Conquest of the Irrational by Salvador Dali (1935).

Conquest of the Irrational
by Salvador Dali.

On July 20, 1935 in Paris, one thousand copies of this book were printed in English.  Seventy-six years later, this rare historical artifact finds its way into my hands.

What can one say about this original Dali manifesto, written in the dawn of his career? 

Since its publication, Conquest of the Irrational has been a popular source of quotes for those attempting to summarize Dali's artistic style and motivation.

The book is about 5"x6", has about 18 pages of text, followed by b&w illustrations on heavy card stock.  There are 35 reproductions including the back cover and a color plate (also on heavy card stock) opposite the title page.  I have included a list of the titles of the plates and a few examples of the plates.

 

This little book is extremely rare, so your hunt for this may be a long one.  The book is worth about $200-$300 for a copy in good condition.  Happy hunting!