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Louis Buffier postcard featuring Guy Debord graffiti: "Les Conseils Superflus. Ne travaillez jamais"

 Collection — Box: BW-2, Folder: 10
Identifier: MS-0820

Content Description

French postcard with serrated edges, measuring 15 x 10 cm, created in the 1960s. The postcard was designed by French postcard maker Louis Buffier, and features a colorized photograph of graffiti done by Guy Debord in Paris. The graffiti reads “Ne travaillez jamais” in white letters, which translated in English is “Do not ever work.” The postcard also features Buffier’s printed signature “L. Buffier” and the phrase “Les Conseils Superflus,” or “Superfluous Advice.” The postcard features a handwritten message in French, though the identity of the writer is ambiguous. Information regarding the printer and usage restrictions also appear on the card: "Editions Lyna - Paris. Reproduction interdite." or "Reproduction forbidden."

Dates

  • Creation: 1960s

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical / Historical

Guy Debord was French Marxist theorist, philosopher, author, and filmmaker who was born in 1931 and died in 1994. Debord was a member of the Letterist International, a Paris-based collective of radical artists and theorists between 1952 and 1957. He was also a founding member of Situationist International, an organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists, prominent in Europe from 1957 to 1972. Debord authored The Society of Spectacle, a work of philosophy and critical Marxist theory.

In 1963, the journal Internationale Situationniste, a publication of the Situationist International Movement, published Debord's phrase "Ne Travaillez Jamais" with an accompanying photograph. On June 27, 1963, Guy Debord sent a letter to the organization Cercle de la Librairie in response to a letter on their part which demanded a compensation for the use of their intellectual property. Debord had used the photo from the postcard by Louis Buffier. In this letter, Debord asserted that the graffiti was his creation.

Sources: Guy Debord. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2018, from http://www.notbored.org/debord.html. Ne travaillez jamais. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2018, from http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Ne_travaillez_jamais.

Biographical / Historical

Louis Buffier was a French postcard maker active during the 1960s. No additional biographical or historical information is avaiable at this time.

Source: Louis Buffier. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2018, from http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Louis_Buffier.

Extent

.167 Cubic Feet (1 legal sized folder)

Language of Materials

French

Abstract

This item is a French postcard created in the 1960s. The postcard was designed by French postcard maker Louis Buffier, and features a colorized photograph of graffiti done by Guy Debord in Paris. Guy Debord was French Marxist theorist, philosopher, author, and filmmaker who was born in 1931 and died in 1994. Louis Buffier was a French postcard maker active during the 1960s.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Didier Lecointre and Dominique Drouet in July 2018.

Processing Information

Processed by Kristen Diehl in October 2018.

Title
Guide to the Louis Buffier postcard featuring Guy Debord graffiti: "Les Conseils Superflus. Ne travaillez jamais"
Author
Kristen Diehl
Date
2018 October
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA