• 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.

    Thérèse philosophe, 1783.

    Late 18th century books

    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.    
  • An annual publication of Kokusai Tosogu Kai / 16th International Convention & Exhibition in Hamburg, Germany: Museum Für Kunst Und Gewerbe / Museum of Arts and Crafts, September 11-12, 2020 and Berlin, Germany: Samurai Art Museum, September 13-14, 2020. Publisher: Tokyo: Kokusai Tosogu Kai, 2020. Pagination: [1-3] 4-103 [1]. Size: Medium 4to (30.3 x 21.6 cm), hardcover, original illustrated paper boards, in a slipcase. Tsuba from this collection depicted on the title page and pp. 59-60: TSU-0342.2017, TSU 0376.2018, and TSU 0379.2018. See also here.
  • Title: PROBLÈMES ET DOCUMENTS | HENRI ROLLIN | L'APOCALYPSE | DE | NOTRE TEMPS | Les dessous de la propagande allemande | d'après des documents inédits | nrf | S. P. | GALLIMARD | Paris — 43, rue de Beaune Pagination: [1-9] 10-567 [9]. Size: 22.6 x 14.2 cm Binding: original publisher's wrappers. Ex libris Lorenzo Grazzini of Librairie Scritti (book store in Paris). Publishing Year: 1939; Publisher: Gallimard; Acheve d'impremier - Le 23 Septembre 1939 par l'Impremierie Orleanaise 68, rue Royale, Orleans.
  • Hardcover, 22 x 15 cm; publisher's quarter burgundy cloth, gilt lettering to cover and spine, pictorial DJ. Stated 1st edition. Translation of Bushōkō Hiwa (The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi) and Yoshino Kuzu (Arrowroot). ISBN: 9780394524542
  • Title page: JOHN LANDWEHR | ROMEYN DE HOOGHE | (1645-1708) | AS BOOK ILLUSTRATOR | A BIBLIOGRAPHY | {space} | 1970 | AMSTERDAM: VANGENDT & CO | NEW YORK: ABNER SCHRAM || Pagination: [1-6] 7-247 [248 blank], ils. Content:109 entries, concordance table and 12 pp. of indices. Binding: 27.3 x 19.7 cm, green cloth, silver lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket. ISBN: 90 6300 467 2. Contributors: Romeyn de Hooghe (Dutch, 1645 – 1708) John Landwehr – author.

    Van Gendt & Co. (Amsterdam) – publisher.

