André Malraux (1901-1976) was at once a novelist, art critic, adventurer whose actions were sometimes criminal, sulphurous raconteur, fighter, resistance member, and visionary minister. What is little known, or not at all, is the starting point of this extraordinary trajectory.
In spring 1919, at eighteen, André Malraux became a "rare book supplier" for several booksellers. One of them, Simon Kra, gave him his chance to collaborate on the publishing house he had just founded. Soon, the young Malraux was appointed literary director of Éditions Kra / Le Sagittaire. He published several illustrated books by established authors and launched a "modern" collection associating emerging authors with prominent artists such as Picasso or Derain. But the collaboration came to an end in summer 1921…