Description

FIRST EDITION.
First and only issue of the magazine Inquisitions, directed by Roger Caillois, Tristan Tzara, Aragon and Jules Monnerot.
One of 15 copies on Hollandenumbered (no. 10) and signed by Tristan Tzara ("T. T.").
Packed with the rare subscription form and a poster for the debate on "Mural Art and Easel Art" led by Elie Faure and Jean Cassou at the Maison de la Culture on 23 June 1936.

From 8 January to 30 March 1936, Roger Caillois and Tristan Tzara, together with the "Groupe d'Études pour la phénoménologie humaine", organised a series of conferences bringing together members and former members of the Surrealist group with writers associated with the NRF and Cahiers sud. The text of the lectures, along with an account of the ensuing discussions, appeared in InquisitionsThe texts are introduced by an essay by Gaston Bachelard on "Surrationalism", accompanied by an extract from Crevel's Roman Cassé and reading notes. Contributors include Roger Caillois, Jules Monnerot, Jacques Spitz, Tristan Tzara, Claude Chaen, Jean Audard, René Etiemble and others.

Henri Béhar points out:

"its contents [...] was one of the few attempts by the Popular Front to define the theoretical framework for its cultural action. Drawn up by dissident Surrealists, Communists of all persuasions and left-wing intellectuals, it provided a common platform for reflection for those who were not satisfied with the failure of Surrealism to serve the revolution [...]" ("Inquisitions: Surrationalism, Poetry and Current Affairs", in Mélusine, 20 January 1985).

The plan was to publish "six times a year at irregular intervals", but the magazine would only have one issue, probably because of an ideological split between Tzara and Aragon, who were members of the Communist Party, and the rest of the management team.

This copy belonged to André Vasseur, a magazine collector whose library was sold at 2 auctions on 1 and 2 March 2023. Vasseur designed a handwritten title page for this book - as for several other journals in his collection. At the foot of the page is a note in pencil in his own hand: "Copy given by Tristan Tzara during an exchange".