    Abner Schram Ltd. (NY) – publisher.    
  • Title: NOUVELLE | LISTE | DES JOLIES FEMMES | DE PARIS ; | LEURS NOMS ET LEUR DEMEURE. | PRIX TROIS FRANCS. | Se trouve A Paris , au Palais des plaisirs. | — | An 1808. || Pagination : [1-6] 7-70 [2 blank] Collation : 9vo, [A]9 B-D9. Binding: Original blue wrappers, 15 x 9 cm. Ref: OCLC finds only one copy, at the British Library. The BnF has a work of the same title, with the same pagination, dated 1803. The stated publisher seems to be fictitious. Quaritch description: 12mo, pp. 70; a little dusty, a few spots and marks; a very good uncut copy in original blue/grey wrappers; somewhat worn and stained. Very rare guide to Parisian prostitutes providing an extraordinary snapshot of the state of prostitution in the city during the First French Empire. The anonymous compiler begins with a brief history of prostitution in the capital, and its regulation, under Charlemagne and Louis VIII, describes a brothel established by Joanna I of Naples at Avignon and discusses Pierre-Jean Grosley’s estimate of the number of prostitutes in London. He then provides his liste, divided into categories including ‘houses of the first order’, ‘bawdy houses’, ‘actresses’, ‘washerwomen’, and ‘procuresses’, giving the name of each prostitute, an indication of their age, and their physical attributes, character, and particular talents. Rosanne, for example, chez Madame l’Évêque at the Palais du Tribunat, offers ‘unspeakably voluptuous pleasures to the nether regions’; Honorine prefers women; Scholastique likes wine with her lovemaking; Nanette has a penchant for soldiers; Genevieve favours the priapic; Dorsay enjoys S&M, and Madame Laperriere promises rejuvenation to the elderly. One Ducroisy is poetically described as possessing ‘a tuft as black as a crow above two alabaster columns’, while Félicité has skin ‘soft and white, sprinkled with golden freckles, like gold in Maraschino liqueur’. The author hopes that his listed will bring business to the ladies and pleasure to their clients, beseeching both to look after their health so that his guide might ‘serve Love, not Asclepius’.
  • Japanese binding, 2 leaves of pictorial wrappers, [10] 11-63, 10 b/w plates, 63 colour plates within pagination; in a green cloth folder with gilt lettering to front and spine.
  • Front wrapper (in black and red in a red frame): ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАЯ ОРДЕНА ЛЕНИНА БИБЛИОТЕКА СССР | ИМЕНИ В. И. ЛЕНИНА — {СК} (white stylized letters on red background) | СВОДНЫЙ | КАТАЛОГ | РУССКОЙ | НЕЛЕГАЛЬНОЙ | И ЗАПРЕЩЕННОЙ | ПЕЧАТИ XIX ВЕКА | КНИГИ И ПЕРИОДИЧЕСКИЕ ИЗДАНИЯ | МОСКВА 1982 || Title page: ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАЯ ОРДЕНА ЛЕНИНА БИБЛИОТЕКА СССР| СВОДНЫЙ КАТАЛОГ | РУССКОЙ НЕЛЕГАЛЬНОЙ | И ЗАПРЕЩЕННОЙ  ПЕЧАТИ | XIX ВЕКА | КНИГИ И ПЕРИОДИЧЕСКИЕ ИЗДАНИЯ | 2-Е ДОПОЛНЕННОЕ И ПЕРЕРАБОТАННОЕ ИЗДАНИЕ | Часть 3. Приложения. | Вспомогательные указатели. Список источников | МОСКВА 1982 || Publisher’s wrappers, 21.5 x 14.5 cm, lettering to front and spine; pagination: [2] – t.p. / imprint, 3-242 [4] – incl. contents, imprint, and errata, [2] – blanks. Print run 1,250 copies. Науч. ред.: Итенберг, Борис Самуилович (Russian, 1921 – 2016). «Сводный каталог русской нелегальной и запрещенной печати XIX века. Книги и периодические издания» состоит из трех частей: Часть 1. Книги А–М. (№ 1–1158) [LIB-2648.2021] Часть 2. Книги Н–Я. Периодические издания (№ 1159–2576) [LIB-2660.2021] Часть 3-я. Приложения. Вспомогательные указатели. Список источников.
  • Title: АННА КОМНИНА | АЛЕКСИАДА | Перевод, комментарий и статьи | Я. Н. Любарского | Издание третье, исправленное и дополненное | Санкт-Петербург | АЛЕТЕЙЯ | 2010 || Series: Византийская библиотека. Источники. Pagination: [i-v] vi-lxvi [1] 2-682 [4]. Binding: 21.5 x 15 cm; hardcover, crimson buckram, gilt lettering, border and serial device on black. Edition: 3rd edition. Print run: 1,000 copies. ISBN: 978-5-91419-301-7. Anna Komnene [Άννα Κομνηνή; Anna Comnena] (Byzantine, 1083 – 1150s). Любарский, Яков Николаевич (Russian, 1929 – 2003)
  • Title page (with tall “s”): THE | ACCOMPLISHMENT | OF THE | PROPHECIES, | OR THE | Approaching Deliverance of | the CHURCH. | A work, wherein it is proved, that the Papism | is the Antichristian Empire; that that Empire is not far | from its ruin ; that the present persecution may end in | three years and a half. After which, the destruction | of Antichrist shall begin, which shall be finished in the | beginning of the next Age ; and lastly, the Kingdom | of Jesus Christ shall come on the Earth. | — | The second Edition Corrected and Enlarged by almost | a third part, and the explication of all the Visions of the Re- | velation, and of many Chapters concerning mystical Theology. | — | 2 vols. In 1, | — | Written in French by Mr. PETER JURIEU , the present | Minister of the French Church at Rotterdam. And from | this second Edition faithfully Englished. | — | LONDON , Printed in the Year 1687. || Pagination: ffl, [48] 1-271 [272 blank] + 3-99, 200-396, bfl. Note: part 2 starts with page 3, page 99 recto is paginated 200 on verso, instead of 100; total number of pages in part 2, thus, is 294. Collation is uninterrupted. Collation: *-**8 A-S8 + Aa7 Bb-Ss8 Tt4. Note: no leaf Aa1, leaf Tt4 unsigned; 307 leaves total. Binding: Full brown calf, boards ruled blind with double-fillet, flat spine stamped blind with a diaper, double-fillet ruled compartments, black label with gilt lettering. Printed on laid paper, with marginal notes. Yellow sticker to front pastedown G. Batenham, Bookseller, Northgate, Chester. Author: Pierre Jurieu (French, 1637 – 1713). Translator unknown. Publisher unknown.

