I Am the First Consciousness of Chaos collects the key noirs' (lithographs, etchings and charcoals) of Odilon Redon, perhaps the most enigmatic and esoteric figure in the artistic lineage that leads directly from Symbolism to Surrealism. Never previously available in a single trade volume, the majority of Redon's noirs (over 250 illustrations) are finally collected here, including the illuminating excerpts from the decadent texts which inspired their creation. Authors featured include J-K Huysmans, Gustave Flaubert, Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Allan Poe and others.'