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NEWTwo volumes, 135 x 85 mm each, uniformly bound in full brown morocco with triple fillet border, flat spine with gilt fleurons and double fillet bands, gilt lettered label, interior dentelle, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; four volumes in two, collated in 12mo. Vol. 1: pp.: [1-5] 6-100, coll.: 1-86 92;(i.e. 50 leaves); [1-5] 6-130; coll.: 1-106 115 (i.e. 65 leaves); plus two blanks in the front and at the rear, and nine plates, incl. frontispiece. Vol. 2: pp.: [1-5] 6-111 [112 blank], coll.: 14 2-96 104 (i.e. 56 leaves); [4 ht, tp] [1] 2-99 [100 blank], coll.: π2 1-86 92 (i.e. 52 leaves); plus two blanks in the front and at rear, and four plates. Title-page: FÉLICIA, | OU | MES FREDAINES. | {in rules} La faute en est aux Dieux qui me firent si folle.| TOME PREMIER/ SECOND/ TROISIÉME/ QUATRIÈME. | —•— | A LONDRES | M. DCC. LXXVI. || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel, A-399, p. 132. Contributors: André-Robert Andréa de Nerciat (French, 1739 – 1800) – author. -
NEWHardcover, 169 x 100 mm, quarter brown sheepskin over speckled paper, flat spine, gilt double fillet bands, crimson morocco label with gilt lettering, printed on French paper watermarked “FIN 1787”; two volumes in one, collated in 12mo. Tome premier: π1 h.t., A8 (A1 t.p., A2,3 Lettre de Sophie au chevalier d'Olzan), B4 C8 D4 E8 F4 G8, H4, I4; pp.: [2] [i-iii] iv-vi, [7] 8-104, plus three plates, p. 24 printed on cream wove paper, pp. 66, 67 on blue laid paper (or pasted on such). Tome second: A8 (incl. h.t. and t.p.) B4 C8 D4 E8 F4 G8 H4 I8 K4, L4; pp.: [1-5] 6-127 [1 blank]; all three plates printed on cream wove paper; plate marked as p.68 is after p. 64, plate marked p.64 is after p. 68, plate p. 79 is on its place. Plates attributed to Louis Binet. Text is attributed mainly to Comte de Mirabeau; however, Guillaume Apollinaire, in his L’Enfer de la Bibliothèque Nationale (1913), believes that Marquis de Sentilly wrote it. Catalogue raisonné: Cohen-de Ricci 709; Dutel I A-988, p. 294. Contributors: Mirabeau, Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de (French, 1749 – 1791) Binet, Louis (French, 1744 – 1800) Seller's description: Deux parties en un volume in-12. 165 x 97 mm. Tome premier: I f. n. ch. faux-titre, 104 pp. y compris le titre avec une vignette gravée, la "Lettre de Sophie au chevalier d'Olzan" qui débute l'ouvrage est paginée en chiffres romains. Tome second: 127 pp. tout compris et 1 p. bl. 6 gravures libres non signées qui sont de Binet. Reliure de l'époque. Demi-basane brune, plats de papier coquille moucheté, dos lisse omé de deux filets dorés répétés, pièce de titre de maroquin rouge, lettres dorées, tranches jaspées. Reliure un peu frottée, coins émoussés. Quelques rousseurs. Rarissime deuxième édition de cet Émile de l'éducation sexuelle enrichie de gravures libres attribuables à Binet. -
NEWGreen paper cardboard flapped portfolio 325 x 235 mm with the pasted label "• ENTRÉE • | INTERDITE | AU | PUBLIC", contains a folded by half in-folio sheet with the title "INTERDITE | AU | PUBLIC", limitation statement "TIRÉ A 250 EXEMPLAIRES TOUS SUR JAPON IMPÉRIAL | N° 22", and a notice by Pierre Mac-Orlan; and 20 loose leaves of plates—heliogravures, printed in black, bistre, red or green on Japon Impérial laid paper ~ 275 x 210 mm, each in a passepartout 314 x 226 mm, plate marks from 63x92 to 220x277 mm. According to J.-P. Dutel № 1487, pp. 150/1, five of these prints have not been published before, while fifteen are copies of two original works by Vertés:- Six from Le Pays A Mon Gout: 12 etchings. — Paris: [n.p.], 1921; Limited to 550 copies.