    English translation of the book:Pierre Jurieu. L'accomplissement des Propheties ou la delivrance prochaine de l'Eglise. —Rotterdam: Acher, 1686.

  • Publisher’s pictorial wrappers, to front wrapper in frame “П. БЕЗСАЛЬКО | АЛМАЗЫ | ВОСТОКА | С ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕМ | А. ЛУНАЧАРСКОГО | {vignette vase with flowers} | РИСУНКИ | С. ВИТБЕРГА || Ex-library book with stamps and stickers. Title page: П. БЕЗСАЛЬКО | АЛМАЗЫ | ВОСТОКА | {publisher’s device «КНИГОИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО ПЕТРОГРАДСКОГО СОВДЕПА / КНИГА НАРОДУ» | Издание Петроградского Совета | Рабочих и Красн. Депутатов | 1919 || Pagination: [1-4] 5-85 [3], total 88 pages, 12 full-page black and white plates. Collation: 8vo; [1]-58 64, total 44 leaves, plates within collation. Contributors: Безсалько, Павел Карпович (Russian, 1887 – 1920) – author. Луначарский, Анатолий Васильевич (Russian, 1875 – 1933) – author if the foreword. Vidbergs, Sigismunds (Latvian-American, 1890 – 1970) – artist. Бельгова, Полина Борисовна (written "ПОЛИНА БОРИСОВНА ЬЕЛЬГОВА") – dedicatee, unidentified.
  • Title page: THE ART OF | MAHLON BLAINE | A Reminiscence | by G. Legman | with a Mahlon Blaine bibliography | compiled by Roland Trenary | {Blaine’s fac-simile} | Peregrine Books | 1982 || Pagination: [1-4] 5-26 + 84 pp. of illustrations, unpaginated. Collation: 13 leaves of text, 40 leaves of b/w plates, and 2 leaves of colour plates, 55 leaves total. Binding: 29 x 22.5 cm; publisher’s black cloth, silver lettering to spine, pictorial endpapers, pictorial dust jacket. Edition: Limited edition of 100 copies (this is №100), signed by Gelman, Trenary, and Arrington. Contributors: Blaine, Mahlon (American, 1894 – 1969) – illustrator. Legman, Gershon (American, 1917 – 1999) – author. Arrington, Robert L. (American, 1984 – 2015) – author, introduction. Trenary, Roland (American) – author, compiler. Peregrine Books (East Lansing, MI) – publisher.
  • Title: Antoinette Faÿ-Hallé • Christine Lahaussois | Le grand livre de la | faïence française | Office du livre || Dedication (to imprint): A Jeanne Giacomotti (author of French Faience, Oldbourne Press, London, 1963) Pagination: [1-6] 7-242 [2], 300 illustrations, incl. 150 in colour. Binding: 29 x 25.5 cm, grey paper, blind-stamped to front cover, white lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket. Contributors: Antoinette Faÿ- Hallé (French, 20th century) – Chargée du Musée national de céramique de Sèvres Christine Lahaussois (French, 20th century) – Chargée de conservation, Musée national de céramique, Sèvres  
  • Exhibition held December 4, 2007, to March 2, 2008, at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Title: L'enfer de la Bibliothèque | ÉROS AU SECRET | Sous la direction | de Marie-Françoise Quignard | et Raymond-Josué Seckel | [spase] | {BnF | Bibliothèque nationale de France || Description: 23 x 16 cm, publisher’s lettered wrappers and pictorial dust jacket, [1-17] 18-460 [4], ils.; 257 entries, 8 pp. bibliography, 10 pp. index.
