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.

  • Flogging, artist unknown Print from:  Nell in Bridewell: Description of the System of Corporal Punishment (Flagellation) in the Female Prisons of South Germany up to the year 1848 W. Reinhard, trans. W.C. Costello Ph. D. and A. R. Allinson M. A. (Psych Press [New York], 1932) Image: 7" x 10", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", 65lb White paper
  • Birched Girl, artist unknown Print from: Le pantalon féminin : un chapitre inédit de l'histoire du costume, (Charles Carrington, Librairie Des Bibliophiles Parisiens, 1916, Paris) Image: 6" x 10", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
  • The Beautiful Madame Lapuchin, Knouted by order of Elizabeth Empress of Russia, 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: 7" x 10", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
  • "School in the Last Centuary" by George Grushank 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: 10" x 7", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 11" x 8.5", your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
  • Riding a Gentleman, artist unknown Print from:  The Modern Eveline; or the adventures of a young lady of quality who was never found out anonymous (Printed for Distribution Amongst Private Subscribers, Paris, 1904 [Miller Brothers, New York, c. 1930]) Image: 6.5″ x 10″, high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5″ x 11″, 65lb White paper
  • Very Large, artist unknown Print from:  The Modern Eveline; or the adventures of a young lady of quality who was never found out anonymous (Printed for Distribution Amongst Private Subscribers, Paris, 1904 [Miller Brothers, New York, c. 1930]) Image: 6″ x 9″, high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5″ x 11″, 65lb White paper
  • Woman with Whip, artist unknown Printed from: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure or The Life of Fanny Hill John Cleland (Hoboken, np, 1929 [Philadelphia?] limited edition 700 (unnumbered)) Image: 6″ x 9.5″, high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5″ x 11″, 65lb White
  • Held Down and Birched, artist unknown Print from:  Nell in Bridewell: Description of the System of Corporal Punishment (Flagellation) in the Female Prisons of South Germany up to the year 1848 W. Reinhard, trans. W.C. Costello Ph. D. and A. R. Allinson M. A. (Psych Press [New York], 1932) Image: 7" x 10", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", 65lb White paper
  • Before Caning, artist unknown Print from:  Nell in Bridewell: Description of the System of Corporal Punishment (Flagellation) in the Female Prisons of South Germany up to the year 1848 W. Reinhard, trans. W.C. Costello Ph. D. and A. R. Allinson M. A. (Psych Press [New York], 1932) Image: 7" x 10", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", 65lb White paper
  • Out of stock
    White Rebenque 23" long, flap is 12", white leather with rawhide/sinew stitching and decorations, slight yellowing from age. Beautiful hand-made white leather rebenque 50+ years old. It has decorative rawhide work on the handle and on the strap, using two colors of rawhide. The handle is textured by wrapping a wet cord around it, leaving an imprint on the leather. Rebenque is the name in Brazilian Portuguese for a type of whip used by gauchos in South America. Especially in Argentina, it is the traditional riding, fighting, and punishing whip of the gaucho. It consists of a rawhide wrapped wooden handle with a thong made of a leather strap a little longer than the handle. The wide strap made the rebenque an instrument less severe on the horse than the European riding crop. As the gaucho was never far from the horse, the rebenque was always on him. When not in use, he made a knot with the strap and held the rebenque lazily by the wrist strap with the middle fingers of his hand, or hung it from the handle of his facón knife (as he used the large knife almost horizontally at his back, held by the belt or waistband, the handle protruded from his right side). The rebenque was used also for fighting, as a weapon by itself, when the fight did not merit a knife, or with the strap rolled on his left hand and the handle hanging, as a secondary weapon to the knife in his right hand. Of course, it was also used for domestic punishments, and for quasi-judicial chastisement. A couple of lashes with the rebenque on the bare legs were widely used as a punishment for children, even in the urban areas.