- Nine from L'Heure exquise: 20 pointes sèches originales. — Paris [Vienne], 1920 ; Limited to 200 copies.
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NEWHardcover, 188 x 118 mm, brown half-morocco over burgundy faux-chagrin, spine with raised bands and burgundy label with gilt lettering, gilt fleurons in compartments, floral diaper endpapers, collated 8vo:ffl, π2 1-138, ffl, pp. [4] 1-207 [208], plus frontispiece portrait and 8 unnumbered leaves of plates, etchings, one of them hand-coloured; limitation to half-title verso: "Tirage a 300 exemplaires". The title page is loose. Each gathering has 4 'tall' pages (1, 2, 7, 8 - 181 mm) and 4 'short' (3, 4, 5, 6 - 165 mm). Two parts are in one vol., signed and paged continuously; the second part has its own half-title and title pages. "Fin de première partie" at p. 107 (76), part 2 h.t. at 77, part 2 t.p. similar to the main t.p. but in black only at 78. The portrait of Étienne de Jouy was possibly engraved by Charles Monselet (French, 1825 – 1888) after Julien-Léopold Boilly (French, 1796 – 1874). Title-page (red and black): LA GALERIE | DES | FEMMES | COLLECTION INCOMPLÈTE DE HUIT TABLEAUX | RECUEILLIS PAR UN AMATEUR | L'amour est le roman du cœur | Et le plaisir en est l'histoire. | BEAUMARCHAIS. Folle journ. | — | A HAMBOURG | – | 1799 Compare to Dutel: 8 plates instead of 9; no two-page text “Nous espérions joinder à ce livre une notice…” before Deux mots de préface, the word FIN on p. 207 instead of 203, no table of contents at the end; no imprint Bruxelles. — Imp. de J. H. Briard, rue des Minimes, 51, on the same page as Table, signed 15. Dutel: № A-456, p.148:- In-8 (18,4 x 11) de (2 ff.), II, 203 pp., 1 ff. de table, couv. jaune imp. en rouge.
- Édition publiée à Bruxelles en 1869 par J.-P. Blanche. Elle est ornée de 9 gravures et d'un facsimilé de l'écriture de Monselet, qui n'est pour rien dans ce volume.
- Tirage : 300 exemplaires.
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NEWA cardboard file 298 x 225 mm made of quarter red cloth over marbled paper, with laces, contains 18 loose chromolithographs approx.190 x 130 mm, 8 vertical and 10 horizontal) in a passepartout 275 x 220 mm (matted) of laid paper with an armorial watermark, with lewd humorous captions on glassine guard tissue attached to each sheet, upper and outer margins uncut. Images signed “–Santippa–36”.Label to front cover lettered Variations Amoureuses | avec 18 gravures en couleurs ||. No title page. It is quite likely that the set exists in only one copy. Description by seller: Album in-folio, 272 x 218 cm. En feuilles, sous chemise cartonnée à lacets de l'éditeur. Les lithographies sont respectivement intitulées : Branlade; Plaisir Champêtre; Justice; Entre Marins ; Cocher; Suce-moi bien ; Encore; Les Joies; Un Marin; On raconte ; Plaisir Divin ; Le Marin; Quand un Gendarme ; soixante et Neuf; Tous les Moyens ; Le Plus Cochon; Le Fantassin; Coup Double. Le peintre Gaston Hoffmann (1883-1977), consacra la majeure partie de son œuvre à l'érotisme et la caricature, en signant ses sujets trop libres sous le pseudonyme de Santippa. Contributor: Gaston Hoffmann [Santippa] (French, 1883 – 1977). Ref: Honesterotica.com provides only 8 images of 18. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III: № 2581:
