Kaaterskill Books

Madrid: (Imp. Moderna), 1904. [16] pp.; [16] pp. 4to. Paper wrappers. First edition. Good minus (1) and near fine (2). Item #45751

The first use of the pseudonym of Juan Gris by the artist born José Victoriano González-Pérez (1887-1927), one of the most representative Spanish artists of the twentieth century. Between 1902 and 1904, Gris studied at the School of Art and Industry in Madrid. In 1904 he left school and began to receive classes by academic painter José Moreno Carbonero. Gris begins to draw satirically. In fact, the role of laughter, humor and caricatures have great relevance in the genesis of avant-garde art. During the early years in Gris’ career he produced over six hundred and fifty drawings and typographic vignettes, and collaborated with twenty-two different newspapers; nine Spanish and thirteen French. This stage began in 1904, when the artist was seventeen "These drawings, made to illustrate texts by Camilo Bargiela, Ramón Godoy, Ramón Asensio, and Enrique Ayuso "inaugurate his first stage that we could call literary poetry" and build "the prehistory of the artist", as well as the symbolist roots of the avant-garde, beginning with the publications in two literary magazines Papel de estraza (1904) and Renacimiento latino (1905) (ref 1).

Papel de Estraza would last only three issues, the first two of which each contain 4 pages of "Enrique Ayuso: Alegria . Novela. Illustraciones de Juan Gris (Madrid 1904)". Colored wrappers with advertising on inside of the front and rear wrappers and verso of rear wrapper. The front wrappers carries a "sumario," which notes the writers and illustrators including Juan Gris. There exist no known original copies of the Gris illustrations that appear in this publication.

"It should be pointed out, in order to highlight the importance of his [Gris] commitment to the service of this new magazine [Papel de Estraza], that he was chosen to illustrate their two weekly serials, Alegría by Enrique Ayuso and De telón adentro by Ramón Asensio Mas, whose appearance was interrupted when he left. This collaboration of Juan Gris in Papel de Estraza was a key stage in the life of the future painter because it seems to mark the official starting point of his graphic production." (Ref 2)

1.Papel de Estraza: Evo. I: Num. 1. 3-7-MCMIV [July 3, 1904]. [16 pp.], 13 illustrations incl. 3 by Gris. Oversized wrappers untrimmed. Torn and stained along top edge, with some loss to the top edge of the first 4 leaves.

--page 11, illustrating "Seduccion" by Eduardo Herrera. 6 x 5 cm. Gris signed the first drawing with his pseudonym "Juan Gris" in italics; in subsequent ones, he used his initials “J. G.” with the j of the name in lower case.
--page 16: illustrating the first section of "Alegria," a novela by Enrique Ayuso. 6.5 x 4.8 cm.
--page 5: a vignette (unsigned) "after the theatrical chronicle by Jacinto Benavente, [there is] a small closing vignette that represents a child lying down, with one leg raised and resting on his forearm, which was undoubtedly drawn by Juan Gris since it closely resembles one of his vignettes published in 1907 in L'Indiscret, the first French magazine in which he collaborated a few months later, after his arrival in Paris.

--Plus rear wrapper: "It is also possible that he drew the magazine's logo; in fact, we find identical characters in the Latin Renaissance, especially in the heading "Fémina" (RL 26), as well as his fondness for combining some characters with others, varying their shapes, dimensions and spatial relationships. Likewise, this brand announces those that he later created for Cran Mundo and Sport (GM 3) and the Pueyo publishing house in Madrid. Every issue two identical ornamental frames were published on the fourth cover with the magazine's logo and surrounded by advertisements for an insurance company, "La Equitativa", and "Petróleo Gal", which could also be by the artist," (ref. 2).

2. Papel de Estraza: Evo. I: Num. 2. 10-7-MCMIV [July 10, 1904]. [16 pp.], 13 illustrations incl. 3 by Gris. Trimmed with some very minor tearing at the edges.

--page 3: illustrating Parisina by Alfonso Hernandez-Cata. 12 x 7.5 cm.
--page 15: illustrating the second section of "Alegria," 6.8 x 5 cm.
--page 16: illustrating the second section of "Alegria," 7.5 x 3.5 cm.

Not in OCLC, COPAC, REbuin, European or Spanish Library databases. Not at the Univ. Connecticut Duque de T' Serclaes periodical collection. Only one complete set known: Hemeroteca Municipal de Madrid. Coleccion de Juan Manuel Bonet has No. 3.

References:
1. Juan Gris: Dibujos satiricos/dessins satiriques. le Coleccion Emilio Ferre (Paris: BBVA 2014)
2. Juan Gris, dibujante de prensa: de Madrid a Montmartre 4 november, 2003 - 19 january, 2004
3. A. Quiney: Juan Gris, un exlibris desconocido para Francisco Villaespesa
4. Publicaciones Literarias Españolas 1900- 1950. Catalogo. Hemeroteca Municipal de Madrid. 1998. p.45.

Price: $4,000.00