This is a store for those who prefer the old to the new;

who prefer character to shine;

who value owning and using a piece of history.

This is a store for those people and the ones who adore them.

Unique, Classic, Vintage
Books and Antiques

Bosch

Bosch is a bookseller and collector of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century antique erotica and sex-related books and kinky antiques. He enjoys chasing down rare and clandestinely published books. Many of these books at one time or another were ordered destroyed by religions and governments. They often have false and misleading imprints, which allowed their publishers to avoid prosecution and were freely pirated, which makes identification tricky. If Bosch has learned anything from his research of erotica it is that sexuality, in all of its glorious diversity, has been a part of literature and art throughout history. When it comes to sex there is truly nothing new under the sun. Bosch is also a Bondage/BDSM presenter, musician, music teacher and web developer. Teaching and mentoring is an integral kink for Bosch, and he receives pleasure from watching others learn and grow.

Sold here are items that I value. Most are antique, some are here because their quality or uniqueness sets them apart from what one usually finds elsewhere. I simply ask myself, “What would I consider the ‘perfect gift’?” and that is what I try to find to sell here.

I get new items in every week. Check back often and let me know if you have any specific requests.   -Bosch ([email protected])

  • Confessions of a Lady's Waiting Maid: being a true record of her marvelous adventures in both hemispheres, Fanny Beresford [Charles Paul de Kock (probably pseudonyms of George Thompson)] (J. H. Farrell, New York, nd [1848]) 9.5" X 5.75", 340pp, original soft covers, back cover missing, front cover and original orange paper front illustration page detached. Top and bottom edges untrimmed. Poor condition but for the age in good shape for a cheaply made and well read paperback. A museum piece. This is a very rare surviving paperback from the publisher Jeremiah H. Farrell. One of three main publishers of erotica of the time, According to Comstock (famous New York prosecutor of obscenity) "Farrell published about 109 different books. He had been at it about sixteen years, at the time of his death in 1873." The story was written by George Thompson who was the most prolific author of American erotica of the mid-nineteenth century, who got his start in Boston and later relocated to New York. Thompson wrote under numerous pseudonyms. The name of Charles Paul de Kock (a popular French novelist of the time) was a popular pseudonym of erotic work in America for obvious reasons.
  • Marriage Ceremonies and Priapic Rites in India and the East, "by a member of the Royal Asiatic Society" (Printed for Private Circulation Only, 1909) 9" X 7.25", 107pp., hardbound, blue cloth boards, gilt and red titles on spine, top edge gilt. Very good condition, binding good hinges good. From forward: "The sentiments of Hindu Sages that follow have been chosen mostly from well-known books. They are instructive in many respects, and pretend to be nothing but a collection of notes made by the author while seeking a solution to his own doubts and difficulties... So this monograph--the subject of which is the one most intimately bound up with the life of every man and woman--will be found useful and interesting, both to the Aryans of the East, and to the Aryans of the West, and further needs no apology for its appearance."
  • "written by herself" [author unknown, originally printed for George Cannon c. 1830] (Pendulum Books, Atlanta, GA, 1967) 6.75" X 4.25", 127pp. + 16 pages of ads, paperback, good condition for age, some yellowing but in "unread" condition (binding not broken).
  • Flagellation & the Flagellants. a History of the Rod in All Countries, The Rev. Wm. M. Cooper, B.A. [James Glass Bertram] (John Camden Hotten, London, n.d. [1870, from ads at end of book]) 7 3/4" X 5 1/2", 544pp plus 32 pages of advertisements for "Very Important New Books", hardbound with red cloth, gilt lettering and decorations, spine worn at top and bottom and lower front, Binder's ticket on lower pastedown: "Bound by W. Bone and Son. 76 Fleet St. London E.C.", front pastdown has cute bookplate asking the book be returned to Robert Day, front end-paper has armorial bookplate of Robert Day. Good condition, corners bumped, top and bottom of spine worn, back boards loose but holding. Bertram was apprenticed to Tait's Edinburgh Magazine and became managing clerk, before joining a company of strolling players. He returned to Edinburgh and set up as a bookseller and newsagent. In 1855 he was appointed the editor of the North Briton and in 1872 of the Glasgow News, leaving to become a freelance journalist two years later. He published "flagellation" pornography under the names "Revd William Cooper" and "Margaret Anson". Illustrated throughout with a colored frontispiece. The bookplate is of Robert Day (1836_1914), an Irish antiquarian and photographer who collaborated with Franz Tieze in producing imitation Williamite, Jacobite and Irish Volunteer glassware. He was an important and well-travelled antiquarian collector. He was involved in his family's extensive saddlery business together with a sports shop well known to Cork anglers.
  • Flagellation & the Flagellants. A History of the Rod in All Countries from the earliest period to the present time, The Rev. Wm. M. Cooper, B.A. [James Glass Bertram] (William Reeves Bookseller Limited, London, nd [c. 1908]) 7 3/4" X 5 1/4", 544pp, hardbound no DJ, dark purple cloth boards with gilt stamp and blind stamp decorations to boards and spine, price is marked on spine in gilt "12/6" (12 shilling, 6 penny), gilting is faded, good condition, minor bumping and rubbing, binding good but leaning slightly, back board hinges worn but holding. Bertram was apprenticed to Tait's Edinburgh Magazine and became managing clerk, before joining a company of strolling players. He returned to Edinburgh and set up as a bookseller and newsagent. In 1855 he was appointed the editor of the North Briton and in 1872 of the Glasgow News, leaving to become a freelance journalist two years later. He published "flagellation" pornography under the names "Revd William Cooper" and "Margaret Anson". This edition was published by William Reeves sometime around 1908.
  • Flagellation & the Flagellants. a History of the Rod in All Countries, The Rev. Wm. M. Cooper, B.A. [James Glass Bertram] (John Camden Hotten, London, n.d. [1873, from ads at end of book] "a new edition revised and corrected") 7 3/4" X 5 1/2", 544pp plus 32 pages of advertisements for "Very Important New Books", hardbound with red cloth, gilt lettering and decorations, spine worn at top and bottom and lower front, Very Good condition, corners bumped, top and bottom of spine worn, boards slightly loose. Ex libris: "From the library of Walter Wentworth Allerton" Bertram was apprenticed to Tait's Edinburgh Magazine and became managing clerk, before joining a company of strolling players. He returned to Edinburgh and set up as a bookseller and newsagent. In 1855 he was appointed the editor of the North Briton and in 1872 of the Glasgow News, leaving to become a freelance journalist two years later. He published "flagellation" pornography under the names "Revd William Cooper" and "Margaret Anson". Illustrated throughout. This is a later "newly revised edition" from Hotten and the version used for the Reeves edition.
  • A Complete Encyclopaedia of the Sexual Sciences, Dr. Iwan Bloch, trans Dr. M. Eden Paul (Falstaff Press, New York, 1937) 8.75" X 5.75", xxx+790pp, hardbound, no DJ, decorative red cloth with gilt lettering and decorations. The 30 pages of the preface printed in black with red decorations (mostly praise of the book and the author by various people including Dr. Bloch). Good condition, corners bumped, some fading/spotting on cover and spine, binding very good. "The author's aim in writing this book was to write a complete Encyclopaedia on the sexual sciences, and it will probably be acknowledged by all who study its pages that the author has accomplished his intention in a very scholarly manner, and in such form as to be of great value to the professions for whom this translation is intended. The subject is no doubt one which appeals to and affects the interests of all adult persons, but the publishers have, after very serious and careful consideration, come to the conclusion that the sale of the English translation of the book shall be limited to members of the legal and medical professions." -from Publisher's Note
  • The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, Giovanni Boccaccio, trans. Richard Aldington, illustrated by Rockwell Kent (Garden City Books, Garden City, NY, 1949 [date of illustrations]) 9 1/2" X 6 3/8", 562pp, hardbound with DJ protected by mylar, green boards with cream spine, great condition. This is the popular (at the time) Garden City edition.  Superb art deco color illustrations throughout by Rockwell Kent (famous illustrator of Moby Dick and others). The Decameron, (subtitled Prencipe Galeotto or Prince Galehaut), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. To make their exile more pleasant each of the ten tells the others one story every day. The Decameron records the narratives of ten days -- 100 stories. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. These tales run the entire range of human emotion: grief, love, humor, anger, revenge. Many are based on oral folklore. Boccaccio's ten narrators thus retell already familiar stories about errant priests, rascally husbands, and mischievous wives. Variants of these stories are known in many cultures, but no one formulates them more cleverly or relates them more eloquently than does Boccaccio. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence, it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose.
  • The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, Giovanni Boccaccio, trans. John Payne, illust. Louis Chalon (Lawrence and Bullen, London, 1893, #638/1000) 11.25" X 7.5", 325pp 383pp, hardcover, olive green silk decorated boards with gilt decorations on cover and titles on spine. Numerous full-page B&W Illustrations, Good condition for age, some bumping to corners and slight wear, ribbons present but unattached. This is a beautifully bound and nicely illustrated edition of The Decameron from the late 1800s.  The Decameron, (subtitled Prencipe Galeotto or Prince Galehaut), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. To make their exile more pleasant each of the ten tells the others one story every day. The Decameron records the narratives of ten days -- 100 stories. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. These tales run the entire range of human emotion: grief, love, humor, anger, revenge. Many are based on oral folklore. Boccaccio's ten narrators thus retell already familiar stories about errant priests, rascally husbands, and mischievous wives. Variants of these stories are known in many cultures, but no one formulates them more cleverly or relates them more eloquently than does Boccaccio. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence, it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose.  Arthur Henry Bullen, often known as A. H. Bullen, (1857-1920) was an English editor and publisher, and a specialist in 16th and 17th century literature. His father George Bullen was librarian at the British Museum. A. H. Bullen's interest in Elizabethan dramatists and poets started at the City of London School, before he went to Worcester College, Oxford to study classics. His publishing career began with a scholarly edition of the Works of John Day in 1881 and continued with series of English Dramatists and a seven-volume set of Old English Plays, some of which he had discovered in manuscript and published for the first time. He was also the first person to publish some early lyric poems. Bullen wrote more than 150 articles for the Dictionary of National Biography, lectured on Elizabethan dramatists at Oxford University and taught at Toynbee Hall. In 1891 he and H. W. Lawrence went into partnership as the publishers Lawrence & Bullen. This lasted until 1900 when Bullen moved on to publish as A. H. Bullen. With Frank Sidgwick as partner, he then formed the Shakespeare Head Press for which he is most known.