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NEWSoftcover comics book, oblong flapped wrappers, 186 x 280 mm, pink border in black rules, black lettering to front, 45 unpaginated leaves (pp. 90) with text and pictorial story, some in-text woodcuts and a tail-piece. No title-page. Catalogue Raisonné: Dutel III, 2424, pp. 368-9. The publication was prosecuted per the French Law of December 20, 1965. Sophie is a re-written version of Puberté. Journal d’une escolière [by Maria Luz],pyblished in 1933 by Éditions Raoul Saillard, Paris. Publisher: Éric Losfeld (Belgian-French, 1922 – 1979) -
NEWPublisher’s tea green French flapped wrappers with double bordered vignette embossed to front, 298 x 295 mm, 18 gatherings in 4to (i.e. 72 leaves), 280 x 190 mm leaves plus one gathering in the wrappers, outer and lower margins untrimmed; pagination: [2] [1-15] 16-136 [4] [2], not counting leaves in the wrappers; paper watermarked “Lana” (grand vélin de Lana a la forme); 16 pictorial etchings and two fac-simile ms etchings within collation, tissue guards; in a double slipcase 306 x 204 mm with a vignette “capital C in ribbons” to spine of the inner chemise. Title-page (lilac and black) PIERRE LOUŸS | CYDALISE | AVEC DES ILLUSTRATIONS ORIGINALES | GRAVES A L'EAU-FORTE | {woodcut vignette} | LES AMIS DE L'ÉCRIVAIN | — | PARIS | M C M X L I X || Limitation: JUSTIFICATION DU TIRAGE | CETTE ÉDITION ORIGINALE | DU LIVRE DE CYDALISE A ETÉ, POUR SON TIRAGE, LIMITÉE | A DEUX CENT SOIXANTE CINQ EXEMPLAIRES | DONT LA DISTRIBUTION S'EFFECTUE DE LA | FAÇON SUIVANTE. […] DEUX CENTS EXEMPLAIRES SUR GRAND VELIN DE LANA A LA FORME NUMÉROTÉS DE 51 A 250. […] EXEMPLAIRE N° 91 || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 1333, p. 116; Nordmann II № 309, 151. Ref: honesterotica.com Contributors: Pierre Louÿs (French, 1870 – 1925) – author. Jean Traynier (French, fl. 1942 – 1957) – artist (attributed) -
NEWFifteen colour aquatints including a title, a dedication, two illustrated quotes (Oscar Wilde and Baudelaire), ten plates with engraved caption and a justification with tailpiece, printed on thick wove paper watermarked BFK Rives, 320 x 225 mm, platemark 184 x 150 mm, title page signed in pencil by the author, fuchsia ink stamp “ARS EROTICA | Hans-J. Döpp” to verso or recto, remains of hinges on some sheets to recto; in a flapped grey cloth portfolio with ties, 330 x 250 mm. Limited edition (235 copies), this is one of Arches vellum print-run of 200; no number indicated. Pl. 1 (title-page): Les | seuils | empourprés | {image} | Dix | Evocations | Erotiques | Composées et Gravées | Par | Ansaad de Lytencia | Se trouve | où l'on peut et se montre | quand il le faut || Signed in pencil “A. de Lytencia” on the plate’s bottom margin. Pl. 2: À | nos Épouses | afin | qu’ au pied des autels maudits, | parmi la sanglante floraison des plaisirs | stériles, et la rosée sacrée des larmes, | elles recueillent | des mains du maître du mal, | le pouvoir de s’affirmer | nos maitresses || [To our wives, so that at the foot of the cursed altars, among the bloody flowering of sterile pleasures, and the sacred dew of tears, they may gather from the hands of the master of evil, the power to assert themselves as our mistresses]. Pl. 3: L’appellation de livre moral ou im- | moral ne répond à rien ; un livre est | bien écrit ou mal écrit, c'est