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Private Hours of Napoleon Bonaparte | from his earliest years to the period of his marriage with the Arch-Duchess Maria Louisa | written by himself during his residence in the island of Elba, (Printed for Germain Mathiot, Paris, 1816, reverse title page says "London: Printed by Schulze and Dean") 7" X 5", 4 vols., 240pp 247pp 248pp 240pp, rebound in 1/2 brown calf over marbled boards, 5 raised bands and gilt titles on spine, blindstamp designs on leather, marbled edges, good+ condition, rare book This was not at all written by Napoleon but written anonymously. The story (unverified) is that it was commissioned by the publisher Henry Colburn (1784-1855) for British intelligence with the primarily erotic or otherwise scandalous content intended to discredit Napoleon's character while he was in exile in Elba. This is a very rare work. Only a few copies located worldwide. The only other one I've found in the US is in Harvard's library. This work was also published in French (with a London imprint). -
2 books bound together: L'Onanisme, Dissertation Sur Les Maladies Produites Par La Masturbation, Samuel-Auguste Tissot (chez Marc Chapuis, Lausanne, 1778, 5th edition) Avis Au Peuple, Sur Les Asphyxies ou Morts Apparentes Et Subites: Contenant Les Moyens de les prevenir & d'y remedier, Avec La Description D'Une Nouvelle Boete fumigatoire portative. Publie par order du Gouvernement, Joseph-Jacques de Gardane (chez Rault, Paris, 1774) 4.25” x 6.25”, xiv+272pp + 114pp+2, bound in full calf, gilt title and decorations on spine, ex-libris V. Bertrand of Mareuil-sur-Lay (Vendée) France on front past-down. These two very notable medical books are bound together. Why are American men circumcised? Most people will offer some explanation to do with hygiene. But the real reason is that the Founding Fathers considered the presence of a foreskin an encouragement to masturbation, a vice which recent scientific research had shown threatened the very bedrock of civilisation. Their intellectual guide was one Samuel Auguste Tissot, a Swiss physician of the age of Enlightenment who cited self-pollution as responsible for a horde of ailments including jaundice, haemorrhoids, blindness, acne, insanity, epilepsy, delirium, tuberculosis, memory loss, paleness, pimples and death. Born in 1728 in Grancy, Switzerland, Tissot took up practice in Lausanne and became an expert on syphilis. Wrongly identifying the third-stage sequelae of syphilis as the results of excessive masturbation, he produced a book with two subtitles which became an international best-seller: Onanism: Or, a Treatise Upon the Disorders produced by Masturbation: Or, the Dangerous Effects of Secret and Excessive Venery (1760). In Onanism Tissot abandoned the moral and theological tone of previous commentators, taking the exclusively medical view that the human body had to maintain a delicate balance between nutrition on the one hand and fluid loss on the other. The emission of semen or vaginal fluid through repetitive, addictive non-procreative sex could tip the system into disastrous imbalance, especially since every ounce of the magic sexual excrement was equivalent to 40 ounces of blood. Tissot described a typical sufferer from excessive masturbation, or spermatorrhoea: “I went to his home; what I found was less a living being than a cadaver lying on straw, thin, pale, exuding a loathsome stench…A pale and watery blood often dripped from his nose, he drooled continually; subject to attacks of diarrhea, he defecated in his bed without noticing it; there was constant flow of semen…Thus sunk below the level of the beast, it was difficult to believe that he had once belonged to the human race.” Women could be tempted through a variety of stimuli, including novels, horseback riding, perfumes, corsets, feather beds, prolonged mental effort, pockets, bananas, society, solitude, spanking, rocking chairs and paintings (both oil and watercolor). “The humor they lose being less precious, less perfected than male sperm,” Tissot wrote humorlessly, “its loss does not perhaps weaken them as quickly, but when they indulge excessively, their nervous system being weaker and naturally more inclined to spasm, the troubles are more violent.” Joseph-Jacques de Gardane was a doctor and Royal Censor in Paris. In addition to the treatment of syphilis, he was concerned, as in this work, with the subject of asphyxiation death. In this rare work, translated as “Notice to the people, on asphyxia or related and sudden deaths. Contained here: The means to prevent them & their remedy. With the description of a new Boëte portable fumigator. Published by order of the Government” A medical revolution of the day when asphyxiation, like most maladies, was treated by leeches, Gardane’s approach to curing drowning was a “fumigator” which was a convenient invention for blowing tobacco smoke into the anus. Yes, LITERALLY blowing smoke up one’s ass! There are fold-out engravings with a diagram of the device and demonstration on its proper use.