  • Girls Reading, artist unknown Print from: Le pantalon féminin : un chapitre inédit de l'histoire du costume, (Charles Carrington, Librairie Des Bibliophiles Parisiens, 1916, Paris) Image: 7" x 9", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", 65lb White paper
  • Le Pantalon féminin (frontispiece), artist unknown Print from: Le pantalon féminin : un chapitre inédit de l'histoire du costume, (Charles Carrington, Librairie Des Bibliophiles Parisiens, 1916, Paris) Image: 6" x 9.5", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", 65lb White paper
  • Fanny Hill (Hoboken frontispiece), artist unknown Printed from: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure or The Life of Fanny Hill John Cleland (Hoboken, np, 1929 [Philadelphia?] limited edition 700 (unnumbered)) Image: 6″ x 10″, high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5″ x 11″, your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
  • Tied & Birched, artist unknown Print from:  l'Histoire de Juliette Marquis de Sade (Hollande, 1797) Image: 6" x 9.5", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", 65lb White paper
  • Bear Lick, by Charles Raymond Print from: Venus in Furs Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, illus. Charles Raymond (Privately Printed for Subscribers Only, New York, 1928) Image: 6" x 10", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", 65lb White paper
  • Suspended, artist unknown Print from:  l'Histoire de Juliette Marquis de Sade (Hollande, 1797) Image: 6" x 9.5", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
  • Girl and Tiger, by Charles Raymond Print from: Venus in Furs Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, illus. Charles Raymond (Privately Printed for Subscribers Only, New York, 1928, #523/1250) Image: 6" x 9.5", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
  • Venus in Furs (frontispiece), by Charles Raymond Print from: Venus in Furs Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, illus. Charles Raymond (Privately Printed for Subscribers Only, New York, 1928, #523/1250) Image: 6.5" x 10", high-resolution ink-jet print Paper: 8.5" x 11", your choice of 65lb White or 67lb Ivory Parchment
  • The Adventures of King Pausole, Pierre Louys, ilustrated by Lotan Welshans ("Privately Printed in a Strictly Limited Edition for Members of The Society of Sophisticates", no date, [c. 1927, the date of the illustrations], [first edition thus]) 9 5/8" X 6 5/8", 305pp, hardbound, no dust jacket, boards green floral pattern, gilt lettering and designs on spine, top edge gilted, other edges deckle, good condition. 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. harm no man. 2. Then do as you please." Spider-webb-patterned tissue coverings on the nine exotic and sensuous plates (gilt on black paper tipped in), by Lotan Weshans.
  • Some Limericks: Collected for the use of Students, & ensplendour’d with Introduction, Geographical Index, and with Notes Explanatory and Critical, by Norman Douglas (Nicholson and Whitney, Boston, 1942 [most likely published in Paris by Maurice Girodias of Olympia Press, early 1950's, a reprint of the Obelisk Press edition of 1939], stated 616/1000 "printed by The Brownbent Press, Boston, Mass.") 5.5" x 8.25", 117pp, near fine condition, unlabeled soft covers, dust jacket slightly warn at top with paper label "Some Limericks", spine of dust jacket simply reads "poems". Norman Douglas is an English author best known for his 1917 novel, South Wind. However, this particular book of his is one of the most pirated books of it's kind. Unable to find a publisher willing to take it on, Douglas published it himself in 1928. It was published by Oblisk Press in 1939 (said to be the last book secured for the company before Jack Kahane's lifetime). This particular edition was published by Mr. Kahane's son, Maurice Girodias, who inherited his father's press, but changed the name to Olympia Press. It is said that this book has everything, blasphemy, incest, paedophilia, bestiality. Accompanying each limericks are entertaining (if not scholarly) notes explaining the supposed origin and/or circumstances by which the rhymes were procured. So obscene and offensive, even Olympia Press, known for it's erotic literature, chose to publish under a false imprint.  
  • L'Amant Salamandre, ou Les Aventures de l'Infortunée Julie,Histoire Veritable, anonymous [Cointreau] , ("Londres, Et se trouve à Paris. Chez Duchesne" 1756, [first edition]) 4"x6.75", in two parts, 132pp, 135pp, Contemporary mottled calf, gilt decorations on spine, marbled boards, in good condition for age, some splitting at spine, but binding good. Julie is the bizarre tale of a young orphan tricked by her wicked governess into believing in magic. The governess delivers the girl to her son, who attempts to seduce her disguised as Salamandre, a magician. The young girl escapes to a convent, only to cross paths with the governess some time later, who once again tries to procure her for her son. 'Salamandre' is attacked by assassins and confesses his mother's crimes on his death bed. The novel was very popular in it's day. Although very popular in it's day, it's a rare find, especially the original 1756 version.  