  • Amorous Fiammetta, Giovanni Boccaccio, introduction by Edward Hutton, trans. & illus. various unknown. (Rarity Press, New York, 1931 ) 9.5" X 6.5", 356pp, Hardcover no DJ, red cloth boards, botton and fore edges deckled. Good condition for age, a fading on spine, silver gilt lettering and decorations Originally titled "Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta" (The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta), this marvelous European romance was written by Giovanni Boccaccio somewhere between 1343 and 1344.  It is a first-person confessional monologue narrated by a woman and is considered the first psychological novel in a modern language and a precursor of stream-of-consciousness fiction. Lady Fiammetta, recounts how, although a married woman, she falls in love with a handsome young foreigner named Panfilo and, becomes his lover. Panfilo subsequently abandons Fiammetta and returns to his native land, where his father is said to be dying. When he fails to keep his promise to return, Fiammetta, describes her longings, her anguish, and her despair. A host of contradictory sentiments drive her to desperation and to an unsuccessful suicide attempt. After a time, Fiammetta resumes her futile wait for Panfilo. She finally resolves to seek him out in his native land. Disguising her true intent from her husband, she secures his promise to help her in this undertaking. Addressing an exclusively female audience, Fiammetta warns them about the vicious ways of men. Her whole narrative adds up to an indictment of men as both readers and lovers. Fiammetta has been variously described as a pathetic victim of male cruelty; an irresponsible fool of a girl; a sophisticated, cunning, and wholly disingenuous female; and, finally, a genuinely modern woman. Whatever judgment we make of her, Fiammetta stands out among medieval women as an ardent and outspoken feminist. Sometime around 1330 Boccaccio fell in love and married his "Fiammetta" who most believe is Maria d'Aquino (?-1382), a royal bastard, an illegitimate daughter of Robert the Wise, King of Naples and Count of Provence. He wrote about her and their relationship in several of his literary works. She is traditionally identified as Fiammetta. According to him, Maria's mother was a Provençal noblewoman, Sibila Sabran, wife of Count Thomas IV of Aquino. She was born after Countess Sibila and King Robert committed adultery at his coronation festivities in 1310, but was given the family name of her mother's husband. Her putative father placed her in a convent. In 1345 she was an accomplice in the murder of King Andrew, the husband of her niece and Robert's successor, Queen Joanna I. For this Maria was sentenced to death and beheaded in 1382 on the orders of Queen Joanna I's successor, King Charles III.
  • Nouvelles de Jean Boccace, Giovanni Boccaccio, trans. Mirabeau, illus. Marillier, engraved by Ponce [according to the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, "Illustrated by Clément Pierre Marillier, Engraved by Wilbrode-Magloire-Nicolas Courbe, Engraved by Remi Henri Joseph Delvaux, Engraved by Nicholas Ponce, Etched by Devilliers, Author Giovanni Boccaccio, Publisher L. Duprat, Letellier et Cie, Printer A. Egron"] (Chez L. Duprat, Paris, 1802) 8" X 5.25", 4 vol. xx 304pp, 273pp, 243pp, 293pp, leather bound with gilt decorations on spine and around edges of boards, marbled end papers, armorial bookplate of the Earl of Normanton on all vols. gilt edges (mostly soiled). Owner's signature on front pages "A. Baillu 1819" Ribbons intact. Numerous beautifuly and detailed plates throughout. Good condition for age. Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791) was a French writer, popular orator and statesman (who communicated with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin). He is remembered for his books Erotica biblion, Ma conversion, and his love letters to Sophie which written during his imprisonment at the donjon de Vincennes between 1777-1780 (while another prisoner, the Marquis de Sade was also incarcerated there. Yes, they met... No, they didn't like each other.) This book was also written in the Vincennes prison. According to Mirabeau's biography this was a "collection presented as a translation of Boccaccio, but which, as the author himself confesses in his introduction, is nothing more than simple sketches of some of the tales in the Decameron.... Mirabeau imitated some of the licentious tales which alone are known to the general reader, but took no notice of the other articles which abound in the Decameron, because they neither suited his views nor the public taste." A beautiful and rare book with exquisite engravings. This book is in the collection at the MFA-Boston and other museums.
  • compiled by Henry Thomas Buckle [false, most-likely Henry Spencer Ashbee] (Printed for G. Peacock, London, 1777 [actually John Camden Hotten, c. 1872-73]) 8" X 5.25", 7 vol. 67pp 84pp, 106pp, 83pp, 57pp, 54pp, 120pp, original publishers hard binding, 5 raised bands, deckled edges, binding very good, very good condition for age, tears and splits to spines, spines labeled with number #6 is upside down, bumping on corners, slight wear to boards, inner pages clean.
  • The Old Man Young Again, or Age-Rejuvenescence in the Power of Concupiscence, [Ibn-I Kemal Pasa] "literally translated from the arabic by an English Bohemian" (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1898 [first edition]) 9" X 5.5", xi 265pp, original soft covers, unread copy (most pages uncut on top, some uncut fore edge). Protective wraps. A very rare translation of an arabic how-to sex manual with much emphasis on aphrodisiacs with a forward by Carrington. Very few copies of this Carrington publication still exist.  This is particularly unique because many pages remain uncut.  I know of no other copies in this unread condition!
  • One Hundred Merrie and Delightsome Stories, ed. by Antoine de La Sale, trans. Robert B. Douglas, illust. Leon Lebegue, illust. Adolphe Lalauze (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1899 [first edition, first english translation]) 8" X 5.75", vol 1. 1-256, vol 2. 257-532, full morocco leather, olive green to maroon, gilt decorations, 5 raised bands, marbled endpapers with gilt edging on pastedowns, excellent condition for age, includes complete set of 52 hand-colored plates by Lebegue (originally sold separately) as well as complete set of 10 engravings by AD LaLuze after art by Jules Garnier, vol. 1 ribbon present but detatched, vol. 2. ribbon intact. Charles Carrington was the first to have this translated into English. This is a RARE full-leather version with ALL 52 colored plates! Also rare are the 10 engravings by LaLauze, which originally appeared in a French version. Purported a collection of short stories narrated by various persons at the court of Philippe le Bon, and collected together by Antoine de la Sale, the nouvelles are, according to the authority on French Literature—Professor George Saintsbury "undoubtedly the first work of literary prose in French ... The short prose tale of a comic character is the one French literary product the pre-eminence and perfection of which it is impossible to dispute, and the prose tale first appears to advantage in the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles." The stories give a curious glimpses of life in the 15th century, providing a genuine view of the social condition of the nobility and the middle classes. M. Lenient, a French critic, says: "Generally the incidents and personages belong to the bourgeoisée; there is nothing chivalric, nothing wonderful; no dreamy lovers, romantic dames, fairies, or enchanters. Noble dames, bourgeois, nuns, knights, merchants, monks, and peasants mutually dupe each other. The lord deceives the miller's wife by imposing on her simplicity, and the miller retaliates in much the same manner. The shepherd marries the knight's sister, and the nobleman is not over scandalized. The vices of the monks are depicted in half a score tales, and the seducers are punished with a severity not always in proportion to the offence." For four centuries 10 of the stories were credited to Louis XI. Modern scholars have since ascribed them to either Philippe le Bel or Comte de Charolais. In all, some thirty-two noblemen or squires contributed the stories, with some 14 or 15 taken from Giovanni Boccaccio, and as many more from Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini or other Italian writers, or French fabliaux, but about 70 of them appear to be original.
  • One Hundred Merrie and Delightsome Stories, ed. by Antoine de La Sale, trans. Robert B. Douglas (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1899 [first edition, first english translation]) 8" X 5.75", xxx 532pp, 3/4 tan morocco leather over marbled boards, gilt title on spine, 5 raised bands, marbled endpapers, excellent condition for age, ribbon intact, small tear at top of front cover. No illustrations One Hundred Merrie And Delightsome Stories (from the original French "Cent Nouvelles nouvelles" France, c. 1456-1461) is a collection of stories supposed to be narrated by various persons at the court of Philippe le Bon, and collected together by Antoine de la Sale in the mid 15th century. Charles Carrington was the first to have this translated into English. This edition does not contain the illustrations which were sold separately.
  • Lord Drialys (pseud.) (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1906) 7.5" x 5", 264pp, rare first edition in original soft wraps. Some pages loose but all present
  • Musk, Hashish and Blood, Hector France, illust. Paul Avril, [trans. most likely Alfred Richard Allinson] (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1899) 8.5" X 5.5", xiii 447pp., hardbound, cloth boards with gilt tittles and decorations. Marbled end papers, deckled edges, frontispiece with tissue guard and numerous illustrations throughout. Good condition, binding is cocked but intact. Owner's signature in front, ink stamp in back, and imprint on title page reads "W.H. Bovey, Minneapolis, MN." Hector France (1837 - 1908) was a French author best known for his "orientalist" and flagellation tales. This graphic and exciting picture of the Algerian desert, its tribes and their astounding customs is a sensational recounting of France's experiences in North Africa. France tells the stories of his adventures in the nineteenth century Arab world from an eyewitness view. "The adventures of a modern man among the cruel men and passionate women of Algiers." Édouard-Henri Avril (1849-1928) used the pseudonym "Paul Avril" for his erotic work. He was a French painter and commercial artist. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg. He is one of the most celebrated erotic artists of his age. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War.
  • Passion and Criminality | a legal and literary study, Louis Proal, trans. "A. R. Allinson M.A. (Oxon.)" (stated "Charles Carrington, Paris, nd [c. 1930 pirated edition of the 1901 Charles Carrington edition]) 8.5" X 5.75", xxiv 679pp. Hardbound no DJ. Green boards. Fair condition, front boards loose but intact, otherwise binding is good some sunning to boards. Proal was a French judge at the Court of Appeals of Riom. This book records the history of various crimes of passion and their sociological and legal implications. Covered here are suicide, love and hate combined, seduction and desertion, jealousy, adultery, crimes of passion resulting from reading books of passion.. etc. There seems to be a great deal of writing on melancholy and suicide. There is a Foreword by the translator.
  • Jakub Casanova: Memoiry (Czech: Cassanova's Memoirs), Giacomo Casanova (Alois Hynek, J. Rokyta, Praze, n.d. [c. 1890-1900]) 8.75" X 6.25" 9 vol. in 8 books 275pp. [220pp 144pp in one vol.] 283pp. 358pp. 304pp. 356pp. 326pp. 345 i-v. Hardcover with beautifully decorated red cloth boards. Very good condition. Rare complete set with full color boards. Even more rare copy translated into Czech. Giovanni Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) was an ecclesiastic, writer, soldier, spy, and diplomatist, chiefly remembered as the prince of Italian adventurers and as the man who made the name Casanova synonymous with "libertine." His autobiography, which perhaps exaggerates some of his escapades, is a splendid description of 18th-century society in the capitals of Europe. This is a beautiful Czech edition, 9 volumes in 8 books in publisher's original decorative cloth-binding. A beautifully bound edition. I am unable to find another complete set. The only other place I can find mention these books is in the Czech National Library.