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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. -
Les métamorphoses ou l’asne d’or de Luce Apulée philosophe platonique, Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (124-170 AD), trans. Jules De Montlyald, preface by Jules de Marthold, illust. [21 etchings] Martin van Maele (Charles Carrington, Librairie-Éditeur, 1905, Paris, #115/750) 6.25" X 9.25", xlviii+328pp, beautifully bound in three-quarter morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and decorations on the spine, top-edge gilt, others uncut, fine condition overall, 21 full-page tipped-in B/W engravings with tissue guards and numerous in-text illustrations by Martin van Meale, red ribbon intact. 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.
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The Golden Ass of Apuleius, a new translation with introduction and notes by Francis D. Byrne, Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (124-170 AD), trans. Francis D Byrne, illust. [20 etchings] Martin van Maele (Classical Translation Union, Privately Issued for the Subscribers [Charles Carrington], 1904, Paris, #304/750) 6" X 8", xlix+588pp, blue boards with gilt decorations and titles, top-edge gilt, others deckled, some light foxing in the first few pages, advertisements on last few pages (all Carrington works). 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.
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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 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. -
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. -
Blue Book Treasury of Classic Tails | Volume 1 | Goldilocks, "Translated from the Old Saxon and Illustrated by Sir Rod Q. M'Gurk, Knight of the Brush" (Classic Tails, Inc., 1972) 11" X 8.5", 32pp, soft covers, good condition, some minor bumping to corners & scuffing to covers, near fine internal pages. Blue Book Treasury of Classic Tails | Volume 2 | Jack and the Beanstalk, "Translated from the Old Saxon and Illustrated by Sir Rod Q. M'Gurk, Knight of the Brush" (Classic Tails, Inc., 1972) 11" X 8.5", 32pp, soft covers, just good condition, bumping to corners & scuffing/soiling to covers, near fine internal pages. Blue Book Treasury of Classic Tails | Volume 3 | Little Red Riding Hood, by Fud Dicksworth III (Classic Tails, Inc., 1972) 11" X 8.5", 32pp, soft covers, good+ condition, some bumping to corners, VERY rare.I've been able to find a few references to this book and very little about "Sir Rod Q. M'Gurk" or "Fud Dicksworth III". M'Gurk 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).
Ad from a "men's magazine" featuring the Naughty Fairy Tales
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Manual of Classical Erotology (de figuris Veneris) by Fred. Chas. Forberg, trans. Alcide Bonneau (Privately Printed for Viscount Julian Smithson M. A. and Friends [Charles Carrington], 1884, one of 100 copies) vol. 2 only, half-bound in tan vellum over marbled boards, spine is labeled "Carrington" who is the presumed publisher. Top edge gilt, other edges deckled, binding loose but holding. 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. It was first published by the German classicist Friedrich Karl Forberg in 1824 in Latin and Greek as a commentary to Antonio Beccadelli's (1394-1471) Hermaphroditus (commonly referred to as Antonii Panormitae Hermaphroditus), an erotic poem sequence of 1425 in renaissance Latin, though it was later also published as a separate work. First edition of this important parallel English, Latin and Greek version. This very rare edition was translated by Alcide Bonneau and published by Charles Carrington. Each page has latin (and where appropriate, Greek) on the right side and the English translation on the left. This is the second volume only and includes the following chapters: IV. —Of Masturbation V. —Of Cunnilingues VI. —Of Tribads VII. —Of Intercourse with Animals VIII. —Of Spintrian Postures (a list of 95 sexual positions) Considered the gold standard English translation of the time, this edition followed a poor piracy of 1882 badly translated from Liseux’s French edition of 1882. The name of the publisher is missing (most likely to avoid prosecution) and the limitation statement says 100 copies were "printed for Viscount Julian Smithson M. A., the Translator, and his Friends" and further states that "None of these Copies are for Sale" (also to avoid prosecution). Through later statements (mostly by association) we know it was published by Charles Carrington and translated by Alcide Bonneau. Carrington, in his 1902 catalogue, Forbidden Books wrote (thus promoting the sale of his clandestinely published book): ‘Were I a bookseller, I do not think I should ever take the trouble to print such a book as I have now before me. Here is a Latin work, full of notes, and bristling with Greek quotations. A most careful and masterly translation has been placed opposite every page of the original text, and it needs no literary critic to see that no one but a real classical scholar—an old Oxford man—could ever have successfully struggled with such a task... The two stout volumes have evidently been printed on the Continent—and for very good and valid reasons, as no English printer would dare to undertake such a work,— therefore each page would have to be submitted to the translator, at least three or four times, foreign compositors working mechanically. Many months would thus pass in wearisome proof-reading, and when at last the hundred copies are struck off, and each man receives his due, what margin of profit awaits the silly bookseller-publisher? He is insulted in every way and laughed at if he dares to wonder that the British Customs seize any copies...’ In 1882 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.
