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The Life and Adventures of Father Silas | written by himself and now first translated from the original French edition (dated 1742), anonymous [attributed to Jean-Charles Gervaise de Latouche], (np [Charles Hirsch?], London, 1907) 7" X 4.5", 185pp, beautifully bound full red morocco with gilt border on boards, gilt decorations and title on spine, 5 raised bands, deckled edges, illustrations not present, good+ condition, slight internal foxing, a beautiful copy of a rare book. Originally published in French, Histoire de Dom Bougre, Portier des Chartreux is a French novel from 1741. Allegedly the anonymous author was Jean-Charles Gervaise de Latouche. Histoire de Dom Bougre is one of the most celebrated French erotic novels of the 18th century, and one of the most frequently reprinted. The novel was published under a variety of titles in French: Histoire de Dom B... (1741), Histoire de Gouberdom (1772), Mémoires de Saturnin (1787), Le Portier des chartreux (1784) and Histoire de Saturnin (1908). Translations into English have appeared under a similar variety of titles, such as The History of Don [sic] B. (1743), The Life and Adventures of Silas Shovewell (1801) and The History of Father Saturnin alias Don B*** alias Gouberdom – Porter of the Charterhouse at Paris (ca. 1827). The novel tells from the first-person perspective the life story of the monk B... (the acronym stands for Bougre, a French vulgar expression for pederast), whose real name is Saturnin. Saturnin's first sexual intercourse is with his sister Suzon and his mother. Even if it turns out later that in reality there is no blood relationship, the text heralds an incessant series of taboo breaking with this alleged incest. In the further course of numerous humorously designed scenes, Saturnin will experience all varieties of sexual disinhibition, whereby ruthless criticism of church and society is also practiced in constant alternation. Finally, Saturnin meets the syphilis sister in a brothel. He loves her sincerely and spends the night with her, although she warns him about the risk of infection. The two are torn apart the next day; Saturnin falls ill and is forcibly castrated to save his life, Suzon dies. In the end, Saturnin finds refuge in a Carthusian monastery, where, freed from all passions, he can await death, which he neither fears nor longs for. He would like the words: Hic situs est Dom Bougre, fututus, futuit (Here lies Dom Bougre, he fucked, and was fucked), to be inscribed on his grave. Jean-Charles Gervaise de Latouche (1715 - 1782), was a French writer. He was a lawyer at the Parlement de Paris of the Ancien Régime. The authorship of the licentious books Mémoires de Mademoiselle de Bonneval (1738), Histoire de Dom Bougre, Portier des Chartreux (1741), and possibly also Lyndamine, ou, L'optimisme des pays chauds (1778) has been attributed to him. Charles Hirsch was a French bookseller in Victorian London who sold French literature and ran a clandestine trade in expensive pornography. Hirsch's bookshop Librairie Parisienne was at Coventry Street, London. He also published in Paris and translated pornographic works from French to English and vice versa. Hirsch knew Oscar Wilde, and claimed to have sold him various works of erotica, including The Sins of the Cities of the Plain in 1890. Hirsch describes how Wilde brought the manuscript of Teleny to his bookshop in 1890 instructing that it be held until a friend, who would be carrying Wilde's card, came to retrieve it. "A few days later one of the young gentlemen I had seen with [Wilde] came to collect the package. He kept it for a while and then brought it back saying in turn: 'Would you kindly give this to one of our friends who will come to fetch it in the same person's name'". Hirsch recounts three further repetitions of this "identical ceremony" before the package made its way back to Wilde. Hirsch defied the strict instructions not to open the package while it was in his care, and claims that it was written in several different hands, which lends further support to his supposition that it was authored in "round robin" style by a small group of Wilde's intimate associates. -
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) -
<strong>The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana | Translated from the Sanscrit by The Hindoo Kama Shastra Society | Complete in seven parts with Preface, Introduction, and Concluding Remarks | Illustrated</strong>, by Vatsyayana (Printed for the Society of the Friends of India 1883-1925, Benares-New York, one of 800, unnumbered) <em>6"x9", xxi+175pp, hardbound, blue boards, hand laid paper, top-edge gilt, others deckled, 8 B/W half-tone reproductions of erotic Hindu stone-sculptures with tissue guards, soiling on boards, inner pages are clean, binding is good.</em> Attributed to ancient Indian philosopher Vatsyayana, the Kama Sutra is generally believed to have been composed between 400 and 200 B.C.E. Although a portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse, the work is primarily prose consisting of 1250 verses distributed over 36 chapters structured into seven parts. This book lists those parts as: Part I. Index, and General Consideration of the Subject Part II. Of Sexual Union Part III. About the Acquisition of a Wife Part IV. About a Wife Part V. About the Wives of Other People Part VI. About Courtezans Part VII. On the Means of Attracting Others to Oneself -
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. -
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" -
The Heptameron, of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, Margaret of Navarre, Léopold Flameng illus. (Printed by Private Subscription and for private circulation only, np. nd. London, #61/500) 6.25″ X 7.5″, xxix-384pp, three-quarter bound over marbled boards, gilt title & decorations including boarder of leather, 8 etchings by Flameng 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. I do not know publisher or date to this edition, although it is very similar to the 1881 G. Barrie edition (page numbers and the Flemeng plates, and the Edition De Luxe label). Either it is a later pirate of that edition or an alternate printing from that batch. -
The Gumps - Oh Min!, (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
The Great Big Man from South, Staring Barney Google, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. This parodies "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith" an widely read (even today) comic strip that has been around since 1919. This booklet features an unrelated erotic illustration on the back. -
anonymous (np, nd) 5.5" X 4.25", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, very pornographic photos. -
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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The Golden Ass of Apuleius, Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (124-170 AD), trans. & intro Francis D. Byrne (The Imperial Press[Charles Carrington?], London, n.d. [1904?], #257/650) 7.75" X 5.75", xlix+388pp., 1/4 maroon morrocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and 4 raised bands on spine, top edge gilt 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.