  • The secret history of the most renowned Q. Elizabeth and the E. of Essex, "By a Person of Quality", ("Printed for R. Wellington, at the Dolphin and Crown in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1708. Where you may be furnish'd with all sorts of Plays.") 3.25"x5.5", in two parts with separate title pages 1-62,63-112pp(of 115?), bound in brown leather, no front or rear endpapers, not illustrated, poor condition, binding and boards are solid but pages soiled and edges tattered, page 111/112 piece torn off, pages 113-155 missing, writing (alphabet letters) near and on part one title page. By the late seventeenth century, Elizabeth's love life became a subject of obsession in England and especially in France. This book is the most famous of the absurd tattle-tale books. It was a translation of Comte d'Essex histoire angloise first published in 1678 by Claude Barbin – a Parisian publisher who edited the works of Molière, La Fontaine, Charles Perrault and Corneille. The earliest translations to english date show up around 1680. Most of them have a false imprint of "Cologne : Printed for Will with the Wisp". Few are seen with this particular imprint. The story was turned into a play and in 1912 adapted as a silent film entitled Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth starring Sarah Bernhardt as Elizabeth.  
  • Galante Lieder und Gedichte, Concordia Ball 25. Jänner 1926 [Galante songs and poems with images after originals by Franz von Bayros selected by Johannes Pilz and Viktor Wögerer, Concordia Ball, January 25, 1926] (Der Presseclub Concordia, Strache, Vienna 1926) 6.5"x4.75", very good condition, boards slightly rubbed and stained, interior fine, with carrying strap intact. Press Club Concordia, an organization of Austrian journalists and writers, has been holding a traditional Viennese ball at the Vienna City Hall each June for over 150 years. In 1926 their program book featured art by Franz von Bayros. The illustrations feature both erotic and musical themes. This is a great piece of European/Austrian interbellum history, a rare find in this condition with the carrying strap still intact.  
  • La Tradition de la Garde. Illustré d'après Roze. Précédé d'une étude sur les chatiments corporels. [Tradition of the Guard. Illustrated by Roze. Preceded by a study on corporal punishment.] by Jean de Villiot, [pseud. Georges Grassal de Choffat or Hugues Rebell], illus. Léon Roze (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1907, #244/700) 7.75" x 9.75", 209pp, very good condition for age, some light stains, soft covers and binding good, a rare, numerous illustrations
  • Experiences of Flagellation: A Series of Remarkable Instances of Whipping Inflicted on Both Sexes, With Curious Anecdotes of Ladies Fond of Administering Birch Discipline., "compiled by An Amateur Flagallant" (Printed for Private Circulation, London, 1885, first edition) 5.25"x 8", 80pp, hardbound no DJ, tan boards with blue spine, fair condition for age, some bumping to boards, binding fragile but holding, split between first and second signature, page 15/16 detached. A great read! Forward asserts God ordained pain and punishment, even animals fear it, it is his police department, not to punish is to keep a boy out of God's school. The rod should be used ceremoniously. Even girls up to 18 have often ben greatly improved for life by "Dr. Spankster's" cure wisely administered. Sections include: Flogging Girls, Wife Beating, A Conjugal Scene, Lady Preparing for Birching, and many more.
  • The Limerick, a facet of our culture, anonymous [A. Reynolds Morse] ( Cruciform Press, Mexico City: Privately Printed for Private Circulation to Subscribers Only, 1944 [Cleveland, Ohio: A. Reynolds Morse, 1948.] #208/250) 8" X 5.5", vii+157pp. Hardbound, black cloth boards, gilt lettering on cover. near fine condition (rare for this edition!), slight rust around staples. 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 study of the history and development of the limerick, ensplendor'd with over two hundred examples of the immortal verse form, commentaries, and index" This book is considered by most to be the "dirtiest" collection of limericks. Mr. Morse also published "Folk Poems and Ballads An Anthology". Both books were suppressed by police action in the late 1940's. This is a VERY rare near fine copy of this hard-to-find book. It was poorly made so most of the copies out there have signatures loose.
