In 1940, Andre Breton, one of the leading proponents of Surrealism, completed an anthology of writing showcasing morbid humor. Embracing Surrealism’s collaborative spirit, Breton enlisted Marcel Duchamp to design the cover. Publication, however, was interrupted by the German invasion of France that same year and subsequent censorship of avant-garde art. It wasn’t until after the war that Duchamp was able to craft a unique encasement for the book, designed in partnership with Mary Reynolds.

The book remained in Reynolds’s library in Paris until her death in 1950. At that time, Duchamp and Reynolds’s brother, Frank B. Hubachek, worked together to transfer Reynolds’s collection to the Art Institute of Chicago. At this time, Duchamp gifted Anthologie de l'humour noir to Breton, possibly as a gesture to make good on his unfulfilled commitment. The volume stayed with Breton’s family for decades. In 2024, the Art Institute was able to reunite Anthologie de l'humour noir with the rest of Reynolds’s library of unique bookbindings.