Auparavant : Roman (1991)

Auparavant : Roman: Collection Voir Comme On Pense (1991)
Roland Sabatier  
Jacketed softcover, exposed sewn & glued spine. H144 x W105 x D30 mm. 184 pages.Edition of 300. Acquired from Didier Lecointre et D. Drouet, 16 November 2022.
Photos: Books On Books Collection.

Sabatier’s work follows in the tradition of the Lettrists — Isidore Isou, Maurice Lemaître and Gabriel Pomerand — whose works Johanna Drucker addresses in the chapter “The Book as Verbal Exploration” of The Century of Artists’ Books (2004). Although much shorter (10 pages), Lemaître’s Roman Hypergraphique (1950) is the direct precursor to the lengthier Auparavant. Drucker’s comments on Lemaître’s booklet apply easily to Sabatier’s tome:

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