The Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, John Cleland (no author given) (Rare Book Co., 1949 “privately printed and a limited edition”)
6 1/8″ X 4 5/8″, unpaginated, red limp cloth binding, illustrations by Ron Hart
Written while the author was in debtor’s prison in London and first published in 1749, Fanny Hill is considered the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel. One of the most prosecuted and banned books in history, it has become a synonym for obscenity. This copy of the book only slightly resembles the original (they also neglected to name Cleland as the author). I believe this to be a “cleaned-up” version of the story. To the best of my knowledge, all eroticism has been purged. It was published by the Rare Book Company which was the publishing house for the Christian Scientists! I cannot find any mention of this little book anywhere else.
