Le Coupe Papier d'Ebene
Printed on laid japon paper. Artist's proof. There may not be an edition. Annotated by the artist "Morin-Jean offre ˆ RenŽ Druart ce coupe papier d'Žb?ne aux noirs veloutŽs pour tourner savoureusement les pages d'une amitiŽ de vingt ans dont il souhaite les feuillets tr?s nombreux encore - 9 mai 1935" in pencil. RenŽ Druart (1888-1961), an industrialist from Reims was a friend of Morin-Jean. The artist even illustrated two books of poems by Druart in the late 1910s and early 1920s. This composition depicts both men's passion for the arts of the book. The paper knife (today better known as a letter opener) was the most important tool of any reader in an era when most pages were not cut by the publisher. It was the task, some might say the pleasure and honor of the reader, to open her or his own pages.