tout. | (O. Wilde) [“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” O. Wilde] Les belles choses n’ont d’autre sens | que leur beauté. | (id.) [“Beautiful things mean only Beauty”; ibid.] Pl. 4: L’Initiation Pl. 5: Mysticisme Pl. 6: Insignifiances Pl. 7: Les Invertis Pl. 8:Réversibilité Pl. 9: La Dance Pl. 10: Le poisson rouge Pl. 11: La Possession Pl. 12: Sérénité Pl. 13: Finale Pl. 14. Maudit soit à jamais le rêveur inutile | Qui voulut le premier, dans sa stupidité, | S’éprenant d’un problème insoluble et stérile, | Aux choses de l’amour mêler l’honnêteté ! (Ch. Baudelaire) || Pl. 15: Il a été tiré de cet ouvrage: | Dix exemplaires hors commerce, numé- | rotés de I à X, Dix exemplaires sur Japon | Ancien, numérotés de 1 à 10, quinze exemp- | laires sur Japon Imperial, numérotés | de 11 à 25, et Deux cents exemplaires | sur Velin d’Arches numérotés de 26 à 225 | Justification de tirage: | {image} | 1927 || Catalogue raisonné: honesterotica.com; Dutel III: № 2395, p. 362; Nordmann I: № 197, p. 128. Contributor: Lambert, André [Lytencia, Ansaad de](French, 1884 – 1967) Wilde, Oscar (British, 1854 – 1900) Baudelaire, Charles (French, 1821 – 1867) -
NEWHardcover, 330 x 255 mm, marble paper, two labels of black calf with gilt lettering to spine, 2 blank leaves at front and 2 at back (laid paper), two leaves of lithographic vignettes (t.p. and limitation), plus 20 lithographic plates signed “am”, unpaginated. Limited edition of 25 copies on Japon Impérial paper №№ 1-25, 300 copies on Vélin d’Arches №№ 26-325, of which this is copy № 206. Stones sanded. A poem by Verlaine at p. 2 recto. Title-page: L'Académie | DES | Dames | VINGT ATTITUDES PAR | ALBERT MARQUET | {vignette} | NEW YORK | SIXTY-NINTH AVENUE || Imprint: ÉDITION PRIVÉE | EXEMPLAIRE NUMERO 206 Limitation: JUSTIFICATION DU TIRAGE | IL A ÉTÉ TIRÉ DE CET OUVRAGE | VINGT-CINQ EXEMPLAIRES SUR JAPON IMPÉRIAL | NUMÉROTÉS DE 1 à 25 | ET TROIS CENTS EXEMPLAIRES SUR VÉLIN D'ARCHES | NUMÉROTÉS DE 26 à 325 | PIERRES BIFFÉES || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 949; Nordmann I № 255. Provenance: From the collection of Hans-Jürgen Döpp, Frankfurt. Contributors: Albert Marquet (French, 1875 – 1947) Verlaine, Paul (French, 1844 – 1896) One additional lithographic plate by Marquet from a different source but on a similar subject is laid in.
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NEWCardboard folder with title label to front, 23.5 x 26.3 cm, containing 12 hand-coloured soft-ground etchings by André Collot, unbound, in a paper folder with pink lettering and vignette engraved on wood, with a title-page in black: JEUNESSE | 12 VERNIS MOUS COLORIÉS | tires à exemplaires | réservés aux Amis de l’Artiste | 1933 || in a frame. First edition, limited to 60 copies. Dutel 1920-70: 1786. There is another copy of the same without the cardboard folder SVE-0469.2021. -
