Livres rares et Manuscrits

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Following the French government’s announcement of new social restrictions, please note that our Paris premises are now closed to the public. All scheduled auctions are confirmed to continue, and we will be taking telephone and absentee bids, or via the Christie’s LIVE™ platform.

This fall, on 3 November, collectors and bibliophiles are invited to gather at Christie’s Paris, for a new Rare Books and manuscripts auction, spanning more than half a millennium of written history. Illuminated manuscripts and early editions echo with lavishly illustrated books by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Alberto Giacometti and Zao Wou-Ki.

The auction will also include major travel and exploration books, including a sumptuous handcolored copy of Le Hay’s book on Turkish and Ottoman costumes, and Felice Beato’s landmark album of photographs of India.

French culture and literature also play an important role in this auction, with, at the forefront, this exceptional letter by painter and caricaturist Felix Régamey illustrated with a candid portrait of Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, the latter being also well represented with various editions of his works included in the auction. Two original drawings by Jean-Jacques Sempé, himself one of the most renowned comic artists and editorial cartoonists of his time, will also surely spark the interest of collectors from all around the world.