  • La Courtisane de Memphis, Prosper Castanier, illust. by A. Calbet (Librairie L. Borel, Paris, 1900 "Nymphée Collection") 7.75" X 4", 242pp.+, 1/2 red leather over silk-covered boards, marbled end-papers, gallery of 7 full-page illustrations in red, 5 pages of ads in back, fine condition for age, ribbon intact. In French, The Courtesan of Memphis. Prosper Castanier wrote of the decadence of ancient Rome. This is a beautiful example of a rare book. The French author, poet, novelist and historian Prosper Castanier (1865-19??) was born in Saint-Ambroix (Gard).  He was the editor-in-chief of the "Progrès du midi".  He had made a specialty of novels set in antiquity. (Particularly after the success of Aphrodite by Pierre Louès, published in 1896)
  • Les Amants de Lesbos, Prosper Castanier, illus. Franz Schmidt (Librairie L. Borel, Paris, 1900) 6" X 3.25", 116pp, Hardbound in 1/4 tan leather over marbled boards, marbled end-papers, glassine protective tissue for title page with gold emblem stamped on it. Very good condition. An imagination of the life and loves of the poet Sappho and her fight against the tyrant of Mytilene. The French author, poet, novelist and historian Prosper Castanier (1865-19??) was born in Saint-Ambroix (Gard).  He was the editor-in-chief of the "Progrès du midi".  He had made a specialty of novels set in antiquity. (Particularly after the success of Aphrodite by Pierre Louès, published in 1896)
  • the Dialogues of Luisa Sigea, Nicolas Chorier (Isadore Liseux, Paris 1890 [most likely an American pirated copy from the 1920-30's] illustrator unknown) 8.75" X 6", xx 296pp., bound in thin green boards and green tape on spine. Fair condition, binding is loose in places, part of first signature taped in place, rips in spine. Explicit color illustrations. Bookplate of Theodor Reich. In six dialogues, Tullia, who is 26, initiates her 15 year old cousin, Ottavia, in the art of sexual pleasure. The first four dialogues, which are fairly short, focus on tribadism and defloration. The longer fifth and six dialogues introduce flagellation, contractual submission, group sex, and anal sex. (I. The skirmish; II. Tribadicon; III. Fabric; IV. The duel; V. Pleasures; VI. Frolics and sports) Like many sexual fictions, The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea attempts to conceal the identity of its author: it purports to be based on a Latin manuscript translation of a work written originally in Spanish in the sixteenth-century by an erudite young woman, Luisa Sigea of Toledo and translated into latin by Jean Meursius of Holland. In fact, it was written c. 1660, in latin, by a Frenchman, Nicolas Chorier (1612-1692), a lawyer who wrote works on various historical and philosophical subjects. The first French translation, L\'Academie des dames, was issued in the 1680. It was first translated into English by Isidore Liseux and issued as a 3 volume set. (1. I-IV, 2. V, 3. VI). This book contains all 6 of the dialogues and some very pornographic colored illustrations.
  • Paneros, some works on aphrodisiacs and the like, Normal Douglas, illus. Robert Rotter [limited, #676/780] (Robert M. McBride & Company, New York, 1932) 9.25" X 5.75", 120pp. Hardcover beige-tan vellum boards with gilt lettering and decorations, top edges gilt. Illustrations throughout. Book in excellent condition, light browning on the spine and edges, it appears to be unread as the binding is tight. #676/780 British author George Norman Douglas (1868 _ 1952) initially published this book in Italy. Doubtless, at the time, had this guide to the world of sexual stimulants been published in London, the author and publisher would have been prosecuted for obscenity. Soon thereafter this limited American version was printed. This edition features an erotic woodcut frontis, other illustrations by Robert Rotter and was limited to 780 copies. Hard to find book with an even harder to find slipcase. Interesting and beautifully illustrated.
  • Portfolio of Anatomical Manikins: Picture Story of Body, Keller, David H., M.D. (Falstaff Press, New York, 1937) 14" X 5.75", 27pp. Pamphlet without issued DJ. Good condition for age. Originally folded to fit into dust jacket, crease present, few stains, tears and wear. Limited edition of 5000 "This book is intended for circulation only among mature persons, 21 years of age or over" Anatomical illustrations of the human body, focusing on the reproductive system and organs.
  • The London Aphrodite, ed. Jack Lindsay and P.R. Stephensen (Fanfrolico Press, "printed by the Botolph Printing Works", London, 1929) 9.75" X 6.24", 496pp plus index. hardcover no DJ, blue cloth boards, gilt title on spine, top edge gilt. Excellent condition. A periodical edited by Jack Lindsay and P.R. Stephensen and published in London by the Fanfrolico Press, ran for a planned six issues 1928-29. Self-described as "A Miscellany of Poems Stories and Essays by Various Hands Eminent or Rebellious." Named as a rebuttal of the conservatism of J.C. Squire's London Mercury, it was committed to the same aesthetic attitudes as Vision. Some prominent English authors, including Aldous Huxley, contributed, although the majority were Australian. Jack Lindsay, the dominant force, used the pseudonym 'Peter Meadows' for several articles. Other Australian contributors were Norman Lindsay, Hugh McCrae, Kenneth Slessor, Philip Lindsay, Brian Penton, P.R. Stephensen, Les Robinson, W.J. Turner, Bertram Higgins, E.J. Rupert Atkinson and Edith Hepburn ('Anna Wickham'). This is a compilation of those issues in book form, published by Fanfrolico Press.  
  • Fanny Hill (Erlebnisse eines Bordellmädchens.), John Cleland (Dieses Buch wird als Privatdruck für die Mitglieder des Clubs 'Carpe Diem' herausgegeben und darf nicht öffentlich verkauft oder weitergegeben werden. John Freer's Druglin, Rotterdam, 1949) 6.5" x 5.25", 78pp, hardbound tan paper over boards, faux leather spine. Good condition, slight foxing around edges of front cover. "This book is privately printed, published for the members of the 'Carpe Diem' club and must not be passed on or sold to the public." This was German "Bückware" or an item that was kept under the counter only for customers who asked for it. The book is labeled "Erstes Buch" (First Book). It is unknown whether this is a complete book. With only 79 pages, it might be a loosely translated edition or just the first volume. I have not found any similar books labeled anything but "Erste Buch"
  • Die Abenteuer der Fanny Hill, John Cleland (np, München, 1919) 7.25" x 5", 2 vol., 178pp, 179-370pp, hardbound, marbled paper boards with cloth spine. Paper label on spine. Good condition for age, showing wear at hinges, both slightly cocked, pages yellowing. Boards worn at edges and corners Written while the author was in debtor's prison in London and first published in 1749, Fanny Hill is considered the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel. One of the most prosecuted and banned books in history, it has become a synonym for obscenity. This German version of Fanny Hill is without mention of publisher. This was German "Bückware" or an item that was kept under the counter only for customers who asked for it. A nice 2 volume set in German.
  • Folk Poems and Ballads An Anthology, anonymous [A. Reynolds Morse] ( Cruciform Press, Mexico City: Privately Printed for Private Circulation to Subscribers Only, 1944 [Cleveland, Ohio: A. Reynolds Morse, 1948.] #230/250) 8" X 5.5", vi 128pp. Hardbound, black cloth boards, gilt lettering on cover. Fair condition, 1st signature detached, 4th signature loose but holding (a common problem with these books), good copy of a poorly made book. Subtitled: "A collection of rare verses and amusing folk songs compiled from scarce and suppressed books as well as from verbal sources which modern prudery, false social customs, and intolerance laws have separated from the public and historical record." A. Reynolds Morse was an American, born in 1914, who died in 2000. He moved to Cleveland from Denver in 1941. An industrialist and philanthropist, he is best known for his activity in collecting works by Salvador Dali, and founding the Salvador Dali Museum. According to his obituary in the New York Times, Reynolds and his wife "embarked on a sometimes turbulent friendship with Dali and his wife, Gala". He also had a hobby of collecting and publishing works that other publishers would not print. Title page: "A collection of rare verses and amusing folk songs compiled from scarce and suppressed books as well as from verbal sources which modern prudery, false social customs, and intolerance have separated from the public and historical record." Mr. Morse also published "Limericks, A Facet of Our Culture". Both books were suppressed by police action in the late 1940's. This is the more rare of the two books.
  • My Life and Loves, Frank Harris (Obelisk Press Books, Paris, 1945) 7" X 5.5", 233pp, 302pp, 176pp, 178pp., 4 vols hardbound in one book, red cloth boards, very good condition for age, pages yellowing no titles on spine or boards. Autobiography of the Ireland-born, naturalized-American writer and editor Frank Harris (1856_1931). Published privately by Harris between 1922 and 1927, and by Jack Kahane's Obelisk Press in 1931, the work consisted of four volumes (with a 5th promised but never delivered). The book gives a graphic account of Harris' sexual adventures and relates gossip about the sexual activities of celebrities of his day. Printed on somewhat cheap paper, these volumes are often in rough shape. This book presents the volumes preserved as best as can be expected for their age.
  • The Heptameron, of the Tales of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, Margaret of Navarre, illustrated by S Freudenberg & Dunker, "translated into English from the Authentic Text of M. Le Roux De Lincy", essay by George Saintsbury, M.A. (The Society of English Bibliophilists, London, 1894) 8.5" X 5.25", 5 volumes 262pp, 226pp, 216pp, 244p, 264pp, blue linen covered boards with gilt titles, red and gilt decorations on covers, edges deckled. Good condition, minor bumps and scuffs. The Heptameron is a collection of 72 short stories written in French by Marguerite of Navarre (1492-1549), published posthumously in 1558. It has the form of a frame narrative and was inspired by The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio. It was originally intended to contain one hundred stories covering ten days just as The Decameron does, but at Marguerite's death it was only completed as far as the second story of the eighth day. Many of the stories deal with love, lust, infidelity and other romantic and sexual matters. This 5 volume set is very nice edition containing "the Original Seventy-three Full Page Engravings Designed by S. FREUDENBERG And One Hundred and Fifty Head and Tail Pieces By DUNKER"
  • Immortalia, an anthology of american ballads, sailors' songs, cowboy songs, college songs, parodies, limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel now for the first time brought together in book form, "By A Gentleman About Town" [T. R. Smith?] ("...privately printed for subscribers, none is for general sale" 1927 [pirated edition from the 2nd printing 1928 edtion, c.1932. New York: Samuel Roth or, less likely, Philadelphia: Nathan Young and Robert Sterling].) 6" x 8.75", iii, 184 pp., hardbound no DJ, decorated paper boards, cloth on spine and corners, worn edges on boards, corners bumped, binding tight. Assumed to be edited by T. R. Smith (George Macy, editor of Poetica Erotica around the same time). This is the most influential and widely published/circulated collection of "bawdry". Most collections since borrow from it liberally. There is a heavy emphasis on limericks (103 to be exact). Included are poems/"doggerel" attributed to James Joyce and D.H. Lawrence.
  • Sexual Symbolism: A History of Phallic Worship, Richard Payne Night & Thomas Wright, intro by Ashley Montagu (The Julia Press, Inc., New York, 1962) 9.5" X 6.5", 217pp + 196pp, hardbound with dustjacket, good condition for age, a few tears in the dustjacket A reprinting of two earlier works with an introduction by Ashley Montagu. The works are: "A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus, and it's connection with the mystic theology of the ancients" [1786] by Richard Payne Knight "to which is added an account of the remains of the worship of priapus lately existing at isernia in the kingdom of Naples by Sir William Hamilton, K.B." and "The Worship of the Generative Powers" [1866] by Thomas Wright
  • Richard Payne Night & Thomas Wright, intro by Ashley Montagu (The Julia Press, Inc., New York, 1966) 9.5" X 6.5", 217pp + 196pp, paperback
  • Ed. G. Legman (Bell Publishing Company, New York, 1944) 9.25" X 6", 517pp, hardcover, green boards, no DJ, fair condition, title page detached.
  • Collected Works of Pierre Louys, Pierre Louys (Shakespeare House, New York, 1951) 6.75" X 4.5", 628pp., hardbound in blue-grey buckram boards with simulated leather spine, gilt decorations (portrait of Shakespear) on cover. Fine condition, ribbon intact. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." This is a collection which contains Aphrodite, The Songs of Bilitis, The Adventures of King Pausole, and 9 of his short stories.
  • Ancient Manners, Pierre Louys (Privately printed for Subscribers only, Paris, nd. [c. 1920] ) 9.25" X 6", xvi 412pp, hardbound in marbled simulated leather cloth, edges deckled. Very good condition. Stated one of 1000, unnumbered. Owner's signature on front pastedown "E. D. York | Feb. 29, 1944." Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." "Aphrodite: mæurs antiques" (Ancient Manners) is a "libertine" story set in ancient Alexandria. Highlights include the loves of Chrysis, an orgy banquet ending in the crucifixion of a slave, the love of two young musician girls and the festivals of Aphrodite. This edition states "This Translation of Ancient Manners was executed on the Printing Presses of Charles HERISSEY, at Evereux, (France), for Mr. Charles CARRINGTON, Paris, Bookseller et Publisher, and is the only complete English version extant." This is obviously a pirated copy of that edition.
