Description
Ray Internacional, Published 1983. Hardcover, [24] pp (unpaginated); 33 cm; stated limited edition of 10,000 copies; illustrated with full-color plates of paintings by Dali and color photographs of the perfume bottle.
Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
111
Turn the pages with the arrows, keyboard, or a swipe.
Catalog notes
Condition & notes
In Good condition, housed in its original folder in Acceptable condition. Issued without dust jacket. Oversized black cloth boards (9.5 x 13 inches) with gold lettering on front cover and spine show mild shelf wear. Uneven glue application along spine between text block and endpapers, but binding tight. Interior unmarked. Original glossy black four-flap folder with gold lettering on front has three 2 inch tears, one along the top edge and two along the bottom, with several smaller nicks, bumps and tears along the edges. Moderate rubbing and chipping along edges with black finish chipped away in spots, heaviest at the corners. Enclosure tab has two 1 inch tears but remains attached. Issued to promote Le Parfum Salvador Dali, the artist's first fragrance, launched in 1983 as a tribute to Gala, who had died the previous year. Dali designed the bottle himself, sketching it in 1981 from the lips and nose of the goddess in his painting Apparition du visage de l'Aphrodite de Cnide dans un paysage; that canvas is reproduced here, and the text traces the passage from painting to object. Five thousand numbered bottles were issued bearing Dali's name, each accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and an engraved owner's card entitling the holder to purchase refills. The fragrance was sold only through a limited number of selected stores and art galleries. Text by Robert Descharnes (1926-2014), the photographer and filmmaker who met Dali aboard ship in 1950, became his personal secretary in 1981, and after the artist's death administered his copyright, assembling an archive of some 60,000 negatives and spending decades authenticating work against forgeries. Printed in France in October 1983, the book belongs to the closing period of Dali's working life: he was 79, in decline following Gala's death, and the painting taken to be his last had been revealed that May.