  • Fanny Hill in America, by Frank Fosdick and David Sierra, cover by Jerry Schiano (Parallax Publishing Company, Inc, New York, Distributed by Simon & Schuster, Inc.) 7" x 4.25", soft cover comic book, cover scuffed and slightly soiled Stated "The first Go-Go Comic Novel in Full Color".  As far as I can find it is the ONLY "Go-Go" Comic Novel.  The Man from M.O.T.H.E.R. was also published in similar form saying "A Super-Cool Comic Novel in Full Color".  Parallax is also hard to track down. I've only found mention of a few other comic books.  all published in 1966 (The Great Society Comic Book[a parody of LBJ's social policies], it's companion comic, Bobman and Teddy [parodying Robert and Ted Kennedy], and the VERY rare Kosher Comics [featuring The Lone Arranger, Supermax, Tishman of the Apes, & Dick Shamus]). I can't find this publication listed at all. Other Parallax publications are similarly very rare.  
  • Le Pantalon Féminin (Un chapitre inédit de l'Histoire du Costume) by Pierre Dufay, preface by d'Armand Silvestre (Charles Carrington, Librairie Des Bibliophiles Parisiens, 1916, Paris) 7.75" X 5.75", xv 584pp., original soft wraps protected by a clear archival dust cover. Deckled edges. Some pages remain uncut. Index, table of contents, errata, and 5 pages of ads in the back. Good condition for age, some tears to the edges of cover, stain on the back. A rare find with it's illustrations intact.
  • 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], #351/375 [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, poor condition, boards show major wear, spine worn off, binding still good, boards still attached, interior pages are fine, 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.
  • Out of stock
    Naughty Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales, "Translated from the Old Saxon and Illustrated by Sir Rod Q. M'Gurk, Knight of the Brush (np, nd c. 1975) 8.5"x11", 96pp (unpaginated), soft covers, good condition, some minor bumping to corners, near fine internal pages
    Ad from a "Men's Magazine" featuring the Naughty Fairy Tales

    Ad from a "men's magazine" featuring the Naughty Fairy Tales

    I've been able to find a few references to this book and very little about "Sir Rod Q. M'Gurk". He apparently also had his cartoons published in Swank magazine c. 1976-7. Eventually it came to the attention of some illustrators and (with help of former Disney animators) was made into a movie by Don Jurwich (not sure the connection between him and Sir Rod Q. M'Gurk, but I'd love to know if it was him).
  • The Autobiography of a Flea, told in a hop, skip, and jump: Recounting all his Experiences of the Human, and Superhuman, Kind, both Male and Female; with his Curious Connections, Backbitings, and Tickling Touches; the whole scratched together and arranged for the Delectation of the Delicate, and for the Information of the Inquisitive. annonymous [disputed but believed to be Stanislas de Rodes, a London lawyer] ("Published by the Authority of The Phlebotomical Society, Cytheria, 1789 [a false imprint, according to Mendez, most likely printed by A. Lefevre (Brussels) for Mlle. Doucé (Paris) c.1890. It is possible that Charles Carrington introduced Doucé to the book as he just arrived in Paris (exiled from England).]) 4.75" x 7.75", 190pp, full red Moroccan leather with gilt boarders, 5 raised bands, gilt decorations and title on spine, gilt decorations border paste-downs, top edge gilt, no illustrations present, text decorations throughout, boards loose, signatures loose, some pages detached. A good copy of a VERY rare fine-binding edition of a very rare book. I can find no other copies for sale or in WorldCat. Written from the point of view of a very observant flea, the story is of the exploits of a young girl and a monastery of corrupt monks. The prose is very well written, erotic, and entertaining, with detailed full-length descriptions, good scene setting, and tension buildups. A question hangs over its authorship who has been referred to as ‘un avocat anglais, bien connu a` Londres’ [an advocate well known in London], suggested to be Frederick Popham Pike, the only barrister known to be writing pornography at this time. Other contenders for its authorship include Frederick Hankey, who died in 1882, Henry Spencer Ashbee, and the current favorite, Stanislas de Rodes. CHARACTERS The Flea: The Narrator of the story is a flea whose name is never revealed. The novel begins with the flea asserting that though he gets his living by blood sucking he is "not the lowest of that universal fraternity". The flea further asserts that his intelligence and abilities of observation and communication are comparable to a human, and demurs from any explanation of the cause, adding that he is "in truth a most wonderful and exalted insect". The unusual narrator