Claude Tchou

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Claude Tchou, born on October 26, 1923, in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (Belgium) and passed away on March 31, 2010, in Paris 6th arrondissement, was a French publisher^[1].

Claude Tchou was the son of Laure Maere, a Belgian citizen, and Shiavy Tchou, ambassador of the Republic of China to Belgium.^[2]

He studied in Belgium, where he earned a degree in philosophy and a degree in literature.^[3]

He began his career as a journalist before becoming head of the Inser press agency from 1945 to 1949.

In 1949, he co-founded Le Club du livre du mois with Louis Gérin, a network for selling selected books, which was the French subsidiary of the Belgian company L’Ambassade du livre. In 1952, he launched L'Amitié par les livres and in 1956, Le Club du Livre des jeunes.

In 1958, he faced legal proceedings for publishing L'Anti-Justine by Restif de la Bretonne, and narrowly avoided a six-month prison sentence. That same year, he created the Cercle du livre précieux, which operated exclusively through subscription.

In 1962, he founded Éditions Tchou, where he directed the collection "Les Guides noirs". That same year, he published the complete works of Franz Kafka in France for the first time, in an edition established and annotated by Marthe Robert.^[4]

In 1963, after Gisèle d'Assailly, widow of René Julliard, and her editorial committee rejected it, Claude Tchou took charge of publishing Septentrion by Louis Calaferte at the Cercle du livre précieux, in the collection "Pseudonymes et patronymes". The book was available through private subscription, bound in black cloth, but was banned from display and sale in bookstores. It took twenty years for the book to be republished by Éditions Denoël under Gérard Bourgadier's guidance.

In 1968, he published Histoire d'O by Pauline Réage, illustrated by Leonor Fini, which was immediately banned for minors. In 1970, L'Express took control of the Cercle du livre précieux and Éditions Tchou.

In 1996, Claude Tchou created La Bibliothèque des chefs-d'œuvre, a collection of around forty titles published by Au sans pareil.

In 1999, he launched La Bibliothèque des introuvables, which reprinted rare books, such as the 32 volumes of Napoleon's correspondence.^[5]

Throughout his career, Tchou published works by notable figures including Paul Éluard, Max Ernst, Jacques Lacan, André Breton, Tristan Tzara, La Vilaine Lulu by Yves Saint-Laurent, and the Encyclopédie Cousteau.

Claude Tchou died on March 31, 2010, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris at the age of 86. He is buried in the Montparnasse cemetery (division 1).

Claude Tchou married three times:

First, to Annie Bleu, with whom he had three children: Olivier, Françoise, and Isabelle; Then to journalist Michèle Cotta, with whom he had two children: Thierry and Stéphanie, before divorcing; Lastly, to Joan Van Eisner, whom he also divorced. He was also the biological father of high-ranking civil servant and politician Philippe Martel.^[6]