NEWHardcover, 255 x 200 mm, ¾ green morocco over marbled boards, gilt lettering to spine with raised bands, grey laid paper endpapers, Serge Golifman’s bookplate pasted to verso, 3 ffl, orig. wrappers, incl spine, preserved; collated: 2 blanks, h.t., t.p., 14 leaves of text; faux t.p. Éloge de la marquise de Beausemblant, 6 leaves of text, colophon (limitation), 2 blanks, 3 ffl, unpaginated, plus 7 leaves of plates, incl. frontispiece. Publisher's wrappers 250 x 190 mm. Title-page (red and black): PAUL MORAND | LES PLAISIRS | RHENANS | orné de sept lithographies originales | et coloriées à la main | DUSSELDORF | Librairie Leocadia || The front wrapper is the same, in black only. Limitation: Cette édition, imprimée pour une Société de Bibliophiles, a été tirée à 107 exemplaires hors commerce, savoir: exemplaires sur vieux japon, numérotés de 1 à 7, et 100 exemplaires sur vélin d'Arches, numérotés de 8 à 107. Les lithographies ont été tirées sur presse à bras et coloriées à la main. Les pierres ont été poncées après tirage. Exemplaire N° 81. [The edition was printed for a bibliophile society in 107 non-commercial copies: 7 copies on “vieux Japon” paper, numbered from 1 to 7, and 100 copies on “Arches Vellum”, numbered from 8 to 107, of which this is copy № 81]. An unauthorized (pirated) edition of two short stories by Paul Morand, initially published in “L’Europe galante” by Éditions Grasset in 1925: Les plaisirs rhénans and Éloge de la marquise de Beausemblant; illustrated with 7 lithographs coloured with crayons after Gaston-Louis Roux, printed by Mme Duchatel; the stones were then destroyed (sanded). According to Pia: « Pour le principe, semble-t-il, Bernard Grasset à qui aucune autorisation d’éditer ainsi ces deux nouvelles n'avait été demandée, déposa une plainte contre X... en contrefaçon. L'enquête judiciaire, si enquête il y eut, n’aboutit pas. Le tirage de l’édition « pirate » avait été si restreint que tous les exemplaires en avaient été vendus sitôt parus. Le coupable, en l’occurrence René Bonnel, ne fut pas inquiété ». Dutel attests: « Un des personnages, subissant une agréable fellation, représenté sur l'une des lithographies, ressemble fort à Paul Morand qui en avait pris ombrage! » Comment by the seller: L’ouvrage est d’autant plus rare que Morand lui-même, mécontent d’une des gravures qui le représente en position intéressante, fit détruire une partie des exemplaires. Resume: While Bernard Grasset opposed the pirated edition on copyright infringement grounds, Paul Morand was enraged by his resemblance to the depicted character; the latter destroyed as many copies of the edition as he could, so only a few still exist. The print run of the "pirate" edition was so limited that all the copies were sold as soon as they were published. Catalogue Raisonné: Dutel III № 2215 (p. 321) ; Pia : № 1056; Nordmann (I) № 281. Contributors: Paul Morand (French, 1888 – 1976) – author Gaston-Louis Roux (French, 1904 – 1988) – artist René Bonnel (French, 18841 – 1975) – publisher Bernard Grasset (French, 1881 – 1955) – publisher -
NEWSoftcover, 240 x 190 mm, green velvet paper French flapped wrappers with a silver vignette of Rops’ sphynx, in half of double-slipcase, pp. [1-8] 9-76 [8], i.e. 42 leaves plus 20 hand-coloured soft-ground etchings, incl. frontispiece, attributed to Louis Berthomme Saint-André. Text and plates printed on thick wove paper watermarked Arches, margines untrimmed; anonymous woodcut head- and tailpieces. Enhanced by a complete set of plates, uncoloured, in green velvet paper folder, gilt inside. Pibrac (or Pybrac) by Pierre Louÿs is "composed of 313 rhymed Alexandrine quatrains, the majority of them starting with the phrase I do not like to see. Pybrac is in the form a mockery of sixteenth-century chancellor poet Guy Du Faur, seigneur de Pibrac (French, 1528-1584), whose moralizing quatrains were the common literary fare for young French readers until the nineteenth century".honesterotica.com: Pibrac is best remembered for his own collection of poems, a set of 126 moralistic quatrains, which throughout its endless printings bestowed good advice and guidelines to proper conduct…
