A magnificent deluxe copy of Hélène chez Archimède, André Suarès’ celebrated poetic text accompanied by Pablo Picasso’s bold woodcut illustrations, published in Paris in 1955 for the Nouveau Cercle Parisien du Livre.
This is Copy No. XXV, from the most prestigious Roman-numeral issue of the edition, and exceptionally enhanced by a major artistic binding executed by the legendary London workshop Sangorski & Sutcliffe.

Publication, Edition & Rarity
The colophon confirms a strictly limited edition of only 240 copies, divided as follows:
The first 100 copies, numbered in Roman numerals I–C, reserved for principal members and issued with special distinction
140 additional copies, numbered 1–140, reserved for collaborators of the Society
This volume belongs to the premier issue:
Exemplaire No. XXV

Finished printing in Paris on 6 October 1955, on the presses of Fequet et Baudier, and distributed by Paul Lardanchet.
Recorded in Miguel Orozco, Picasso: 70 Years of Book Illustration, as No. 149.
Physical Description
A monumental large-format livre d’artiste:
Size: approximately 45 × 35 cm
Weight: approximately 9 kg, an imposing presence in hand
With 20 blank white guard leaves at the beginning and end
(10 in front + 10 at the rear), enhancing the luxurious structure of the volume
Picasso’s Woodcut Illustrations
The volume contains 22 Picasso woodcuts, engraved on wood by the master printer Georges Aubert, originally executed at the request of Ambroise Vollard.
Illustrations include:
20 full-page woodcuts of striking abstract force
Plus additional woodcut elements completing the illustrated suite
These compositions belong to Picasso’s most inventive graphic language, closely linked to the linear experiments of the Carnet de Juan-les-Pins and later developments in his illustrated book projects.
Bibliographical References
This edition is fully documented in the standard bibliographies:
Monod: 10485
Rauch: 80
Johnson (Vollard): 193
Solvay: 861
Strachan, The Artist & The Book in France, p. 340
Geiser–Bolliger (1955)
Horodisch: B22

A Sangorski & Sutcliffe Binding: Bookbinding as an Artwork
What elevates this copy far beyond the ordinary is its extraordinary binding by one of the most celebrated ateliers in the history of fine binding:
Full black morocco, spine lettered in gilt, covers with white morocco onlays forming an abstract curvilinear Picasso design (reproducing the illustration within the book, p. 47/48), top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Preserved in the marbled slipcase.
This is not a routine rebinding or decorative “covering.”
The binding is conceived as an autonomous work of art: the exterior becomes an extension of Picasso’s own visual language, with the abstract motif directly drawn from one of the volume’s most iconic internal woodcuts.
The binder’s stamp, “Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, London, England,” confirms execution by this prestigious workshop.

Sangorski & Sutcliffe: The Rolls-Royce of Bookbinding
Sangorski & Sutcliffe occupy an almost mythical status in the world of luxury binding.
Founded in London at the beginning of the twentieth century, the firm became internationally renowned for bindings that were not merely protective, but true artistic masterpieces — combining technical perfection with sculptural modern design.
Their name is inseparable from one of the great legends of bibliophilic history: the jeweled binding of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, known as “The Great Omar,” lost forever when it was being shipped to New York aboard the RMS Titanic in 1912.
This dramatic episode remains part of the enduring aura surrounding Sangorski & Sutcliffe: bookbinding at its highest level, where craftsmanship, history, and art converge.
A Collector’s Copy of Exceptional Distinction
Combining:
Picasso’s engraved woodcut suite (22 illustrations, including 20 full-page)
A deluxe Roman-numeral issue (Copy XXV, from the first 100)
Monumental format (45 × 35 cm) and extraordinary physical presence (~9 kg)
Luxurious guard leaves (20 blank leaves, front and rear)
A major Sangorski & Sutcliffe art binding reproducing Picasso’s own design
Slipcase preservation
…this volume represents an outstanding opportunity for collectors of Picasso, modern livres d’artiste, and the very finest traditions of twentieth-century English binding.2500