Földvári Books

Association Copy - Inscribed and Decorated by Ristic as a Presesent for Miroslav Krleza

[Ristic, Marko] Ristić, Marko

[Bez Mere. Without Measure.] Без мере.

Belgrade: S. B. Cvijanovic, 1928. With several collages, mounted cuttings, clippings, drawings and notes in pen and pencil by Ristic. With numerous printed illustrations and tail pieces. Illustrated title page, printed in red and black. First edition. Association copy, Ristic’s present to Miroslav Krleza. Printed in 100 numbered copies, this is one of the first 30 copies, that were printed on Vergé pur fil Vincent Montgolfier paper and were not sold on market. In contemporary half cloth. 207, (5) p. Partly uncut. Front panel slightly sunned. Title vignette on spine missing. Overall in very good condition.

Ristić’s Surrealist anti-novel, with his hand made collages, notes and mounted illustrations. This copy was given by Ristić to his friend and fellow artist, the leading Croatian writer, Miroslav Krleža. With several collages throughout, particularly at the beginning of the book, on the fly leaf, the half title and title page.

On title page the presentation lines in ink by Ristić “Special, illustrated edition for Petrica Kerempuh. Vrujci, October, 1936.” The name “Petrica Kerempuh”, a type of Croation Till Eulenspiegel, is an allusion to Krleža’s poetical masterpiece the “Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh”. that was published in 1936.

Ristić mounted a reproduction of Krleža’s portrait by Ljubo Babić’s at the top of the title page, and a cutting of photographic image of the Castle of Varaždin, Krleža’s birthplace. From Krleža’s portrait a red arrow leads to Ristić photo-portrait at lower right corner, his name is written next to it in blue pencil, and at lower edge an aluminium plate mounted with the inscription “Marko Ristitsch 100%”. A reproduction of the works by Meister von Alkmaar set in to the inner marginal of the title page, with a poem “Bogečka” in ink in Ristić’s hand. On the verso of half title illustrations mounted and quotations also in Ristić’s hand.

The first 21 pages of the book is richly decorated, between page 36 and 57 there are occasional mounted illustrations, collages, underlines. The pages from 58 to 116 remained uncut, than the occasional decorations reappear at the end of the book.

Marko Ristić was the chief figure of the Serbian Surrealist movement, the founder of the Belgrade group of Surrealists, co-editor and contributor of the Surrealist magazines and publications like “Svedočanstva” and Nemoguće – L’impossible. During his stay in Paris, where he got involved into the Surrealist circle around André Breton, started to work on this book, a poetic manifesto, an anti-novel, that he finished when he returned to Belgrade. Published contemporaneously to Breton’s Nadja in 1928, and two works share much in formal and theoretical content, so the exchange of influences between them seems indisputable.

Miroslav Krleža was the leading Croatian writer and prominent figure of the cultural life in Yugoslavia. Together with Marko Ristić edited “Pečat” the monthly literary and art magazine from 1939 to 1940.

[Bibl.: Bahun-Radunovic, Sanja: When the Margin Cries: Surrealism in Yugoslavia. RiLUnE, n. 3, 2005, p. 37–52.]

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