  • The Twilight of the Nymphs, Pierre Louys, illustrated by Clara Tice, "designed and supervised by Harry Cunningham" (The Pierre Louys Society, US, 1927, #682/990) 9.75" x 6.5", 235pp, white boards with silver gilt decorations on cover and spine, no dustjacket, fair condition, back boards loose but holding, pages clean. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." A collection of seven mildly erotic fables based on mythology. "This Edition Limited to 1250 copies of which 990 are for America, No. 682". 28 beautiful color illustrations by Clara Tice, all with tissue overlay and enhanced with gilt and silver.
  • Woman and Puppet, Pierre Louys, illustrated by Clara Tice, "designed and supervised by Harry Cunningham" (The Pierre Louys Society, US, 1927, #617/990) 9 7/8" X 6 1/2", 270pp, hardbound with , black boards with red titles and decorations, MINT condition, with dust jacket wrapped in mylar. Bookstore stamp on front paste-down "C. J. Schnieder Books" During the carnival in Seville, the Frenchman André Stévenol meets and falls under the spell of Conception 'Concita' Perez, a young Andalusian woman. His friend, don Mateo Diaz warns him off by describing his own history with the woman – a history of being repeatedly attracted and then rebuffed by her. Conchita continually flirted with other men to torture don Mateo. On each occasion he was made to feel guilty for his jealous thoughts and actions towards her, until he realised finally that he had been her puppet for fourteen months and in an explosion of passion he beat her. She then astonished him by declaring the violence a sign of the strength of his love and came to his bed. She was a virgin. Although the two then started living together, she continued her flirtatious behaviour towards other men and simultaneously became very possessive. Don Mateo left the country and travelled for a year to escape her. The novel has a short epilogue, described as the moral of the piece. The Frenchman accidentally meets Conchita again, and they spend the night together. The next morning, as Conchita packs her bags for Paris, a note is received from don Mateo asking to be taken back into Conchita's good graces. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." Woman and Puppet is described as "Spanish romance". The "puppet" in the story refers to men she is able or unable to bend to her will.
  • Kurtizána z Memfidy: Anticky román [Czech], Prosper Castanier, trans. Karel Weinfurter, illus. A. Calbeta (Alois Hynek, Praha [Prague], nd [c. 1901], printed by J. Rokyta, Praha) 7" x 4.5", 312pp, hardbound brown decorated cloth boards with gilt and other colors, gilt lettering and design on spine. Top edge gilt. Illustrated throughout with 4 choice illustrations duplicated in alternating red and green before title page. Great condition of a very rare book. This is a rare Czech translation of The Courtesan of Memphis, Czech Memfidy (Memphis) book, also in the rare publisher's original cloth-binding. The publisher, Alois Hynek, translated this and many of Castanier's books into German. These books had similiarly decorated covers. Most of the Hynek's Czech translations one finds are softcover. This is a rare hardcover translation into Czech. It is beautifully illustrated The French author, poet, novelist and historian Prosper Castanier (1865-19??) was born in Saint-Ambroix (Gard).  He was the editor-in-chief of the "Progrès du midi".  He had made a specialty of novels set in antiquity. (Particularly after the success of Aphrodite by Pierre Louès, published in 1896)
  • Alosie, ou Les Amours de Mme. de M. T. P. | Avec une notice historique sur Pierre Corneille Blessebois par Marc de Montifaud et Une très-belle eau-forte, Marc de Montifaud [pseud. Marie-Amélie Chartroule, Mme Quivogne de Montifaud] (Comité de Bibliophiles, London, 1880 [131/500 printed on Holland paper]) 7.5" x 5.25", 104pp, hardbound 1/2 leather, marbled boards and endpapers, gilt decorationson spine and leather corners, five raised bands on spine. Top edge gilt. Frontispiece engraving. #131 of 300 on Holland paper. Great condition for age. Initials "P.G." above frontispiece. Mme Quivogne de Montifaud (1845-50 to 1912/13) french writer and "free-thinker". She often dressed as her male pseudonym Marc de Montifaud. This book (published in London in 1880) is a reprint of part of the larger 17th century erotic work, "Amours des dames illustres de nostre siècle" (Loves of Illustrious Ladies of our Century) with an essay where Montifaud tries to unravel the authorship (usually the work is attributed to Pierre Corneille Blessebois). The author changes the original name to reflect that this is an autobiography of Madame de Montespan, the notorius mistress of Louis XIV. When originally published in Holland in 1878 (as "Lupanie, histoire amoureuse de ce temps") a court in Seine called it a moral outrage describing "licentious scenes on almost every page; told in a style revoltingly obscene". For publishing this book Montifaud was sentenced to 8 days in jail and fined 500 francs and ordered all copies of the book destroyed. The publisher was also fined 500 francs. This is a rare copy of a rare book in it's original "publishers leather".
  • The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore, Thomas Moore (Oliver S. Felt, New York, nd. [c.1860]) 9.5" X 6.5", 776pp., half leather, 4 raised bands. 8 volumes in one. Beautiful steel engravings throughout. Fair condition, binding good, frontispiece missing. Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852) is considered Ireland's "National Bard". He was a poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death.
  • The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore, Thomas Moore (Oliver S. Felt, New York, nd. [c.1860]) 9.5" X 6.5", 776pp., 8 volumes in one. Full leather binding, tooled leather, gilt lettering and decorations, 5 raised bands on spine, marbled end papers, gilt edges. Beautiful steel engravings throughout with tissue guards. Thomas Moore (1779 _ 1852) is considered Ireland's "National Bard". He was a poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death.
  • The Perfumed Garden: A Manual of Arabian Erotology, Sheikh Nefzawi (Editions de la Fontaine d'Or, Paris, 1900 [Imprimerie M. Laballery, Clamecy (Nievre) 1952]) 8.75" X 5.5", 189pp. original soft wrappers, good condition for age, spine detaching at top and bottom, some small rips and bumps. Back cover states "not to be sold in England or U.S.A" The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature. The book presents opinions on what qualities men and women should have to be attractive, gives advice on sexual technique, warnings about sexual health, and recipes to remedy sexual maladies. It gives lists of names for the penis and vagina, has a section on the interpretation of dreams, and briefly describes sex among animals. Interspersed with these there are a number of stories which are intended to give context and amusement. Sheikh Nefzawi (Abu Abdullah Muhammad ben Umar Nafzawi), was born among the Berber Nefzawa tribe in the south of present-day Tunisia. He probably wrote The Perfumed Garden sometime during the twelfth century, compiled at the request of the Hafsid ruler of Tunis, Abū Fāris ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Mutawakkil.
  • The Lady Cassanova, Luis Garcia (Printed in Havana, Cuba, np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos, stated "Illustrated from Life" vintage underground erotic pamphlet illustrated with vintage pornographic photos (these were illegal when printed so no publisher, no date, if listed it is probably false)
  • Luis Garcia (Printed in Havana, Cuba, np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos, stated "Illustrated from Life"
  • Luis Garcia (Printed in Havana, Cuba, np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos, stated "Illustrated from Life"
  • Luis Garcia (Printed in Havana, Cuba, np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos, stated "Illustrated from Life"
  • Luis Garcia (Printed in Havana, Cuba, np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos, stated "Illustrated from Life"
  • anonymous (np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos.
  • Playing with a Mistress, anonymous (np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, pamphlet, good quality for age, very pornographic photos. vintage underground erotic pamphlet illustrated with vintage pornographic photos (these were illegal when printed so no publisher, no date, if listed it is probably false)
  • anonymous (np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos.
  • anonymous (Bibliotheque St. Germaine, Paris, nd. ) 5.25" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos and cartoons.
  • anonymous (Bibliotheque St. Germaine, Paris, nd. ) 5.25" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos and cartoons.
  • anonymous (Bibliotheque St. Germaine, Paris, nd. ) 5.25" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos and cartoons.
  • anonymous (Bibliotheque St. Germaine, Paris, nd. ) 5.25" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos and cartoons.
  • anonymous (Isidor Liseux, 6, Rue de Furstenberg, Paris, 1928) 5.75" X 4.5", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos.
  • anonymous (Hearton Publishing Co., Hartsville, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos, stated "Illustrated from Life"
  • anonymous (Hearton Publishing Co., Hartsville, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos, stated "Illustrated from Life"
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • Viola

    $30.00
    anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • Percy

    $35.00
    anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.25" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos
  • Ovid Travestie: A Burlesque upon Ovid's Epistles, Captain Alexander Radcliffe, of Grays-Inn (Private Reprint, 1889 [Smithers/Nichols Erotica Biblion Society?] #220/250) 8.75" X 5.5", 102pp, hardbound with plain black boards, pages untrimmed. Very good condition. Reprint of an obscene parody of Ovid, first published in 1680, with 17th-century English characters substituted for Ovid's Romans. 'That it merits a place in every collector's library is undisputed, its singularly easy strain of wit and ludicrous parody of Ovid's famed Heroides, shewing Capt. Radcliffe to possess not only an intimate knowledge of Ovid's manner, but a graphic power of turning to ridicule his author's most poetic flights.' So says the introduction, adding that nonetheless it 'is not a volume fitted for the ordinary bookshelf'. "The present reprint is made verbatim from the fourth and complete edition (A.D. 1705)." Alfred Rose (Registrum Librorum Eroticorum, entry no. 3380), lists an edition with the same date and limitation as the present edition, but with the impress of the Smithers/Nichols Erotica Biblion Society."
  • none stated [Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni] (Na Impressão regia, vende se em casa de [sold in the house of] João Nunes Esteves, Lisboa, 1817) 6" x 3.75", 236pp, hardbound, quarter-leather with marbled paper boards. Gilt decorations and title on spine. Good condition for it's age, front boards cracked from spine but holding, edges worn, corners bumped, binding very good.
  • Out of stock
    With Rod and Whip: A History of Flagellation Among Different Nations, unknown (The Medical Publishing Co., 1903) 8.5" X 5.5", 118pp. Hardbound no DJ, tan cloth boards. Good condition. This content of this book looks to be heavily borrowed from "Flagellation & the Flagellants. A History of the Rod in All Countries from the earliest period to the present time" by Bertram, 1869. Many of the illustrations from that book also appear in this book.
  • Nouvelles, Boris Smirnoff (Imprimerie Zimmermann, 1971) 9.75" x 7.75, soft cover, cover is black velvet, cover is loose, title page is unattached but the rest of the binding is holding. I do not find much mention of this book elsewhere. Very little is known to me about this book. I was able to find that Boris Smirnoff (1894 _ 1976), was born in Russia and settle in France following the "pogroms" of 1917. He was trained in the studio of Lucien Simon and attended the l'Ecole de Beaux-arts in Paris. He exhibited in Paris, London, Lisbon, New York, Stockholm, Bern, Geneva, Cairo, Palermo, Rome, Nice and Cannes and lived for most of his life in Cagnes-sur-Mer in the Alpes Maritimes. His works are held in museums throughout the world. These are erotic stories with illustrations by the author published in 1971.
