PAULHAN (Jean). - Lot 179

PAULHAN (Jean). Les Hain-Teny. Mérinas. Malagasy Folk Poetry. Paris: Librairie Paul Genthner, 1913. — In-18, 190 x 129: (2 ff.), 457 pp., (3 ff., last blank), printed cover. Paperback. Rare first edition; no large-format edition was printed. This is a collection of Malagasy folk poetry published by Jean Paulhan, the result of his stay in Madagascar between 1908 and 1910, where he taught at the Collège de Tananarive. The hain-teny (a Malagasy expression meaning “science of words”) are poems composed of a clear, descriptive part and an obscure, metaphorical, and proverbial part. In Madagascar, they are part of a tradition of poetic duels, in which opponents clash using proverbs, which are offered as arguments or evidence. The publication of *Hain-Teny* marked a literary milestone: this collection even enabled Malagasy intellectuals to rediscover this tradition. Dirty and stained cover; tears and missing sections on the spine. The first two leaves are unbound. Also included, by the same author: - *Les Hain-Tenys*. Paris: Gallimard, [1939]. — In-16, 187 x 117: 216 pp., (1 f.), printed cover. Paperback. Second edition. Press copy, featuring this autographed dedication by the author on the first blank page: To Madame Foucault // with best regards from // her neighbor today // Jean Paulhan Soiling and small tears on the cover. - *Les Hain-Teny. Poésie obscure*. Monaco: Société de conférences, 1930. — In-8 booklet, 222 x 140: (1 blank folio), 41 pp., printed cover. Paperback. First edition of the lecture given on January 6, 1930, by Jean Paulhan on Malagasy poetry. Limited edition of 104 copies; this one is among the 100 printed on pure rag paper in the “forme” format (No. 72), accompanied by a signed autograph dedication from the author: “To the Viscount de Noailles, // with warmest regards // from Jean Paulhan.” Cover has darkened. Provenance: Viscount de Noailles, with the author’s inscription. - Marie Laure, with bookplate.