Les Enfants du limon: Roman (Children of Clay: Novel)
INV-2446Mary Reynolds (American, 1891-1950)
Written by Raymond Queneau (French, 1903-1976)
Published 1938; rebound 1938-1950
book
Date
Published 1938; rebound 1938-1950
Medium
Bound in combination full morocco leather with gold lettering, leather doublure margins; marbled paper end leaves; original covers bound in
Dimensions
H.: 19 cm (7 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Mary Reynolds Collection, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
Raymond Queneau wove eight years of researching literary “madmen” into his novelChildren of Clay by describing their philosophies, phonetic speech patterns, and whimsical personalities juxtaposed with the mundanity of everyday life. Mary Reynolds, riffing on this theme, used two different colors of leather for the front and back covers. Running down the middle of the spine is a strip of stark black leather, which gives the impression of two separate books.
Reynolds placed Queneau’s name directly in the center of the spine, so that the “N” of “Queneau” is positioned exactly over the black leather band. Reynolds thus made sure that Queneau is at the center of the story, hidden between the lines yet celebrated all the same.
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