The English translation of Louÿs' Pibrac/Pybrac by Geoffrey Longnecker was published by Wakefield Press in 2014: https://wakefieldpress.com/products/pybrac Title-page (green and black): PIBRAC | QUATRAINS ÉROTIQUES | DE | PIERRE LOUYS | {vignette} | AUX DÉPENS D’UN AMATEUR | POUR LE PROFIT DE QUELQUES AUTRES | M. IM. XXXIII || Imprint / Limitation: Cette édition des quatrains érotiques de Pierre Louÿs, illustrée de vingt eaux-fortes originales d'un artiste inconnu, a été strictement limitée à 300 exemplaires qui ont été composés en Elzévir vieux style de corps 12 avec des caractères neufs. Ils ont tous été tirés sur grand vélin d'Arches à la forme et comportent tous un état avec remarque des 20 planches, tiré en noir. Justification du tirage: 20 exemplaires sur grand vélin d'Arches à la forme, numérotés de 1 à 20, auxquels il a été ajouté en plus des états avec remarque des 20 cuivres, 1 des aquarelles ayant servi à l'illustration, 1 croquis original et 1 cuivre encré. 280 exemplaires sur grand vélin d'Arches à la forme, numérotés de 21 à 300, comprenant tous les états avec remarque. Il a été tiré en outre 8 exemplaires sur Arches, numérotés en chiffres romains de I à VIII, destinés aux collaborateurs de l'ouvrage. Pour authentifier la présente édition, l'artiste et l'éditeur apposeront sur cette justification un cachet en garantissant l'originalité. Cet exemplaire porte le No 290. Colophon: La présente édition a été achevée d'imprimer à Paris le trente et un janvier mil neuf cent trente-quatre par deux imprimeurs amis des belles éditions. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 2198. Collaborators: Pierre Louÿs (French, 1870 – 1925) – author. Louis Berthomme Saint-André (French, 1905 – 1977) – artist. Edition attributed to the bookseller Robert Télin. -
NEWSoftcover, 228 x 155 mm, embossed geometrical diaper pink French flapped wrappers with black and orange lettering to front; collated 8vo: 1-108, i.e. 80 leaves, pp.: [4] [1-4] 5-152 [4], plus 12 colour plates; woodcut t.p. vignette, head- and tailpieces in sanguine. Text printed on wove paper watermarked Marais, untrimmed, some leaves uncut; colour illustrations produced by half-tone relief photo reproduction technique and printed on thinner paper without a watermark. Colouring is most probably made by hand. Besides the presence of the platemarks, micro-photo reveals clear signs of the half-tone relief photomechanical reproduction method:
Title-page (red and black): SPADDY | COLETTE | OU | LES AMUSEMENTS DE BON TON | ROMAN | {vignette} | A SAINT – CLOUD | AU TEMPLE DE CYTHÈRE ||
Limitation: CE ROMAN, EDITÉ POUR DES AMATEURS ET | NON MIS DANS LE COMMERCE, A ETÉ TIRÉ | A 250 EXEMPLAIRES, SUR VELIN PUR FIL | DU MARAIS, NUMÉROTÉS A LA PRESSE. | Cet exemplaire porte le No 49
Catalogue Raisonné: Dutel III № 1254: second edition with reproduction plates, published in 1939. The 1st edition with the original plates after Bécat was published in c. 1938.
