24.7 x 19.5 cm. 13 pages and 40 plates by Balthusz. Revorim binding by Jean de Gonet with bound original softcover. Black hard rubber boards with brick-like embossing, front board with inlaid embossed leather panels, one with title. Gray leather spine in three panels, leaving the red binding strips exposed, embossed spine title, suede insert. Inserted in a black cardboard cover with spine title and slipcase. (Signed: Jean de Gonet Paris 1986). - First edition of the first known work by the then thirteen-year-old Balthazar Klossowski de Rola (1908-2001), with a foreword by his mentor and godfather Rainer Maria Rilke, who had been friends and romantically involved with Balthusz's mother, the painter Elizabeth Dorothea Spiro (1886-1969), known as Baladine, since 1919. The original drawings, which the artist claimed were in Rilke's possession, are lost. The pretitle features a handwritten dedication by Balthusz to a friend, dated January 30, 1991. In a master binding by Jean de Gonet. Immaculately preserved. - Ritzer E 36. - Mises 225.