allows the story to be written from the viewpoint of a character who neither participates in nor necessarily approves of the sex scenes, and the movement of the narrator between the bodies of the different characters allows the action to follow different characters at different times. Despite ostensibly being written from the first person the novel includes descriptions of the feelings and intentions of various characters which seem more fitting with a third person limited omniscient narrator. Bella: The main character of the book, Bella, is an orphan who lives with her uncle and aunt. At the beginning of the story she is 14 and is described as being the admired one of all eyes and the desired one of all hearts - at any rate among the male sex. She begins the book sexually naive, but inquisitive. Charlie: Very little description is given of Charlie, and after a brief mention in Chapter 3 he ceases to play any part in the story. Father Ambrose: A priest aged 45, described as having a handsome face, with jet black eyes and as being short and stout. The narrator says Ambrose's mind is dedicated to the pursuit of lust, and much of the novel's plot is due to his machinations. After initiating Bella into the ways of unrestrained sensuality, and planning to keep her for himself, he is discovered by the Brother Superior and Brother Clement who insist he share Bella with them. Many scenes of multiple acts of all varieties ensue. Ultimately, Ambrose decides to expand the circle of debauchery by insisting Belle involve her friend the fair, innocent Julia Delmont. Father Clement: Father Clement is one of the "brothers" of Father Ambrose and is a participant and co conspirator in the seduction of Bella. He is described as ugly and possessed of an absolutely gargantuan penis. A memorable scene occurs when Clement mistakes the bedroom he believes is occupied by Bella, and throws himself on Bella's puritanical and rigid aunt. After initially believing the advances are those of her husband, with whom she has not been intimate in many years, she feels Clement's enormous size, and leaps up. Clement forces her down, and after initial resistance, she succumbs. They are discovered and Clement escapes out the window. Bella's aunt goes progressively insane screaming for the "priest with the big tool". Plot The plot begins with Bella in church. As she leaves, Charlie pushes a note into her hand. She reads that it says he will be in their old meeting place at eight o' clock. She meets him in a garden. After some playful conversation, Charlie introduces her to her first sexual experience. Father Ambrose, who had been hiding in the shrubs, surprises them afterward, scolding both of them for their behaviour and threatening to reveal what they have been doing to their guardians. Bella pleads for mercy. Father Ambrose, appearing to relent, tells Bella to meet him in the sacristy at two o'clock the next day and Charlie to meet him at the same time the day after that. Ambrose instructs Bella into a way she may be absolved of her sins and blackmails her into sex with him, lest he tell her guardian what she was up to. Then Ambrose's colleagues, the Fr Superior & Fr Clement, catch them in the act, and they demand equal rights to Bella's favours. And so Bella is introduced to serving the Holy community in a special way. Despite his promises, Ambrose goes to see Bella's uncle, Monsieur Verbouc and tells of her lewd behaviour. This leads to her uncle, who has long entertained lustful thoughts of his niece, attempting to force himself on Bella. The narrator then intervenes, biting him to put a damper on his ardour. Next, Father Clement, looking for Bella's room, climbs into the window of Bella's aunt, the pious Madame Verbouc, who had mistaken him for her husband. M. Verbouc then bursts in and his wife realises she's actually been making love to the randy priest. Bella's friend, Julia Delmont, becomes Ambrose's next target. By now completely corrupted and happy to go along with whatever Ambrose suggests, Bella readily agrees to the Father's next scheme: She will offer herself to Monsieur Delmont, on condition that her face is covered. The trick is that it will not be Bella who lies there, but Delmont's own daughter. Father Ambrose seduces her and says he will come to her by night and make love to her, but she must hide her face. Charming depiction of a drawing room gangbang from the book When the act is consummated, Bella appears and pretends that it was all a big mistake. But since Delmont has now potentially impregnated his daughter, the only way to be sure his incest cannot be discovered is to have all make love to her as well. In case she is pregnant, nobody can claim that her own father is the father. Bella and Julia eventually become nuns, and the book ends as they participate in an orgy with 19 priests.