Honesterotica.com:
Colette, ou les amusements de bon ton (Colette, Good Time Amusements) was an important early commission from Bécat by the master clandestine publisher Maurice Duflou, to complement a text bordering on the outrageous by Johannès Gros…
Contributors: Spaddy [Johannès Gros] (French, 18.. – 1937) – author Maurice Duflou (French, 1885 – 1947) – publisher Paul-Émile Bécat (French, 1885 – 1960) – artist -
Softcover volume 200 x 145 mm, in a slipcase, unbound, in French wrappers, sanguine lettering on cream paper, block printed on wove paper with watermark “Marais”, collated 8vo, pp.: [1-6] 7-114 [6], 60 leaves, first and last leaves blank; illustrated with 20 etchings, incl. vignette on front wrapper, two head- and two tailpieces, printed in sanguine; etching on t.p., similar to the one on the front wrapper, printed in black. Limited edition of 250 copies, this is copy № 24. Front wrapper and title-page: in a double frame A de M. | GAMIANI | {vignette} || Colophon: CE LIVRE | IMPRIMÉ AUX DÉPENS | D'UN GROUP D'AMATEURS | SUR PAPIER CHIFFON | A ÉTÉ TIRE | A DEUX CENT CINQUANTE EXEMPLAIRES | LA VENTE AU PUBLIC | EN EST RIGOUREUSEMENT INTERDITE | EXEMPLAIRE N°24 || [This book is printed at the expense of a group of amateurs on rag paper in two hundred and fifty copies; sale to the public is strictly prohibited]. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 1649. Alfred de Musset (French, 1810 – 1857) – author. -
A softcover volume 18.7 x 12.1 cm, in publisher’s cream wrappers, red lettering in red and green frames to front cover, in glassine dustwrapper, uncut, untrimmed, collated in 8vo: 1-98 104, pp. [1-8] 9-151 [152 blank], plus 6 illustrations reproduced in drypoint after Mario Tauzin's lithographs from the album 'Interdit aux adultes' (see SVE-0547.2024). Front cover : BONNE | A | TOUT | FAIRE Title-page : BONNE | A | TOUT | FAIRE Stated limited edition of 900, strictly for subscribers. According to J.-P. Dutel III 1108 (p.66): published by Éric Losfeld in the late 1950s. Bonne à tout faire is a French idiom = maid-of-all-work Éric Losfeld (Belgian-French, 1922 – 1979) — publisher Mario Tauzin (French, 1909 – 1979) — artist -
Softcover volume, 19.5 x 14.3 cm, olive French flapped wrappers, glassine dust cover, printed on laid paper (Hollande), outer and bottom margins untrimmed, some pages uncut; pagination: [2] blank, [i-iv] h.t./limit., t.p./blank, v-viii, 1-196 [197] [5], total 212 pages plus frontispiece; head- and tailpieces and in-text stencil-coloured etchings after Chéripoulos. Title-page (olive and black): LE ROMAN | DE | VIOLETTE | {vignette} | A LA ROYNE DE CYTHÈRE | SODOME | 1920 || Limitation: Cet ouvrage, achevé d'imprimer le cinq Janvier Mil Neuf Cent Vingt à trois cents exemplaires dont vingt-cinq exemplaires sur Japon Impérial contenant chacun un dessin original de Chéripoulos, numérotés de un à vingt-cinq; deux cent soixante-quinze exemplaires sur papier de Hollande, numérotés de vingt-six à trois cents; en plus cinq exemplaires de collaborateurs marqués de A à E. Le présent exemplaire porte le numéro 72. Edition: Printed on the 5th of January 1920 in 305 copies (№№ 1-25 on Japon Impérial, №№ 26-300 on Hollande, A–E for collaborators). Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 2339, p. 350. Contributors: Henriette de Mannoury d'Ectot [Henriette Nicolas Le Blanc] (French 1815 – 1899) Charles Auguste Edelmann [Chéripoulos] (French, 1879 – 1950). -
Softcover, 228 x 180 mm, tan French flapped wrappers with red lettering to front[1-4, owner’s glassine dustcover, top edge trimmed, printed on thick wove paper without a watermark; pp.: ffl [1-4 h.t., t.p.] 5-154 [2 blanks] colophon to back ffl recto, plus 12 plates with hand-coloured lithographs, extraneous to collation. Pencil and pigment drawing to h.t. signed “J. D’A” with gift manual inscription “A Monsieur et Madame Chalamel [sic] ce tardif mais sincère souvenir de sympathie”, signed “J et Y D’A.” Etching bookplate to front ffl recto: “EX LIBRIS PIERRE CHALLAMEL | JE FONCE DANS LE BROUILLARD”, signed “J A M” (Jean-Adrien Mercier). The signature J. D’A stands for Jean d’Angers, while Y D’A stands for Jean-Adrien’s wife Yvonne (1902—1999), nicknamed Zizi; they married in 1927. According to J.