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The Golden Ass of Apuleius, Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (124-170 AD), trans. & intro Francis D. Byrne (The Imperial Press[Charles Carrington?], London, n.d. [1904?]) 8.25" X 6.25", xlix+588pp., hardbound, blue cloth boards with paper label on spine, top edge gilt, other edges deckled, just good condition, tearing to top of spine, no illustrations present. 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.
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The Frigidaire Salesman / Iona Douche-Bag Presents Tillie in "Foul Ball", (n.p., n.d.) 5" x 3.5", 8pp. double pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. This book is two books in one, featuring reprints of the originals printed on both sides of the paper. Flip the book over and it's a different book. -
The Frigidaire Salesman, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
anonymous (Paris, France, nd.) 5.25" X 4", 32pp, softcover, good quality for age, illustrated with pornographic photos -
The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea, Nicolas Chorier, translation by Isadore Liseux (Isadore Liseux, Paris, 1890, first edition, first English translation, printed by Ch. Unsinger) 8.75" X 5.75", 2nd and 3rd books of a 3 vol set, 132pp, 98+2pp, 3/4 crimson morocco over red boards, gilt decorations and titles on spine, top edge gilt, others deckled. Excellent condition for age, very minor bumping on corners and top and bottom of spine. In six dialogues (I. The skirmish; II. Tribadicon; III. Fabric; IV. The duel; V. Pleasures; VI. Frolics and sports) Tullia, who is 26, initiates her 15 year old cousin, Ottavia, in the art of sexual pleasure. The first four dialogues (not present), are fairly short, focus on tribadism and defloration. The longer fifth and six dialogues introduce flagellation, contractual submission, group sex, and anal sex. Like many sexual fictions, The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea (originally written in latin "Aloisiae Sigeae Satyra Sotadica de arcanis Amoris et Veneris") 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 first French translation, L’Academie des dames, was issued in the 1680. This 1890 edition was for the first time translated into English by Isidore Liseux and issued as a 3 volume set. (1. I-IV, 2. V, 3. VI). Vol 1 is missing from this set. Isidore Liseux (1835-1894) was a French bibliophile and publisher of erotica and curiosa. His publications were mostly rare texts of 16th to 18th century authors, hard to find and little known books which were usually translated and annotated by his friend and associate Alcide Bonneau or by Liseux himself. Liseux and Bonneau, both ex-priests, knew each other since seminary. His books were published in small numbers, on high quality paper, and with excellent typography. His usual printers were Claude Motteroz, Antoine Bécus, and later Charles Unsinger. Liseux's books were published openly as the climate was more permissive in Paris at the time. His books were so well regarded that pirates of his books and even unrelated books bearing his imprint with a false date were published clandestinely into the 20th century. French poet, Guillaume Apollinaire wrote: "The publications of Liseux are more and more sought after because they are correct, beautiful and rare." (Le flaneur des deux rives, 1918).
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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. -
The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea, Nicolas Chorier, translation by Isadore Liseux (Isadore Liseux, Paris, 1890, first edition, first English translation, printed by Ch. Unsinger) 8.75" X 5.75", 3 books bound in one, xx+87pp, 132pp, 98+2pp, 3/4 crimson morocco over red boards, 5 raised bands, gilt decorations and titles on spine, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, others deckled. Excellent condition for age, very minor bumping on corners and top and bottom of spine. In six dialogues (I. The skirmish; II. Tribadicon; III. Fabric; IV. The duel; V. Pleasures; VI. Frolics and sports) 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. Like many sexual fictions, The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea (originally written in latin "Aloisiae Sigeae Satyra Sotadica de arcanis Amoris et Veneris") 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 first French translation, L’Academie des dames, was issued in the 1680. This 1890 edition was for the first time translated into English by Isidore Liseux and issued as a 3 volume set. (1. I-IV, 2. V, 3. VI). Isidore Liseux (1835-1894) was a French bibliophile and publisher of erotica and curiosa. His publications were mostly rare texts of 16th to 18th century authors, hard to find and little known books which were usually translated and annotated by his friend and associate Alcide Bonneau or by Liseux himself. Liseux and Bonneau, both ex-priests, knew each other since seminary. His books were published in small numbers, on high quality paper, and with excellent typography. His usual printers were Claude Motteroz, Antoine Bécus, and later Charles Unsinger. Liseux's books were published openly as the climate was more permissive in Paris at the time. His books were so well regarded that pirates of his books and even unrelated books bearing his imprint with a false date were published clandestinely into the 20th century. French poet, Guillaume Apollinaire wrote: "The publications of Liseux are more and more sought after because they are correct, beautiful and rare." (Le flaneur des deux rives, 1918).
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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.