Jean Breton (1930-2006) was a poet, journalist, literary critic, and French publisher. Born in Avignon, Breton later went on to manage the magazines Les Hommes sans shoulders (1953) and Poésie 1 (1967). He also founded the publishing firm Les éditions Saint-Germain-des-Prés (1966), and became the director of the publishing house Cherche midi in 1978. The Breton manuscript collection reflects the 1961-1975 period of Breton's career during which he worked for these latter publishing houses and produced a range of poems and correspondence. Breton published and wrote letters to several notable French figures over the years, some of which are included within this collection: in particular, Jean Orizet and Serge Brindeau.