  • Les Facetieuses Nuits de Straparole, Giovanni Francesco Straparola, trans. Jean Louveau, illus. L_on Lebègue. Preface by Jules de Marthold (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1907 #213/800) 9.5" x 6.25", 2 vol. lxxxvii+312pp. vi+371pp. 1/2 leather over marbled boards, 4 raised bands on spine gilt lettering and decorations, marbled endpapers, gilted top-edge, others deckled, many color illustrations protected by tissues with descrptions printed on them, text decorations throughout, near fine condition, book binder tag for "Hans Uttinger, Buchbinderei, Einrahmungsgeschäft, Luzern" The Facetious Nights of Straparola (1550-1555; Italian: Le piacevoli notti), also known as The Nights of Straparola, is a two-volume collection of 75 stories by Italian author and fairy-tale collector Giovanni Francesco Straparola(c.1480-c.1557). Modeled after Bocaccio's Decameron, it has participants of a 13-night party in the island of Murano, near Venice, tell each other stories that vary from bawdy to fantastic. It contains the first known written versions of many fairy tales. It would influence later fairy-tale authors like Charles Perrault and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. This book is a very rare and famous (and famously illustrated) edition.  A beautiful copy of a beautifully made book.
  • Aphrodite, mœurs antiques, by Pierre Louÿs, illus. Eduard Zier (Librairie Illustree, J. Tallandier, Éditeur, nd [c. 1900], Paris, printed by Charles Hérissey, engravings executed by Ruckert et Cie, on Champon, Bichelberger et Cie ) 6.75" x 10", 374pp, hardbound in half buckram over marbled boards, very good condition for age, some bumping to boards and foxing throughout pages, red 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." "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.
  • One Hundred Merrie and Delightsome Stories, ed. by Antoine de La Sale, trans. Robert B. Douglas (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1899 [pirated facimile reprint, probably New York, c.1930 states "privately printed from the Charles Carrington Paris 1899 edition] #294/1250) 8" X 5.75", two volumes, xxx+532pp, pagination continuous. Fifty-two b&w plates by Léon Lebègue, marbled boards, gilt on spine, top edge gilt, other edges deckled, very good condition, minor bumping, some stains on front cover of vol. 2 Charles Carrington was the first to have this translated into English. This is a pirated copy, but still very nicely printed on good paper, the illustrations are in B&W. 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.
  • Aphrodite, a novel of ancient manners, by Pierre Louÿs, illus. Ed. Zier (Charles Carrington, 1906, first edition thus, first English translation) 5.25 x 8", 412pp, marbled boards with three quarter red cloth, gilt lettering and decoration on spine, very good condition for age, some slight bumping/scuffing 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 Translation of Aphrodite was executed on the Printing Presses of Charles Herissey, at Evreux (France), for Mr. Charles Carrington, Paris, Bookseller et Publisher, and is the only complete English version extant." Édouard François Zier, (1856-1924) was a French illustrator and painter.
  • 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. full leather rebinding of the paperback (original covers included), fine condition, ribbin intact, Original 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. A nice full leather copy of the work.