  • Selections from the Poetical Works of A. C. Swinburne, from the latest English edition of his works., A. C. Swinburne, ed. R. H. Stoddard (Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York, 1884 [first edition, thus.]) 7.5" x 5", xxii, 634pp, Hardcover, raised and gilted blue cloth decorated binding. Gilt edges internal pages framed in red lines. Good condition, bumped and worn corners and spine. Binding tight. Signed by previous owner "Ray E. Searls 1900" Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. Considered a decadent poet, although Swinburne perhaps professed to more vice than he actually indulged in; Oscar Wilde stated that Swinburne was "a braggart in matters of vice, who had done everything he could to convince his fellow citizens of his homosexuality and bestiality without being in the slightest degree a homosexual or a bestializer." He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in every year from 1903 to 1907 and again in 1909.
  • My Uncle Barbassou, Mario Uchard, Paul Avril (illust.) (Vizetelly & Co., London, 1888) 10.25" X 6.5", 339pp., hardbound, blue cloth boards with gilt and black titles and decorations on spine and front cover. Deckled edges. Good condition for age, boards and binding sound, illustrations throughout. Originally published in 4 parts in 1876, "Mon Oncle Barbassou" is a story of a man who inherits his uncle's estate which includes a newly purchased harem of 3 young girls. This novel is a prime example of the French "Orientalists" of the late 1800's. Scandalous for the age, but mild by today's standards, this book is the first English translation. The first English translation from the "Mon Oncle Barbassou" published in 1877. 40 beautiful engravings by Paul Avril. Édouard-Henri Avril (1849-1928) used the pseudonym "Paul Avril" for his erotic work. He was a French painter and commercial artist. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg. He is one of the most celebrated erotic artists of his age. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War.
  • Mon Oncle Barbassou, Mario Uchard, illust. Paul Avril (J. Lemonnyer, Paris, 1884 [#394/1000, one of only 225 printed on Holland Paper]) 10" X 6.5", 311pp., hardbound in 3/4 dark blue morocco leather with gilt titles and decorations on spine with 5 raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt others deckled. First Illustrated Edition with many beautiful engravings by Paul Avril throughout. Some very slight wear to leather and boards, otherwise a very good+ copy overall clean, bright and structurally sound. #394/1000, one of only 275 in Holland Paper. Originally published in 4 parts in 1876, My Uncle Barbassou is a story of a man who inherits his uncle's estate which includes a newly purchased harem of 3 young girls. This novel is a prime example of the French "Orientalists" of the late 1800's. Scandalous for the age, but mild by today's standards, this book is in the original french. This is a beautifully bound copy of the First Illustrated Edition with plates by Paul Avril. Édouard-Henri Avril (1849-1928) used the pseudonym "Paul Avril" for his erotic work. He was a French painter and commercial artist. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg. He is one of the most celebrated erotic artists of his age. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War.
  • Mon Oncle Barbassou, Mario Uchard (Paul Ollendorff, ƒditeur, Paris, 1894, stated "Nouvelle Edition") 7.25" x 4.75", 405pp., hardbound, quarter leather, 4 raised bands on spine, title in gilt on red. Good condition for age, pages yellowing. Originally published in 4 parts in 1876, "Mon Oncle Barbassou" is a story of a man who inherits his uncle's estate which includes a newly purchased harem of 3 young girls. This novel is a prime example of the French "Orientalists" of the late 1800's. Scandalous for the age, but mild by today's standards, this book is in the original french.
  • Les Ballades de Maistre Francois Villon, Francois Villon, illus. Chéri Hérouard, caligraphy ["escrites"] by Raymond de Rigné (chez Cres., Paris, 1919) 11.75" X 9.25", 169pp, rebound in red cloth boards with paper labels, decorated end papers. Original soft wraps intact. #450/550 signed by Hérouard. 31 full page drawings by Hérouard plus 31 small vignette type illustrations with a few "signed" by him. Beautifully printed on heavy deckle edged paper. good condition, wear to top and bottom of spine. ribbon intact. François Villon (c. 1431_1464) was a French poet. Most of what is known about Villon has been gathered from legal records and gleaned from his own writings. He was a thief, killer, barroom brawler, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballades. He was the most famous realist poet of the Middle Ages. Chéri Hérouard (1881 - 1961) was a French illustrator who was most famously known for his forty-five-year work for French society magazine, La Vie Parisienne. Under the pseudonym of Herric, he also created erotic and sadomasochistic illustrations for various books including the Kama Sutra. This work was originally published with soft wraps. This copy has been beautifully rebound with it's original wraps intact.
  • Ballands Done Into English from the French of Francois Villon, Francois Villon (Thomas B. Mosher, 1907) 7" X 4.5", 43pp, hardbound, grey boards with paper labels on cover and spine. Fair condition for age, spine loose on one side but holding, hinges good, fore and bottom edges deckled, owner's signatures on front pastedown François Villon (c. 1431_1464) was a French poet. Most of what is known about Villon has been gathered from legal records and gleaned from his own writings. He was a thief, killer, barroom brawler, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballades. He was the most famous realist poet of the Middle Ages.
  • Out of stock
    The Sex Factor in Marriage: a book for those who are about to be married, Hellen Wright, M.B., B.S., intros by A.Herbert Gray, M.A., D.D., and Abel Gregg, A.B., M.A. (The Vanguard Press, New York, 1937) 7.75" X 5.25", 172pp, hardcover with dust jacket, blue boards, good condition, some small tears in dust jacket. From d.j.: "This book contains very detailed information about the ways in which the physical intimacies of married life may be successfully and happily managed. It is addressed to those about to be married in the hope that it may save them from mistakes and sufferings which have darkened married life for thousands of couples."
  • The Scented Garden: Anthropology of the Sex Life in the Levant , Bernhard Stern M.D., trans. David Berger M.A. (American Ethnological Press, New York, 1934, Printed for Subscribers, limited edition #387/600) 9 1/4" X 6 1/4", 443pp, hardbound half green cloth with floral boards, illustrated, top edge inked blue, good condition, corners worn, binding is tight Dr. Bernhard Stern spent 5 years in the Orient gathering data for this book. Conferring with famous oriental physicians, priests and students of folk-lore in the Turkish capital, and then on numerous distant journeys into the interior of the European and Asiatic Orient, all reports bearing on the contents of this book which were in any manner obtainable. This encyclopedic book details the sexual practices and perversions of peoples and cultures throughout the world. Topics include: love and love charms, rental marriages, the bridal night of a princess, the sexual lexicon, chastity and the feeling of shame, onanism and artificial instruments, public prostitution and the sex act.
  • Out of stock
    Flagellation & the Flagellants. A History of the Rod in All Countries from the earliest period to the present time, The Rev. Wm. M. Cooper, B.A. [James Glass Bertram] (William Reeves Bookseller Limited, London, nd [c. 1908]) 7 3/4" X 5 1/4", 544pp, hardbound no DJ, dark purple cloth boards with gilt stamp and blind stamp decorations to boards and spine, good condition, minor bumping and rubbing, a few stains on lower fore-edge of boards. Bertram was apprenticed to Tait's Edinburgh Magazine and became managing clerk, before joining a company of strolling players. He returned to Edinburgh and set up as a bookseller and newsagent. In 1855 he was appointed the editor of the North Briton and in 1872 of the Glasgow News, leaving to become a freelance journalist two years later. He published "flagellation" pornography under the names "Revd William Cooper" and "Margaret Anson". This edition was published by William Reeves sometime around 1908.
  • The Merry Order of St. Bridget, Margaret Anson (James Glass Bertram) (Printed for the Author's Friends, np, York, 1857 [fascimile copy of the 1868 edition c. 1930]) 7 7/8" X 5 1/4", 237pp, hardbound textured green cloth boards, paper lable on spine, deckle edges, corners and top/botton of spine bumped, binding loose but intact Bertram was apprenticed to Tait's Edinburgh Magazine and became managing clerk, before joining a company of strolling players. He returned to Edinburgh and set up as a bookseller and newsagent. In 1855 he was appointed the editor of the North Briton and in 1872 of the Glasgow News, leaving to become a freelance journalist two years later. He published "flagellation" pornography under the names "Revd William Cooper" and "Margaret Anson". In this graphic unveiling of 19th-century sexual adventures, Margaret Anson, a submissive handmaiden to the notorious Marquise St. Val_ry, describes the orgies at the Chateau de Floris, where the elite women of Paris submit to the subjugations and exotic indignities of the flesh that trigger ecstatic sensations. "Do you remember how we used to indulge in whipping on the sly, when Madame thought we were in bed? That was a very untutored way of proceeding. I have learned better since, and I can tell you that the passion for the rod is one which grows." 237 pp.
  • Julie, ou J'ai sauvé ma rose, Madame de C*** [Félicité Choiseul-Meuse] (Gay et Doucé, Bruxelles, 1882) 7.5" x 4.75", 2 vol. 169pp 188pp, hardbound half-leather over decorated paper boards and marbled endpapers. Gilt lettering and decorations on spine, 5 raised bands. 2 frontispiece engravings. Fair condition for age. Vol. 1 front boards loose and first few endpapers not attached, no missing pages, wear and tear to top of spine. Edges worn, corners bumped. Felicite de Choiseul-Meuse wrote approximately twenty-seven novels from 1797 to 1824. Writings are sometimes identified by pseudonyms and acronyms: LFDLC; Emilia P ***, Madame de C *** , etc.. Her 1807 novel "Julie, ou j'ai sauvé ma rose" [Julie, or I saved my rose] is widely considered the first erotic novel written by a woman. It is more appropriately translated as "how I kept my cherry" for it tells the tale of a young woman who lets her lovers fondle her all they want, but will not allow penetration until she finds the right man and marries him. The work was condemned as obscene and its destruction ordered by the Cour royale de Paris on August 5, 1828. Excerpt: "I tasted in his arms unspeakable pleasures. Deadened by pleasure, then revived by an even more delirious pleasure, I made the object of happiness almost as happy as I was myself; and yet, true to my system, I made sure that he did not harvest the rose."
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    SIXTY EROTIC ENGRAVINGS FROM JULIETTE, Marquise De Sade (Grove Press, Inc., New York, 1969 [first printing]) 11 3/8" X 9 1/2", 60pp, hardback no DJ, good condition 1797 The Marquis de Sade published "Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue" and "Juliette or the Prosperity of Vice" (or "vice amply rewarded") together forming 10 volumes of nearly 4000 pages in total; publication was completed in 1801 and included around 100 very explicit engravings. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the arrest of the anonymous author of Justine and Juliette, and as a result Sade was incarcerated for the last 13 years of his life. Napoleon called the work "the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination". Justine and Juliette were published sporadically from the 19th century into the mid 20th century but mostly without any of the engravings from the original. The engravings which appear in this book were reproduced from a copy of that famous 1797 Holland edition. This publication marks the first legal printing of these engravings in the US.
  • The Modern Eveline; or the adventures of a young lady of quality who was never found out (2 volumes), anonymous (Printed for Distribution Amongst Private Subscribers, Paris, 1904 [Miller Brothers, New York, c. 1930]) 9 1/8" X 6 7/8", 2 vol. 322pp 222pp, hardbound no DJ, plain blank red cloth boards and spine, deckle edges, fair condition, boards almost separated in volume one, boards loose in volume 2 but attached, frontispiece unattached. First American Edition. Turn of the 20th century erotic adaptation by notorious publisher Charles Carrington of a ca.1840 galante novel, Evelina, that, according to Mendes, was explicitly sexed-up by one of Carrington's staff hacks. This edition, containing the full text to the Carrington three-volume edition, was issued in the early 1930s by the Miller Brothers who were part of New York City's clandestine erotica scene along with Sam Roth, Esar Levine, and Ben Rebhuhn. Very graphic and explicite illustrations from an anonymous 1930's artist.
