In 1929, fifty kilometers from Paris in the Chevreuse Valley, Adrienne Monnier hosted a luncheon at the Hôtel Léopold to celebrate her publication of the French translation of Ulysses— an enormous undertaking, years in the making. Since Joyce’s arrival in Paris in 1920, Monnier elevated his reputation among prominent French writers. She hosted the first conference on Ulysses in 1921 at her bookstore, La Maison des Amis des Livres, which prompted the first substantial translations of excerpts from the novel. Joyce called her Déjeuner “Ulysse” a “country picnic,” though guests were chartered on a special bus and Monnier had the menu printed as a keepsake. The meal kicked off with paté de Léopold.
Déjeuner “Ulysse”: jeudi 27 juin 1929, Hôtel Léopold, Les Vaux de Cernay
Paris: [Adrienne Monnier] printed by Société génerale d’Imprimerie et d’édition, 1929
The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Sean and Mary Kelly, 2018: PML 197798
Unknown photographer
James Joyce and guests at the Déjeuner “Ulysse”, Les Vaux de Cernay, 27 June 1929
Gelatin silver print
Courtesy of the Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York