  • Les métamorphoses ou l'asne d'or de Luce Apulée philosophe platonique, Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (124-170 AD), trans. Jules De Marthold, illust. [21 etchings] Martin van Maele (Charles Carrington, Librairie-Éditeur, 1905, Paris, #88/750) 9.25" X 6.25", xlviii+328pp., original soft wraps protected by glassine wraps, Chapter pieces in orange and black, tail pieces in black, large, decorative first letter of each chapter, frontispiece + 21 full-page b/w engravings with tissue guards and numerous in-text illustrations by Martin van Maele, very good condition for age. The Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which St. Augustine referred to as "The Golden Ass", is the only Ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The plot Lucius and his curiosity and insatiable desire to see and practice magic. While trying to perform a spell to transform into a bird, he is accidentally transformed into an ass. This leads to a long journey, literal and metaphorical, filled with in-set tales. He finally finds salvation through the intervention of the goddess Isis, whose cult he joins. The date of the original work is uncertain. Scholars are not sure if he wrote it in his youth or at the end of his life. He adapted the story from a Greek story written by Lucius of Patrae, however his original Greek text has long been lost. Maurice François Alfred Martin van Miële (1863-5 - 1926), better known by his pseudonym Martin van Maële, was a French illustrator of early 20th century literature. Though he gained notoriety with his illustration for H. G. Wells in Les Premiers Hommes dans la Lune, and he worked as an illustrator for the Félix Juven's French translations of the Sherlock Holmes series, he is now most widely renowned and mostly remembered for his erotic illustrations. This is a beautiful and rare book in it's original paper wraps.
  • Manuel D'Érotologie Classique (de figuris Veneris) by Fred. Chas. Forberg, trans. Alcide Bonneau (Imprimé pour René Bonnel, Paris, 1933, #123/500) 6" x 9.25", 223pp, three quarter red leather, gilt titles on spine, 4 raised double bands, near fine condition, ribbon intact, hand-laid Arches paper (identifying watermarks), original paper covers bound in. Rene Bonnel, the publisher of this edition, was one of the foremost publishers of finely printed illegal erotica in the 1930's. This work was openly published and is no exception to the quality of his books. De figuris Veneris (On the figures of Venus) was an anthology of ancient Greek and ancient Roman writings on erotic topics, discussed objectively and classified and grouped by subject matter. (I. Of Copulation, II. Of Pederastia, III. Of Irrumation, IV. Of Masturbation, V. Of Cunnilingues, VI. Of Tribads, VII. Of Intercourse with Animals, VIII. Of Spintrian Postures) It was first published by the German classicist Friedrich Karl Forberg in 1824 in Latin and Greek as “Antonii Panormitae Hermaphroditus”, an erotic poem sequence in renaissance Latin. Forberg later reprinted it as “Manuel D’Érotologie Classique (de figuris Veneris)”. It was translated into English (published by Charles Carrington in 1899 and again by Charles Hirsch in 1907), French and German (one French edition was illustrated by Édouard-Henri Avril [Paul Avril]). It concludes with a list of 95 sexual positions. In 1899 Forberg's work was translated into English and published by Charles Carrington as De figuris Veneris, Manual of classical erotology, and again in 1907 by Charles Hirsch, and into French, German and Spanish. The French edition by Alcide Bonneau was titled Manuel d’érotologie classique. One French edition of 1906 was illustrated by Édouard-Henri Avril, which concludes with a list of 95 sexual positions. Most of the editions were restricted to high society or censored; one of the copies edited in France was immediately deposited on the secret shelves of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
  • The London Aphrodite, ed. Jack Lindsay and P.R. Stephensen (Fanfrolico Press, "printed by the Botolph Printing Works", London, 1928 - 29) 9.75" X 6.25", 496pp numbered sequentially throughout series, v1 1-64, v2 45-160, v3 161-232, v4 233-316, v5 317-400, v6 401-496, full set of 6 planned issues, great condition for age, the expected sunning/fading from soft-cover periodical of this era, small ink price stamp to front of v1. A periodical edited by Jack Lindsay and P.R. Stephensen and published in London by the Fanfrolico Press, ran bi-monthly for a planned six issues August 1928 - June 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 writers, including Aldous Huxley, Norman Lindsay, Robert Nichols, Liam O'Flaherty, Edward Marsh, Edward Marsh, Norman Douglas, Stanley Snaith, Alexander Blok, Hugh McCrae, Kenneth Slessor, Philip Lindsay, Brian Penton, P.R. Stephensen, Les Robinson, W.J. Turner, Bertram Higgins, E.J. Rupert Atkinson, Sacheverell Sitwell, T.F. Powys, Rhys Davides, and Edith Hepburn ('Anna Wickham'). Jack Lindsay, the dominant force, used the pseudonym 'Peter Meadows' for several articles. 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.
  • Ce n'est rien... N'ayez pas peur! [It's nothing .. Do not be afraid!], post card (D. D. déposé)
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