Rene Bonnel & Pascal Pia, 1927]. 4to. Unpaged, but[pp. 76] in total. Limited to 100 copies. [Compiler’scollection.]1322. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - Histoire de roi Gonzalve et desdouze princesses. Madrid: Aux dépens d’un bibliophile[1933]. 32mo. pp. 130. Twelve engraved plates by [Auguste Brouet]. Limited to 205 copies. Pink wrappers,with a paper label on the front bearing the design of aphallic crown. [British Library: P.C. 13. a. 9, calling fora frontispiece and 13 plates.]
23. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - [A variant of the preceding.] Histoire de roi Gonzalve et des douze princesses. Madrid:Aux dépens d’un bibliophile [1933]. 32mo. pp. 130.
Twelve engraved plates by [Auguste Brouet]. Limited
to 205 copies. Pale brown wrappers with light yellow
label bearing the intertwined initials of the author in red
overprinted in black with the title of the book. In addition, the plates, which are inserted loosely, are in sanguine on pale blue paper. [British Library: P.C. 23. a.
30.]
24. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - Pybrac. Poésies. Cythère: Au CoqHardi, 1927. 16mo. pp. 98. The titlepage is illustrated
with an erotic vignette by Foujita. Limited to 105 copies, of which 5 were on Japon and 100 on Arches. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Enfer 1400.]
25. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - Poésies érotiques de Pierre Louÿs.
Imprimé à Liège, 1927. 16mo. pp. 70. Limited to 69
copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés. p. Ye. 2111.]
26. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - [A new edition of the preceding.]
Poésies érotiques d’un auteur célèbre, illustrées detrente-deux lithographies originales dessinées par un artiste inconnu [Marcel Vertès]. Barcelone: Atarazanas(Barrio Chino), l’an I de la République Catalane[1932.] 4to. pp. [92], unnumbered. Limited to 165 copies, plus 5 hors commerce.
1427. LOUŸS, (Pierre). - Trois Filles de Leur Mére. Auxdépens d’un amateur et pour ses amis [Paris: René Bonnel & Pascal Pia, 1926]. Large 8vo. pp. 361. Reproduced in facsimile of the author’s MS. [Compiler’s collection.] *** FIRST EDITION.
- The first edition of Trois filles de leur mère was printed on paper
watermarked with the author’s name spelled backwards - “SyuolErreip.” A short while afterwards, a contrafaÃ§on was struck off,
identical in all respects to the true first except that it lacked thiswatermark. Who was responsible for this piracy is unknown, andeven the claim that Bonnel and Pia did the first is speculation; G.
Legman, in a letter to the compiler dated November 2 1987, wrotethat he believed the original edition to have been “done by abookseller on the Seine quais in Paris.”

15

M

28. MORAND, (Paul). - Les Plaisirs Rhenans. Orné desept lithographies originales [by Gaston Louis Roux] etcoloriées à la main. Dusseldorf: Librairie Leocadia[1926]. 4to. Unpaged, but pp. [36]. Limited to 107copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés. m.Y2. 1044.]

16

R

29. RADIGUET, (Raymond). - Jeux innocents. Avec réproduction de trois poèmes manuscrits en facsimile.
Robinson: Sous les Tonnelles [1926]. 4to. Unpaged,
but [pp. 34] in total. Limited to 63 copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés. m. Ye. 613.]
30. RADIGUET, (Raymond). - Vers libres. Champigny:
Au Panier fleuri [1926]. 8vo. Unpaged, but pp. [40].
Limited to 125 copies on Hollande. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Enfer 940.]
31. RIMBAUD, (Arthur). - Les Stupra, augmentée d’unepoème inédit [by Pascal Pia] et illustrés de cinq eauxfortes par un graveur flamand [Frans de Geetere]. Paris:
Au Ecluses de Paris, 1925. 4to. Unpaged, but pp. [22].
161 copies. There is a brief Notice by ‘Marcelle laPompe’ [Renée Dunan or Pascal Pia]. [BibliothèqueNationale: Enfer 1048. - Compiler’s collection.]

17

S

32. SATYREMONT [Benjamin Peret]. - Les Couilles enragées.
The police prevented publication of this surrealist work in 1928
when they raided the printer on another matter. They discovered
the sheets and, presumably, the illustrations by Yves Tanguy, andseized everything. The book was eventually published in a discreteand limited edition in 1954 by Eric Losfeld, with the title on thewrapper prudently changed to Les Rouilles encagées.

18V

33. VERLAINE, (Paul). - Hombres et fac-similé de lalettre de Paliseul. Ségovie: À l’Enseigne de la grenade,
1926. 8vo. pp. 56, and a facsimile of a 4-page letter.
Limited to 100 copies on Japon. There is a Note and a
Notice signed ‘A. M.’ and ‘Avinin Mireur’ respectively,
which Brécourt-Villars says are by Pascal Pia. Pia himself says nothing concerning his authorship (see: Pia,2nd. edition, p. 350). [Bibliothèque Nationale: - Rés.
p. Ye. 2062, formerly Enfer 1050.]

19

Doubtful Publications

My suspicions concerning the following titles stem mostly
from the fact that Pascal Pia either neglects to mention thatBonnel published them, states without hesitation that somebody
else did or omits them altogether. Pia evidently knew Bonnelwell; the two were friends for many years and collaborated ona number of publishing projects. It seems unlikely that he would
be ignorant of any of Bonnel’s clandestine ventures.

34. MAUPASSANT, (Guy de). - A la feuille de Rose.
Maison turque, comédie de mœurs (mauvaises) en unacte en prose representée pour la première fois a Paris,en 1875. [With a preface, unsigned, by Pierre Borel.]Paris: 1945. 8vo. pp. 70. Three coloured lithographs.
Limited to 225 copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Enfer
1464. - Compiler’s collection.]
Pia (2nd. ed., p. 23-24) describes this edition, but provides no information as to who published it except that its place of origin was
Nice rather than Paris where Bonnel habitually worked. However,20the compiler’s copy has a manuscript inscription in ink, unsigned
but in the unmistakable autograph the late Gershon Legman, which
gives: ‘[Nice: R.B. & A.B.].’ These initials are expanded in pencil
to say ‘René Bonnel [&] André Bottin.’ The general consensus in
the world of erotic bibliophily is that Bottin was the publisher ofthis work. Perhaps it was a joint effort?

35. MERIMEE, (Prosper). - Lettres libres à Stendhal avec
neuf lithographies par G. Roux. Paris: Aux Êditions dela Grenade, 1927. 4to. pp. 58. Limited to 150 copies.
The text is preceded by a note signed ‘P.P.’ [Pascal Pia].
[Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés m. Z. 73.]
Concerning this edition, Pia (2nd. ed, p. 690) makes no mention ofRene Bonnel, but provides the addresses of the two printers used
for the text and the plates, and the publisher. However, the similarity between the imprint of the present volume and the edition ofVerlaine’s Hombres listed above is certainly suggestive.

36. STENDHAL. - Les Ecrits érotiques de Stendhal. 1801.
Bruxelles 1832. 4to. Unpaged, but pp. [52]. Limited to98 copies. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés m. Z. 521]
Pia (2nd edition, p. 226) states that this work was printed in 1927
[Brécourt-Villars gives 1928] “par les Artisans Imprimeurs pour lecompte d’un éditeur occasionnel M. L. Ch…”.

21

37. VERLAINE, (Paul). - Les amies. Scène d’amour sapphique. Sonnets par le licencié Pablo de Herlagnèz illustré de sept eaux fortes originales. Ségovie 1870-1926[1926]. Small 4to. Unpaged, but pp. [28] and 7 leaves
for the plates. Limited to 150 copies, 21 on Japon ancien Ã la forme et 129 on Japon impérial. [Bibliothèque Nationale: Rés P. Ye. 2877].
Not in Pia, but published in 1926 at Paris by René Bonnel andillustrated by Frans de Geetere according to a sale catalogue, Paris,Drouot, March 3rd 1987, lot no. 275.
Copyright © Patrick J. Kearney 201922