Declaration of Independence

JOUFFROY, Alain. Declaration of Independence. Title page by Jean-Jacques Lebel. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1961. First edition. 16mo, original illustrated publisher's paperback. Number 17 of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's legendary Pocket Poets Series. COPY WITH AUTHOR'S AUTOGRAPH DEDICATION TO CARLO CARDAZZO: 'pour Carlo Cardazzo, en hommage très amical / Alain Jouffroy'. Cardazzo (1908-1963) was the most influential Italian gallery owner of the postwar period, founder of the Gallerie del Cavallino in Venice and the Naviglio in Milan, promoter of Fontana, Burri, Tancredi and the entire Spatialism movement. The dedication documents the relationships between the Franco-American poetic avant-garde and the Italian art world. Jouffroy, poet and Surrealist critic, was intimate with Breton and collaborator of Duchamp. Printed in Paris at Lescaret on 5 April 1961. Good condition with normal period patina. Exceptional provenance for collectors of twentieth-century art and literature.