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Manual of Classical Erotology (de figuris Veneris) by Fred. Chas. Forberg, trans. Alcide Bonneau (Privately Printed for Viscount Julian Smithson M. A. and Friends [Charles Carrington], 1884, one of 100 copies) vol. 2 only, half-bound in tan vellum over marbled boards, spine is labeled "Carrington" who is the presumed publisher. Top edge gilt, other edges deckled, binding loose but holding. 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. It was first published by the German classicist Friedrich Karl Forberg in 1824 in Latin and Greek as a commentary to Antonio Beccadelli's (1394-1471) Hermaphroditus (commonly referred to as Antonii Panormitae Hermaphroditus), an erotic poem sequence of 1425 in renaissance Latin, though it was later also published as a separate work. First edition of this important parallel English, Latin and Greek version. This very rare edition was translated by Alcide Bonneau and published by Charles Carrington. Each page has latin (and where appropriate, Greek) on the right side and the English translation on the left. This is the second volume only and includes the following chapters: IV. —Of Masturbation V. —Of Cunnilingues VI. —Of Tribads VII. —Of Intercourse with Animals VIII. —Of Spintrian Postures (a list of 95 sexual positions) Considered the gold standard English translation of the time, this edition followed a poor piracy of 1882 badly translated from Liseux’s French edition of 1882. The name of the publisher is missing (most likely to avoid prosecution) and the limitation statement says 100 copies were "printed for Viscount Julian Smithson M. A., the Translator, and his Friends" and further states that "None of these Copies are for Sale" (also to avoid prosecution). Through later statements (mostly by association) we know it was published by Charles Carrington and translated by Alcide Bonneau. Carrington, in his 1902 catalogue, Forbidden Books wrote (thus promoting the sale of his clandestinely published book): ‘Were I a bookseller, I do not think I should ever take the trouble to print such a book as I have now before me. Here is a Latin work, full of notes, and bristling with Greek quotations. A most careful and masterly translation has been placed opposite every page of the original text, and it needs no literary critic to see that no one but a real classical scholar—an old Oxford man—could ever have successfully struggled with such a task... The two stout volumes have evidently been printed on the Continent—and for very good and valid reasons, as no English printer would dare to undertake such a work,— therefore each page would have to be submitted to the translator, at least three or four times, foreign compositors working mechanically. Many months would thus pass in wearisome proof-reading, and when at last the hundred copies are struck off, and each man receives his due, what margin of profit awaits the silly bookseller-publisher? He is insulted in every way and laughed at if he dares to wonder that the British Customs seize any copies...’ In 1882 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.
