FREE UNIONS - UNIONS LIBRES. EARLY CONTRIBUTION BY LUCIAN FREUD

WITH AN EARLY CONTRIBUTION BY LUCIAN FREUD

(British Surrealism)
Maddox, Conroy
FREE UNIONS - UNIONS LIBRES. Editor : Simon Watson Taylor
Londres, s.p., 1946.
28.5 x 22.5 cm, 48pp. Original wrappers with an original design by Conroy Maddox, First edition of this British mostly surrealist publication which reprinted works (often for the first time) in English and French by Péret, Jarry, Mesens, Brunius, Waldberg, and Watson-Taylor as well as new contributions from Brits such as George Melly, Edith Rimmington and Emmy Bridgewater. Illustrations from RImmington, Banting, Bridgwater, Brunius, Maddox, Mesens and Penrose amongst others including an early
(non-surrealist) work by Lucian Freud. Watson-Taylor had been active across the Channel with theoretical contributions to NEON and other surrealist publications, here the British Surrealist group's commitment to revolutionary socialism is restated. The publication was in fact delayed by two years - originally conceived and prepared in 1944, the British police's profound misunderstanding (or rather not understanding at all) of the purpose of the publication raided the printers and seized the proofs - and on claiming that
the non-sequiturs of surrealism were clearly coded anarchist messages arrested four people at the premises. Three of the group were condemned to 9 months in prison for their activities. A defence committee headed by Herbert Read successfully brought the plight of the arrestees to the attention of the British art public but the sentences were served out without any success in overturning the official sentence. Very good. Quite scarce.