  • Musk Hashish and Blood, Hector France, with 22 etching by Paul Avril (Falstaff Press Inc., New York [c. 1930, stated "London and Paris, Printed for Subscribers Only, 1900" but is most likely a facscimile reprint of that 1900 edition by Carrington/Nichols)) 8 1/8" X 5 3/4", 447pp, hardbound no DJ, deckle edges top edge smooth and dyed blue, very good condition, some light soiling to boards In the introduction, the author states, "The Tales here brought together in one Volume are in no sense a work of fancy pure and simple; imagination has played quite a secondary part in their evolution. They are rather what in French we call 'pages vecues' (real-life stories) and indeed for ten long years the Author actually lived tem when wrapped in the scarlet 'burnouse' of a Spahi, he shared in many a wild foray and desert bivouac on the Algerian frontiers." He goes on to say, "A few of the following pages I admit, may possibly shock some prudish souls always ready to be shocked; and I hereby declare at once that my book is not written for the perusal in young ladies' seminaries." Édouard-Henri Avril (1849-1928) used the pseudonym "Paul Avril" for his erotic work. He was a French painter and commercial artist. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg. He is one of the most celebrated erotic artists of his age. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War.
  • The Illustrated Fanny Hill, John Cleland, illustrated by Zevi Blum, introduction written by Erica Jong, designed by Herb Lubalin (The Erotic Artbook Society [Ralph Ginzburg], 1978, first edition thus, stated "NE PLUS EDITION") 12.5" X 10.5", 127pp, hardbound with DJ, very good condition, minor tears to dust jacket Written while the author was in debtor's prison in London and first published in 1748, Fanny Hill is considered the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel. One of the most prosecuted and banned books in history, it has become a synonym for obscenity. Dust Jacket shows some wear but in good condition. This copy is an excellent and beautiful "legal" (meaning post-1966 Supreme Court Case) edition of Fanny Hill. It was published by Ralph Ginzburg (Eros Magazine, Fact Magazine, served 8 months of a 5 year prison term for obscenity). The illustrations are beautifully done and have a psychedelic feel to them.
  • Memoirs of Fanny Hill [Memories of Fanny Hill], John Cleland (Published for Bibliophiles, London, 1900 [a facsimile copy, valid publishing date not known]) 7 1/4' X 4 3/4", 312pp, hardbound no DJ, red cloth boards with gilt lettering on front, nothing on spine, red stippled edges, very good condition, binding slightly cocked Written while the author was in debtor's prison in London and first published in 1749, Fanny Hill is considered the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel. One of the most prosecuted and banned books in history, it has become a synonym for obscenity. I have not been able to find mention of this edition anywhere. It is an obvious reprint of a popular 1900 edition published by Charles Carrington. This book is unique in that it does not appear to be rebound yet the front cover reads "Memories of Fanny Hill" (Memories, not Memoires). Is this an attempt at a unique title, a mistake by the publisher/binder? I don't know.
  • Mémoires de Fanny Hill, Femme de Plaisir, John Cleland (Bibliothèque Des Curieux, Paris, 1914) 9" X 5 5/8", 281pp, soft bound, deckle edges, many pages uncut/unread, "decorated with six compositions from the series of engravings by William Hogarth: La Destin_e d'une Courtisane", fair condition, good considering it's age, pages yellow and small rips near spine Written while the author was in debtor's prison in London and first published in 1749, Fanny Hill is considered the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel. One of the most prosecuted and banned books in history, it has become a synonym for obscenity. This book appeared as a part of a series "Les Maitres de l'amour" (The Masters of Love). "With documents about life in London in the eighteenth century, including Life after the gallant Serails of London, Introduction and bibliography by Guillaume Apollinaire"
  • The Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, John Cleland (no author given) (Rare Book Co., 1949 "privately printed and a limited edition") 6 1/8" X 4 5/8", unpaginated, red limp cloth binding, illustrations by Ron Hart Written while the author was in debtor's prison in London and first published in 1749, Fanny Hill is considered the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel. One of the most prosecuted and banned books in history, it has become a synonym for obscenity. This copy of the book only slightly resembles the original (they also neglected to name Cleland as the author). I believe this to be a "cleaned-up" version of the story. To the best of my knowledge, all eroticism has been purged. It was published by the Rare Book Company which was the publishing house for the Christian Scientists! I cannot find any mention of this little book anywhere else.
  • Amatory Adventures of Sheik Mansour, A Master of the Art of Love, Hector France (Jul-Mar Press, 1932) 6 3/8 x 9 5/8", 249 pp, Stated, limited printing of 1000, but has no number. By Hector France, illustrated by Esaye Rabkin, this is a nice copy of this classic erotic novel. Book is a good used copy - cover is nice, has some rubbing to corners, overall age/use, as seen in the photo. Pages are all present and bound solid. Book has two 'Discarded' stamps, one at inside of the front cover, one at the title page. Has a damp stain along bottom margin of pages from front to page 19, small chip and tear at bottom of the title page. I see no other extraneous marks in this copy! Hector France (1837 - 1908) was a French author best known for his "orientalist" and flagellation tales. This is his risque tale of an Arab stud in action; a novel set around a Turkish harem. Translated by Alfred Allinson and reproduced from the Charles Carrington novel "The Chastisement of Mansour"
  • Three Times a Woman, Grushenka, anonymous [possibly Val Lewton?], illus. "a young Russain residing in Paris, who unfortunately must remain annonymous" (Privately Printed, London [New York], 1933 [probably a reprint as it does not have illustrations of the original]) 9 7/8" X 6 7/8", 252pp, hardbound no DJ, red boards with gilt title on spine, good condition, minor wear and bumps to cover, binding tight, bookplate of Erwin A. Weiss, D.D.S. Title page reads: "The Story of a Russian Serf Girl Compiled from Contemporary Documents in the Russian Police Files and Private Archives of Russian Libraries" Originally published at New York in 1933 with a false Paris imprint. Val Lewton, the supposed author, was a well known film producer, responsible for a series of good low-budget horror movies in the 1940's by such directors as Robert Wise, Mark Robson and Jacques Tourneur. The book purports to be a flaggelation story written by a Russian living in Paris and then translated to english. The story takes place c. 1728, "shortly after the death of Peter the Great". The main character is Grushenka Pavlovsk.
  • Out of stock
    Three Times a Woman, Grushenka, anonymous [possibly Val Lewton?], illus. "a young Russian residing in Paris, who unfortunately must remain anonymous" (Privately Printed, London [New York], 1933) 9" X 7", 252pp, hardbound no DJ, red boards with gilt title on spine, good condition, minor wear and bumping, anonymous bookplate with the profile of a man made from many copulating couples. Title page reads: "The Story of a Russian Serf Girl Compiled from Contemporary Documents in the Russian Police Files and Private Archives of Russian Libraries" Originally published at New York in 1933 with a false Paris imprint. Val Lewton, the supposed author, was a well known film producer, responsible for a series of good low-budget horror movies in the 1940's by such directors as Robert Wise, Mark Robson and Jacques Tourneur. The book purports to be a flaggelation story written by a Russian living in Paris and then translated to english. The story takes place c. 1728, "shortly after the death of Peter the Great". The main character is Grushenka Pavlovsk. This edition is complete with very explicit illustrations.
  • The Mimiambs of Herondas, Herodas, Translated by Jack Lindsay, Decorated by Alan Odle, with a Foreword by Brian Penton. (The Fanfrolico Press, London, nd [c. 1929], #106/375 [first edition, and first Fanfrolico to be printed in London]) 11 7/8" X 9 3/8", unpaginated 72pp, hardbound no DJ, original buckram-backed decorated Japanese paper boards with plain green cloth spine and gilt lettering, top edge gilt, other edges deckle, very good condition minor wear to bottom of boards, Cloister types on Van Gelder Antique handmade paper Herodas was a Greek poet and the author of short humorous dramatic scenes in verse, written under the Alexandrian empire in the 3rd century BC. Mimes were scenes in popular life in South Italy and Sicily, written in the language of the people, vigorous with racy proverbs such as we get in other reflections of that region. The Mimes of Herodas have been known to us only since the discovery and publication of the "Kenyon", M. S. Buck, by the British Museum in 1891 (from a parchment containing 7 legible mimes half of the 8th and a fragment of the 9th).  This was Fanfrolico's first London book.  It was published "for subscribers to The Franfrolico Press". This new translation of Mimiambs of Herondas was translated by Jack Lindsay and beautifully illustrated by Alan Odle whose grotesque and subversive style was a precursor of surrealism. This is a beautiful printed book in great condition and quite rare. Fanfrolico Press, Australia’s first ‘private press’ in the arts-and-craft tradition, was founded by Jack Lindsay, P. R. Stephensen and John Kirtley, originally in North Sydney in 1923. The press specialized in printings artful, limited editions of classics and forgotten works that were suited to the extravagant style of artist like his father, artist, sculptor and author Norman Lindsay who illustrated many of their books. Fanfrolico was scornful of modernism and with its florid style determinedly backward-looking. They did surprisingly well, despite the lack of business expertise of their young, ambitious "bohemian" owners, eking out a living despite the risky move to London in 1926 and upheavals in ownership that saw the departure in 1927 of Kirtley, and then Stephenson in 1929.  Sometime in 1930 they published their last book.
  • The Mimes of Herondas, trans. M. S. Buck (Privately Printed for Subscribers, New York, 1921, #70/975) 7" X 4 5/8", 119pp, hardbound no DJ, paper boards with beige cloth spine, top edge gilt, others deckle, good condition, lightly soiled Herodas was a Greek poet and the author of short humorous dramatic scenes in verse, written under the Alexandrian empire in the 3rd century BC. Mimes were scenes in popular life in South Italy and Sicily, written in the language of the people, vigorous with racy proverbs such as we get in other reflections of that region. The Mimes of Herodas have been known to us only since the discovery and publication of the "Kenyon", M. S. Buck, by the British Museum in 1891 (from a parchment containing 7 legible mimes half of the 8th and a fragment of the 9th).
  • Life Lines, Arthur S. Gray ("Published in Cleveland, Ohio by the author and friends, Privately by Subscription, 1936") 10 1/8 X 6 3/4, 93pp, hardbound no DJ, deckle edges, good condition, slight soiling to boards The title page reads "Life Lines, a divertisement by and for Arthur S. Gray". Published in Cleveland, Ohio by the author and friends, Privately by Subscription, 1936". The author writes in his preface, "Because this book is a Michelangelo collection of poems and drawings done now and then for my diversion and satisfaction, it is necessary to announce that the pictures are not illustrations. Each drawing is a simple record of some particular and more or less unique quality which caught my attention and incited me to draw. After the prime reason, the urge to make something. I draw the way I do for two reasons: first to preserve the integrity of my powers of observation and reaction; second, to render that respect which is the natural right of an individual entity."