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De Figuris Veneris, suite de 19 gravures en couleurs et un frontispice, Paul Avril, np. nd., [Charles Hirsch, Paris 1906] 11"x9" portfolio book with frontispiece with 19 loose hand-colored lithographs (10.5"x8.5") each with tissue guard describing scene and page where they are to be inserted into book. String ties intact. Soiling and rip to frontispiece on cover and some rips and soiling on inner flaps that hold the artwork. Lithographs are in good+ condition some minor soiling on paper but not on the art. Previous owner's inscription on inside front board, "Le H. Avril 1938 | Toulouse | G. A France's" When publishers sold books in the early 19th century, they often sold the illustrations separately. These illustrations are for F.K. Forbergs Manuel d'Erotologie Classique (de Figuris Veneris) [Charles Hirsch, Paris 1906]. These (and the illustrations he did for Carrington's Fanny Hill) are the most explicit, rare, and sought after illustrations by Paul Avril. Most copies of Manuel d'Erotologie Classique have a combination of black, red, or sepia monochromatic illustrations. I have yet to find a copy of the book with all 19 hand-colored illustrations. The only lithograph prints of this work I've seen have been black & white (probably ripped out of books). This is the only "un-inserted" loosely bound portfolio of the hand-colored lithographs I have found anywhere. 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. -
40 prints from “Liebe. Vierzig Zeichnungen”, Mihály Zichy (n.d. n.p. [1911-13]) 11.25″ X 13.5″, 40pp unnumbered, bound in half-morocco with gilt edges over red boards, gilt titles and decorations on spine, all 40 original plates are present and bound together in what appears to be a contemporary binding, good condition, some foxing throughout. Mihály Zichy (1827 – 1906) was a Hungarian painter and graphic artist. He is considered a notable representative of Hungarian romantic painting. He lived and worked primarily in St. Petersburg and Paris during his career. He is known for illustrating the Georgian epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin on an 1881 commission by the intelligentsia. By the time he had completed 35 pictures, he was so moved by the poem that he gave his works to the Georgian people as a gift. In 1911 40 héliogravures after Zichy’s erotic drawings were published as “Liebe. Vierzig Zeichnungen” [Love. 40 drawings]. The subjects were bold, provocative, and at times taboo. Only 300 copies were printed, only for subscribers. There was also a very rare limited printing in 1913 before the plates were destroyed. As far as I can tell these appear to be the prints taken from that one of those editions, and rebound here without the title page that accompanied the published work.
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Manuel d'érotologie classique (De figuris veneris). Traduit littéralement du latin par Isidore Liseux et illustré de 20 compositions originales, by Fred. Chas. [translated by d'Alcide Bonneau and not Liseux as noted] (np [Charles Hirsch], Paris, 1906, #106/500 one of 120 printed on Hollande paper) 8.5" X 11.5", viii+167(1)pp, bound in half burgundy morocco over marbled crimson boards, gilt titles and decorations on spine, 5 raised bands, good+ condition, some bumping/rubbing to boards, very famous b&w frontispiece and 19 illustrations by Paul Avril, some soiling/foxing to illustrations, a beautiful and rare book in very good condition. 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. It was first published by the German classicist Friedrich Karl Forberg in 1824 in Latin and Greek as a commentary to Antonio Beccadelli's (1394-1471) Hermaphroditus (commonly referred to as Antonii Panormitae Hermaphroditus), an erotic poem sequence of 1425 in renaissance Latin, though it was later also published as a separate work. Chapters are: 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 In 1882 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. Hirsch's printed 500 copies of this 1906 edition. 20 were on Japan paper, 120 were on Holland paper, 340 were are Arches paper, and 20 were on "anglais" paper. This is one of 120 on Holland paper.
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Manuel d'érotologie classique (De figuris veneris). Traduit littéralement du latin par Isidore Liseux et illustré de 20 compositions originales, by Fred. Chas. [translated by d'Alcide Bonneau and not Liseux as noted] (np [Charles Hirsch], Paris, 1906, #106/500 one of 120 printed on Hollande paper) 8.5" X 11.5", viii+167(1)pp, bound in half burgundy morocco over marbled crimson boards, gilt titles and decorations on spine, 5 raised bands, good+ condition, some bumping/rubbing to boards, very famous b&w frontispiece and 19 illustrations by Paul Avril, some soiling/foxing to illustrations, a beautiful and rare book in very good condition. 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. It was first published by the German classicist Friedrich Karl Forberg in 1824 in Latin and Greek as a commentary to Antonio Beccadelli's (1394-1471) Hermaphroditus (commonly referred to as Antonii Panormitae Hermaphroditus), an erotic poem sequence of 1425 in renaissance Latin, though it was later also published as a separate work. Chapters are: 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 In 1882 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. Hirsch's printed 500 copies of this 1906 edition. 20 were on Japan paper, 120 were on Holland paper, 340 were are Arches paper, and 20 were on "anglais" paper. This is one of 120 on Holland paper.
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