-P. Dutel, the stated illustrator of this edition, Jean d’Angers is indeed Jean-Adrien Mercier. The text belongs to Gustav Droz and, possibly, Auguste Poulet-Malassis. Limitation: the book was printed for subscribers in 30 copies on Japon Impériale paper (№№ 1-30) and 250 copies on vélin du Marais paper (№№ 31-280). This copy bears № 123 and was presented as a gift by the artist and his wife to Pierre Challamel. Title-page (red and black): POUR SERVIR | A L'HISTOIRE | DE NOS MŒURS | UN ÉTÉ | A LA CAMPAGNE | CORRESPONDANCE DE DEUX JEUNES PARISIENNES | RECUEILLIE PAR UN AUTEUR A LA MODE | MDCCCLXVIII || Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 2546; honesterotica. Provenance: Pierre Challamel (French, 20th century) Contributors: Gustave Droz (French, 1832 – 1895) – author (presumable). Auguste Poulet-Malassis (French, 1825 – 1878) – author (presumable). Jean-Adrien Mercier (French, 1899 – 1995) – artist. Micro photo of the lithography:
Micro photo of the original drawing:
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Two volumes, 168 x 106 mm each, uniformly bound in faux mottled calf ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers. Vol. 1: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, both printed on laid paper watermarked “ARCHES A LA | MAIN”; ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: [1] 2-115 [116 blank], 3 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-I6 K4; total 60 leaves plus 16 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Vol. 2: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, no watermark, ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: 1-77 [78 blank], 2 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-F6 G3; total 41 leaves plus 24 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Dutel (I): A-1089, p. 325: in-8 (probably by size only, no formula suggested), pagination 115 and 77 as here, 2 frontispieces, 2 engraved titles dated 1873, “et 36 belles gravures de Binet”. Cohen-DeRicci: p. 734 bottom: in-12, no pagination, no formula. "Thérèse" was offered by a French seller user-75d14f4 on the online auction platform CATAWIKI in December 2021. The seller's description of this two-volume set was: "Re-edition, the date of which I was unable to determine. (London, no name, 1782) 2 duodecimo volumes of 115 and 77 pp., very lovely marbled sheepskin pastiche bindings, gilded triple fillets, adorned spines, black title labels. This classic of 18th-century clandestine erotica was written in 1748 by an author who has remained anonymous, attributed at the time to Montigny, which led to his internment in the Bastille. It is now attributed to the Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens. Edition illustrated with 37 very unrestrained figures, engraved in intaglio after Borel, unsigned." I should have paid more attention to the first phase, about the re-edition, but I didn't. After a few bidding rounds, I won the book when the hammer price was 2,200 Euros. On the 28th of December, 2021, I paid for this little beauty $2,760. The book arrived a few days later. The paper's quality and texture, the watermark, the absence of the platemark, and the lack of embossing on the back (text and plates) made me suspect it was a fake. The pages were absolutely flat to the touch! I established clear evidence of a high-resolution 'xerox' copy using Celestron Micro Capture Pro micro-photography. I wrote to the seller and the auction platform, explaining my doubts regarding its authenticity. To prove my point, I include a few micro photos of the "Thérèse" and some books printed at the end of the 18th century. I explained why I considered it a fake and requested a return/refund. After two months of email exchanges, the seller and the platform refused to pay me back. Today is the 2nd anniversary of the purchase. I still have the book. To celebrate my carelessness, I included it in my library to warn fellow book collectors about buying from an unknown dealer via certain online auction platforms. Ref.: Bamber Gascoigne. How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Ink. — Thames and Hudson, 1995.
Books used for comparison: [LIB-2743.2021] Restif de la Bretonne. Les parisiennes, ou XL caractères généraux pris dans les mœurs actuelles, propres à servir à l’instruction des personnes-du-sexe / 4 vol. — Neufchâtel, et Paris: Guillot, 1787. [LIB-3027.2022] [Héliodore d’Emèse]. Amours de Théagènes et Chariclée: Histoire Éthiopique / 2 vol. — Londres [i.e. Paris]: [s.n.], 1743. [LIB-3252.2023] [Nicolas Chorier.] Le Meursius françois, ou entretiens galans d’Aloysia, orné de figures. — Cythere [i.e. Paris: Cazin], 1782. Below is a Xerox copy for comparison.Thérèse philosophe, 1783.
Late 18th century books