  • Aphrodite (Ancient Manners), Pierre Louys, trans. Willis L. Parker, illustrator Frank J. Buttera (Three Sirens Press, New York, 1932) 9 1/2" X 6 1/4", 251pp, hardbound no DJ, red cloth over boards with gilt decorations, deckle fore and bottom edge, inked top edge, very good condition, minor bumping to corners Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." "Aphrodite: mæurs antiques" (Ancient Manners) is a "libertine" story set in ancient Alexandria. Highlights include the loves of Chrysis, an orgy banquet ending in the crucifixion of a slave, the love of two young musician girls and the festivals of Aphrodite. This edition is illustrated by Frank J. Buttera
  • The Adventures of King Pausole, Pierre Louys, trans. Charles Hope Lumley, illustrated by Beresford Egan (Privately Printed for William Godwin, Inc., New York, 1933) 9 1/2" X 6 1/2", 312pp, hardbound no DJ, red cloth with silver gilting on the spine and a nude woman on the cover, good condition, binding strong, some fading on covers and spine. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." This book is a humorous and risqué "libertine" story about a king with many wives (one for each day of the year). As part of the story, King Pausole had two laws "1. hurt no man. 2. Then do as you please."
  • The Adventures of King Pausole, Pierre Louys, trans. Charles Hope Lumley, illustrated by Beresford Egan (The Fortune Press, London, 1929, #333/1200, "printed at Leige by the Imprimerie Vaillant-Carmanne - M. C. M. XXIX") 9 1/4" X 7", 312pp, hardbound no DJ, quarter cloth, marbled boards, gilt lettering on spine, printed on "batchelor hand-made paper", top edge gilted other edges deckle, in good condition, corners are bumped, some pages remain uncut, spine slightly cocked, some light rubbing to tail some pages remain unread/uncut Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." This book is a humorous and risqué "libertine" story about a king with many wives (one for each day of the year). As part of the story, King Pausole had two laws "1. hurt no man. 2. Then do as you please." This law has been embraced many including pagan/wiccan community when Aleister Crowley introduced this as his "First Law". First English edition, 6 full page colour plates by Beresford.
  • One Hundred Merrie and Delightsome Stories (Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles) (2 volumes), trans. Robert B. Douglas (Privately Printed for Subscribers only, Carbonnek, 1924, #591/1250) 8 7/8" X 5 3/4", 2 vol. 279pp 272pp, hardbound no DJ, dark green moire silk boards decorated in blind stamp, spines lettered and decorated in gilt, gilt top edge, other edges deckle, frontispiece signed by the artist, Clara Tice, very good condition, slight bumping on corners This is a two volume set of books beautifully bound and in excellent condition. Some pages remain uncut. A rare book in rare condition. It is signed by the artist, Clara Tice, under the frontispiece. It is illustrated with 16 full page drawings by Clara Tice. Purported a collection of short stories narrated by various persons at the court of Philippe le Bon, and collected together by Antoine de la Sale, the nouvelles are, according to the authority on French Literature—Professor George Saintsbury "undoubtedly the first work of literary prose in French ... The short prose tale of a comic character is the one French literary product the pre-eminence and perfection of which it is impossible to dispute, and the prose tale first appears to advantage in the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles." The stories give a curious glimpses of life in the 15th century, providing a genuine view of the social condition of the nobility and the middle classes. M. Lenient, a French critic, says: "Generally the incidents and personages belong to the bourgeoisée; there is nothing chivalric, nothing wonderful; no dreamy lovers, romantic dames, fairies, or enchanters. Noble dames, bourgeois, nuns, knights, merchants, monks, and peasants mutually dupe each other. The lord deceives the miller's wife by imposing on her simplicity, and the miller retaliates in much the same manner. The shepherd marries the knight's sister, and the nobleman is not over scandalized. The vices of the monks are depicted in half a score tales, and the seducers are punished with a severity not always in proportion to the offence." For four centuries 10 of the stories were credited to Louis XI. Modern scholars have since ascribed them to either Philippe le Bel or Comte de Charolais. In all, some thirty-two noblemen or squires contributed the stories, with some 14 or 15 taken from Giovanni Boccaccio, and as many more from Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini or other Italian writers, or French fabliaux, but about 70 of them appear to be original.
  • Merryland, Thomas Stretzer (Privately Issued, New York, Robin Hood House, 1932) 9 3/8" X 6 1/4", 136pp, hardbound no DJ, decorative paper boards with mylar protector, flower design, gilt lettering on spine, very good condition The Merryland books were a somewhat peculiar genre of English seventeenth and eighteenth century erotic fiction in which the female body was described in terms of a topographical metaphor derived from a pun on Maryland. Stretzer's book is typical of the genre in depicting the female body as a landscape that men explore, till, and plow. For example, he writes: "Her valleys are like Eden, her hills like Lebanon, she is a paradise of pleasure and a garden of delight."
  • Merryland, Thomas Stretzer (Privately Issued, New York, Robin Hood House, 1932) 9 3/8" X 6 1/8", 136pp, hardbound no DJ, decorative paper boards, silver gilt lettering on spine, very good condition The Merryland books were a somewhat peculiar genre of English seventeenth and eighteenth century erotic fiction in which the female body was described in terms of a topographical metaphor derived from a pun on Maryland. Stretzer's book is typical of the genre in depicting the female body as a landscape that men explore, till, and plow. For example, he writes: "Her valleys are like Eden, her hills like Lebanon, she is a paradise of pleasure and a garden of delight."
  • Odes of Anacreon, Anacreon, trans. Thomas Moore (J. and T. Carpenter, London, 1802) 6 1/2" X 4 1/4", 2 vol. 163pp 148pp, hardbound in red morocco with gilt lettering and decorations, gilted edges, marbled boards, worn edges and corners befitting it's age, binding tight, ribbon markers intact. Armorial bookplate of british judge, Geoffrey Lord Cross of Chelsea on front pastedowns Anacreon (582 BC _ 485 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets. Thomas Moore (1779 _ 1852) is considered Ireland's "National Bard". He was a poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death. These books are the second edition (original edition published in 1800) of his first work, a translation that he did at Middle Temple where he studied law. In his lifetime he was often referred to as Anacreon Moore.
  • My Secret Life, anonymous (Grove Press, Inc., New York, 1966 [first edition thus, first printing]) 9 1/4" X 6 1/4", 2 vol. 1291pp 1069pp [2nd vol. numbered 1291-2359], hardbound with dust jackets (with protector) and slip case, very good condition, very slight sunning on slip case, Ex Libris Robert Kintzler My Secret Life, by "Walter", is the memoir of a Victorian gentleman's sexual development and experiences. Between approximately 1883 and 1895, someone, presumably an Englishman of means, had printed on the Continent an eleven-volume sexual autobiography limited, so he thought, to just six copies. Who the printer or publisher was has not been established with certainty but the most likely possibility is Auguste Brancart, a prolific publisher of erotica who began his career in the early 1880's in Bruxelles and toward the end of the decade moved to Amsterdam. Interestingly, the original title page of My Secret Life has 'Amsterdam. Not for Publication' on it but in the sub rosa world of erotica publishing such indications are to be taken with a pinch of salt. The scarcity of the first edition of My Secret Life has been overstated; it certainly is a rare book. More than six copies, as ordered, were undoubtedly run off. From the number that have reliably been reported to exist, the number appears to have been in the region of twenty to twenty-five sets. Aleister Crowley was supposed to have had one, as well as the silent film comedian Harold Lloyd and Joseph von Sternberg, Marlene Dietrich's director and one-time lover. Charles Reginald Dawes, the last great English collector of erotica, had two sets, one of which was destroyed the the British Customs and the other going eventually to the British Library in 1964. Lord Louis Mountbatten's brother, the 2nd marquess of Milford Haven, certainly possessed a copy for it exists currently in a fine London collection and contains his bookplate. There is a copy in Geneva, another in Hamburg and at least two in New York. Two attempts to publish a reprint in the United States in the 1930's failed due to police action. The first, which began about 1932, followed the original edition as to title and imprint and got as far as volume three before the project was shut down. A copy with 100 original water colors by Clara Tice was auctioned by Parke-Bernet at New York in 1971. A second attempt took place about two years later, with a single volume called Marital Frolics (London [New York or Philadelphia]: For Distribution by Subscription Only [c. 1934]). This constituted an abridgment of volume 5, and was illustrated with ten plates by 'Malay.' A copy was likewise auctioned by Parke-Bernet in the same sale. The Grove Press reprint of 1966 is the first complete edition to be openly available. It was prepared from an eleven-volume typescript made directly from the copy in Hamburg referred to above. All subsequent reprints stem, legally or otherwise, from this. Gershon Legman's Introduction to the Grove Press reprint is a mine of fascinating information, and includes a closely argued case for My Secret Life having been written by Henry Spencer Ashbee, the famous Victorian bibliographer and collector of erotica. The present compiler is unable to share this view, but thinks it likely that Ashbee was involved in seeing it through the press on behalf of somebody else. This book is often wrongly attributed to Frank Harris, through confusion with My Life and Loves, which is a similar (although not as explicit) account of Harris' life. A number of reprints followed the Grove Press edition, including one published by Brandon House of North Hollywood and Pendulum Books of Atlanta, Georgia and a complete French translation.
  • Mark Twain's [Date, 1601.] Conversation As it was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors, Mark Twain, "With an Illuminating Introduction, Facetions Footnotes and a Bibliography by Franklin J. Meine" (Privately Printed for Lyle Stuart, New York, nd [c. 1939]) 9 1/2" X 6 1/4", 80pp, hardbound no DJ with slipcase, red cloth boards with gilt lettering and decoration, book very good condition, slight soiling on spine, slipcover good condition, faded spine and soiled but intact [Date: 1601.] Conversation, as it was the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors is the title of a humorous work by Mark Twain, first published anonymously in 1880. Edward Wagenknecht once referred to it as "the most famous piece of pornography in American literature." Its content is irreverent and vulgar rather than obscene, and its purpose seems to be comedic shock rather than erotic arousal. It would thus qualify as ribaldry rather than pornography. Twain wrote 1601 during the summer of 1876 (between writing Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn), for the amusement of his closest friend, Reverend Joseph Twichell, 1601 was later first published by another friend, John Hay, who later became Secretary of State. The work circulated among printers (due to it's often archaic type font) and many small batches were printed, however the authorship of the work remained unverified until Twain finally acknowledged he wrote it in 1906.
  • "1601" or conversation as it was at the fireside in the time of the tudors and sketches old and new by Samuel L. Clemens, Mark Twain, Preface by Samuel Roth (The Golden Hind Press Inc., New York, 1933) 9 1/8" X 6 1/8", 204pp, hardbound no DJ, red cloth boards with gilt decorations and title, fair condition, boards detaching, binding intact, fading on boards and spine [Date: 1601.] Conversation, as it was the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors is the title of a humorous work by Mark Twain, first published anonymously in 1880. Edward Wagenknecht once referred to it as "the most famous piece of pornography in American literature." Its content is irreverent and vulgar rather than obscene, and its purpose seems to be comedic shock rather than erotic arousal. It would thus qualify as ribaldry rather than pornography. Twain wrote 1601 during the summer of 1876 (between writing Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn), for the amusement of his closest friend, Reverend Joseph Twichell, 1601 was later first published by another friend, John Hay, who later became Secretary of State. The work circulated among printers (due to it's often archaic type font) and many small batches were printed, however the authorship of the work remained unverified until Twain finally acknowledged he wrote it in 1906. This book contains 1601 and numerous sketches previously published as "Sketches Old and New"
  • 1601 A Tudor Fireside Conversation As Written by the Ingenuous, Virtuous and learned Mark Twain, wit., Embellished by the worthy Alan Odle, Mark Twain, illustrations Alan Odle (Land's End Press, USA, 1969, stated "At London, Printed for Subscribers Only and are to be sold at ye beare Back-Side in Maiden Lane") 12 1/2" X 9 1/2", 24pp (unpaginated), hardbound with dust jacket, blue boards with blue titles, pages, pages printed in such a way that the lower edge is uncut (six folded sheets of paper printed on one side, making up 4 pages) [Date: 1601.] Conversation, as it was the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors is the title of a humorous work by Mark Twain, first published anonymously in 1880. Edward Wagenknecht once referred to it as "the most famous piece of pornography in American literature." Its content is irreverent and vulgar rather than obscene, and its purpose seems to be comedic shock rather than erotic arousal. It would thus qualify as ribaldry rather than pornography. Twain wrote 1601 during the summer of 1876 (between writing Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn), for the amusement of his closest friend, Reverend Joseph Twichell, 1601 was later first published by another friend, John Hay, who later became Secretary of State. The work circulated among printers (due to it's often archaic type font) and many small batches were printed, however the authorship of the work remained unverified until Twain finally acknowledged he wrote it in 1906.
