Vicente Aleixandre

VICENTE ALEIXANDRE (Seville, 1898-Madrid, 1984).
"Sombra del paraíso", 1st Edition, 1944.
Collection of literary creation Directed by Joaquín Gurruchaga. Number 1. Issue 66. (Print run of 75 copies). On first class registration paper, numbered and signed by the author. Distributed exclusively to Adám subscribers.
Publisher: Adam, Madrid.
With cartoon by Eduardo Vicente. Hardcover binding, retains the original softcover.
Measurements: 24 x 18 x 3 cm.

Published in 1944 in Madrid by the Adam publishing house, Sombra del paraíso is one of Vicente Aleixandre's major works and a fundamental text in post-war Spanish poetry. This first edition, belonging to the collection La creación literaria directed by Joaquín Gurruchaga, is number 1 in the series and constitutes one of the most restricted and select printings of the author's bibliography, with only 75 numbered and signed copies, which underlines its exceptional rarity and bibliographic value.
The work marks a turning point in Aleixandre's poetic career. Written during a period of creative and vital isolation, Sombra del paraíso displays an intensely lyrical vision of the world, where nature appears idealized as an original space of plenitude and lost harmony. In contrast to this luminous image of paradise, the poet introduces the awareness of its shadow, that is, the human condition marked by pain, destruction and separation from the natural order. This tension between light and darkness, between innocence and fall, articulates one of the most powerful poetic universes of contemporary Spanish literature.
The book is characterized by a visionary language, of great symbolic density, in which Aleixandre constructs a poetry of broad cosmic resonances. Nature, bodies, matter and desire are intertwined in a writing that seeks to transcend the individual to reach a total understanding of the human being within the universe. This work definitively consolidated Aleixandre as one of the essential voices of the so-called "uprooted poetry" of the post-war period, although his vision transcends any strict generational classification.
From the material point of view, the reviewed copy is of special interest as it is the edition distributed exclusively to subscribers, printed on first-class registration paper, numbered (copy 66) and signed by the author. It also includes an original vignette by Eduardo Vicente, a graphic element that adds artistic value and reinforces the careful and almost handmade character of the edition.
It retains its hardcover binding, as well as the original paperback cover, which allows us to appreciate both its original presentation and its subsequent preservation. The limited and carefully produced edition is an exceptional testimony to the early reception of one of Vicente Aleixandre's most influential works.
Because of its extreme print run, its status as a signed copy and its importance within the poetic canon of the 20th century, Sombra del paraíso is considered a piece of great relevance for bibliophiles, institutions and scholars of contemporary Spanish poetry, as well as one of the most coveted first editions of the author.