  • Nell in Bridewell (Lenchen im Zuchthause), W. Reinhard, trans. W.C. Costello Ph. D. and A. R. Allinson M. A. (Society of British Bibliophiles, Paris, 1900) 8" X 5", 326pp, paperback, good condition, price tag mark on front cover, a tear and some bumping, spine is creased, binding is still good Subtitle: "Description of the System of Corporal Punishment (Flagellation) in the Female Prisons of South Germany up to the year 1848; a contribution to the history of manners." Although the title suggests that this is a "study", it goes beyond the facts and delves into the minds of those who are doing the punishing and those who are being humiliated and punished. Publishers of these "flagellation novels" would often lesson their liability by representing their books as academic studies. Often they would go unnoticed by the larger community unaware of the erotic nature of such a book to a certain segment of the public. In this book, Nell describes in graphic terms the merciless floggings she witnessed of girls and young women, as well as of boys and men and confesses to disturbingly confusing emotions that such sights occasioned in her. She recalls the lustful expressions on the faces of the onlookers, records the fervent words of gratitude to the skillful flogger from the lips of grand ladies who "were only too delighted to see such girls whipped", and tells of the evidently sensual appetites such cruelties incited in the torturers.
  • The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter, Gaius Petronius, trans. ascribed to Oscar Wilde (Privately Printed, 1928, Limited Edition of 1200 unnumberd) 9" X 6 1/4", 236pp, Brown spine with gilt titles (mostly worn off), decorated boards with green and gilt. Deckle bottom and fore edges, top edge inked purple. Fair copy, spine cocked, binding and boards good, corners worn. Satyricon (or Satyrica) is a Latin work of fiction in a mixture of prose and poetry (prosimetrum). It is believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius. Classical scholars often describe it as a "Roman novel", without necessarily implying continuity with the modern literary form. The surviving portions of the text detail the misadventures of the narrator, Encolpius, and his lover, a handsome sixteen-year-old boy named Giton. Throughout the novel, Encolpius has a hard time keeping his lover faithful to him as he is constantly being enticed away by others. Encolpius's friend Ascyltus (who seems to have previously been in a relationship with Encolpius) is another major character. It is a rare example of a Roman novel, the only other surviving example (quite different in style and plot) being Metamorphoses of Apuleius. It is also extremely important evidence for the reconstruction of what everyday life must have been like for the lower classes during the early Roman Empire.
  • The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter, Gaius Petronius, trans. ascribed to Oscar Wilde (Privately Printed, 1928, Limited Edition 343/1200 stamped in ink) 9" X 6 1/4", 236pp, black spine with gilt titles (mostly worn off), decorated red boards. Fair copy, boards worn, binding good. Front board loose but holding. Satyricon (or Satyrica) is a Latin work of fiction in a mixture of prose and poetry (prosimetrum). It is believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius. Classical scholars often describe it as a "Roman novel", without necessarily implying continuity with the modern literary form. The surviving portions of the text detail the misadventures of the narrator, Encolpius, and his lover, a handsome sixteen-year-old boy named Giton. Throughout the novel, Encolpius has a hard time keeping his lover faithful to him as he is constantly being enticed away by others. Encolpius's friend Ascyltus (who seems to have previously been in a relationship with Encolpius) is another major character. It is a rare example of a Roman novel, the only other surviving example (quite different in style and plot) being Metamorphoses of Apuleius. It is also extremely important evidence for the reconstruction of what everyday life must have been like for the lower classes during the early Roman Empire.
  • Poetica Erotica, T.R. Smith (editor) (Boni and Liveright, New York, 1921 (Vol. 3, 1922) [limited first edition, #523/1500]) 9 1/4" X 6 1/4", 3 vol. xxviii + 324, xvi + 328, xiv + 280, hardbound with green boards with cream vellum spines, deckle edges, corners bumped and worn, binding is tight, vol. 2 boards slightly loose. T. R. Smith writes "In these volumes Eros rules and Aphrodite guides the passionate motives....The poems contained in these volumes range from the earliest time to the present and the names of the most distinguished poets of yesterday and today will be found in the contents."
  • The Amatory Adventures of The Lustful Turk | or | Lascivious Scenes from a Harem | faithfully and vividly depicted in a series of letters from a young and beautiful English lady to her cousin in England, Anonymous ("Paris: Privately Printed, 1904" [this is a later facsimile printing, np nd]) The Lustful Turk, or Lascivious Scenes from a Harem is a pre-Victorian British erotic epistolary novel first published anonymously in 1828. (although this edition says it is "signed 10th of April, 1868) However, it was not widely known or circulated until the 1893 edition. The novel consists largely of a series of letters written by its heroine, Emily Barlow, to her friend, Sylvia Carey. When Emily sails from England for India in June 1814 her ship is attacked by Moorish pirates and she is taken to the harem of Ali, Dey of Algiers. The Dey rapes her and subjects her to his will, awakening her sexual passions. Emily's debasement continues when the Dey insists on anal sex, arousing the horror of her correspondent Sylvia, who expresses her indignation at the Dey's behaviour, in a letter that the latter intercepts. Annoyed at her attitude, the Dey arranges for Sylvia to be abducted and brought to the slave market of Algiers. After an elaborate charade in which the Dey pretends to be a sympathetic Frenchman, bidding to save her from sexual slavery, and engaging her in a fake marriage, he deflowers her and awakens her sexuality, as he had done with Emily. Revealing his true identity the Dey enjoys both girls together. This sexual idyll is eventually terminated when a new addition to harem objects to anal rape and cuts off the Dey's penis with a knife, and then commits suicide. Seemingly unfazed by this, the Dey has "his lost members preserved in spirits of wine in glass vases" which he presents to Emily and Sylvia, sending them back to England with these tokens of his affection. The novel also incorporates interpolated stories concerning the erotic misadventures of three other girls abducted into the harem and enlarges on the fate of Emily's maid Eliza who, presented by the Dey to Muzra, Bey of Tunis, is bound, flogged and raped in turn.
  • Black Lust, Jean de Villiot [George Grassal (Hugues Rebell)] (Privately printed by The Panurge Press, Inc., New York, 1931, #365/2000) 8 5/8" X 6", 312pp, hardbound no DJ, cream cloth boards with black stamped decorations, top edge dyed blue, other edges deckle, good condition, slight soiling to boards, binding tight Jean de Villiot was a pseudonym used by several authors and compilers working for the publisher Charles Carrington writing novels and "studies" concerning flagellation, including Hugues Rebell (Georges Grassal), Hector France, Stéphane Arnoulin and Charles Carrington, himself. This novel is attributed to George Grassal (Hugues Rebell) originally written in French, in 1902, as "La Femme et son maître" (The Woman and her Master). In 1904 "Woman and her Master" was published in English by Charles Carrington. Panurge Press published this work as "Black Lust" in 1931. This book is a numbered limited edition copy of the Panurge Press edition.
  • Jean de Villiot [George Grassal (Hugues Rebell)] (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1904 [printed "Alençon, Imprimerie Veuve Félix Guy et Cie"]) 6 3/8" X 5", 301pp, soft bound, red cloth spine with titling to paper label, orange paper covers, good condition, crease in lower corner of cover and inch tear along gutter's edge, slightly yellow pages
  • Woman and her Master; an Englishwoman's Adventures in the Madhi's Camp, Jean de Villiot [George Grassal (Hugues Rebell)] (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1904 [printed "Alençon, Imprimerie Veuve Félix Guy et Cie"] stated limited edition 750 copies) 6 3/8" X 5", 301pp, hardbound, red pebbled cloth boards, gilt title on front, no writing on spine, sewn signatures, good condition, some minor bumping and rubbing Jean de Villiot was a pseudonym used by several authors and compilers working for the publisher Charles Carrington writing novels and "studies" concerning flagellation, including Hugues Rebell (Georges Grassal), Hector France, Stéphane Arnoulin and Charles Carrington, himself. This novel is attributed to George Grassal (Hugues Rebell) originally written in French, in 1902, as "La Femme et son maître" (The Woman and her Master). In 1904 "Woman and her Master" was published in English by Charles Carrington. Often these editions were printed unbound and sent to the bookseller to bind to the specifications of their customers. "this book is a witness to the horrors that the power of England has in some degree blotted out by the erection of Schools at Khartoum and Omdurman."
  • The Voluptuous Night, Mary Wilson (Mediterranean Press, Paris, 1957) 6 3/4" X 4 5/8", 167pp, soft bound, poor condition, covers soiled and detached According to James Campbell Reddie, this book is a translation of "La Nuit Merveilleuse" (a pornographic version of Vivant Demon's story "Point de Lendemain", 1777). It was published by various people including George Cannon c. 1830. This edition is a paperback from Paris in 1957. The back cover reads "Not to be imported into the United Kingdom or the U.S.A"
  • The Voluptuous Night, Mary Wilson (Mediterranean Press, Paris, 1957) 6 3/4" X 4 5/8", 167pp, soft bound, good condition, some soiling on covers According to James Campbell Reddie, this book is a translation of "La Nuit Merveilleuse" (a pornographic version of Vivant Demon's story "Point de Lendemain", 1777). It was published by various people including George Cannon c. 1830. This edition is a paperback from Paris in 1957. The back cover reads "Not to be imported into the United Kingdom or the U.S.A"
  • Venus School-Mistress, or Birchen Sports, anonymous, Preface by Mary Wilson (Birchopolis for the Delectation of the Amorous and the Instruction of the Amateur in the Year of the Excitement of the Sexes. 1917 [this is most-likely a newly rebound facsimile reprint of said edition, np nd]) 6 3/4" X 4 5/8", 167pp, hardbound no DJ, half-leather, very good condition, owner's signature in blue ink. According to Ashbee, this work probably dates to 1808-10 (by R. Birch, Translator of Manon's Memoirs, printed for Philosemus). It also appears in 1820 and then in 1830, published by George Cannon. This seems to be a reprint of a 1927 version. This edition reads "best and only complete edition" and "Reprinted from the edition of 1788 with a Preface by Mary Wilson, containing some account of the late Mrs. Berkeley". Also contained in this edition are The Charm, The Night School, The Beautiful Jewess, The Butcher's Daughter, Moral Reflections, The Questions for Casuists, Betsy Thoughtless and an extensive appendix with many articles about flagellation.
  • German WWI Soldier Postcard German postcard from around 1918, "Immer feste drauf" (always fixed on it)
  • "Devils would often lay hold of men and flog them", artist unknown Print from: Flagellation & the Flagellants. A History of the Rod in All Countries from the earliest period to the present time The Rev. Wm. M. Cooper, B.A. [James Glass Bertram] (John Camden Hotten, London, n.d. [1869] (first edition)) Image: 5.5" x 9", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
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