  • Title-page (in red and black): Keramic art of Japan, | BY | GEORGE A. AUDSLEY | AND | JAMES L. BOWES. | LONDON: HENRY SOTHERAN & CO., | 36 PICADILLY; 136, STRAND; 77 & 78, QUEEN STREET, CITY. | MANCHESTER: 49, CROSS STREET. | MDCCCLXXXI. || Description: 28.5 x 19.5 cm, publisher’s red cloth, bevelled boards, gilt lettering and tooling on front cover and spine, AEG, disbound. 304 p., 10 pl., 32 chromo-lithographed plates. This is the 2nd edition of the 1875 folio edition by the same publisher.. Contents: Introductory essay on Japanese art: p. 1-107; Keramic art of Japan: p. 108-260; Marks and monograms: p. 261-287, Index: p. 288-304. Contributors: George Ashdown Audsley (American, 1838 – 1925) – author. James Lord Bowes (British, 1834 – 1899) – author.
  • Description: Two volumes 34 x 26.5 cm each,  each in a green/gilt marbled in a slipcase, bound in green morocco, spine with raised bands and two gilt-lettered brown labels, original wrappers bound in, marbled endpapers; printed on Montval watermarked wove paper, top margin gilt, outer and bottom margins untrimmed. Front wrapper (in oval red frame): CH. De LACLOS | LES | LIAISONS | DANGEREUSES | {fleuron} | TOME PREMIER (TOME SECOND) | — | CHEZ SYLVAIN SAUVAGE | 16 RUE CASSINI A PARIS | ANNO DOMINI | MCMXXX || Title-page (black and red): ~ CHODERLOS DE LACLOS ~ | LES | LIAISONS | DANGEREUSES | OU | LETTRES | RECUEILLIES DANS UNE SOCIETE ET | PUBLIEES POUR L’INSTRUCTION | DE QUELQUES AUTRES | {vignette} | TOME PREMIER (TOME SECOND) | AVEC DES FIGURES DE S. SAUVAGE | GRAVEES SUR CUIVRE AVEC LA COLLABORATION DE D.A.MAILLART | A PARIS EN L’AN GRACE | MCMXXX || Vol. 1: Collation: 2 blanks, 1 front wrapper, 1 blank/limitation, 1 h.t./frontis., 1 t.p., 3 advert., 1 d.t.p. première partie, 106 leaves, 1 blank, 1 back wrapper, 1 blank/spine, 1 blank; total within wrappers 114 leaves with woodcut fleurons and tailpieces, and 23 engraved and coloured plates, incl. frontispiece, full-page and in-text, some with tissue guards. Pagination: [14] [1] 2-211 [212] [2], ils. Vol. 2: 2 blanks, 1 front wrapper, 1 blank, 1 h.t./frontis., 1 t.p., 1 d.t.p., 109 leaves, 1 plate, 1 colophon, 1 back wrapper, 1 blank/spine, 1 blank; total within wrappers 115 leaves, with woodcut fleurons and tailpieces, and 25 engraved plates, engraved and coloured plates, incl. frontispiece, full-page and in-text, some with tissue guards. Pagination: [8] [1] 2-218 [4], ils. Limitation: Printed on September 29, 1930, 165 copies (1-165), the first four enriched with a suite of b/w plates and one original drawing; 10 copies for collaborators marked I-X. This is copy № 129. Contributors: Choderlos de Laclos, Pierre Ambroise François (French, 1741 – 1803) – author. Sylvain Sauvage [Félix Roy] (French, 1888 – 1948) – artist, publisher. Pierre Bouchet (text), Paul Haasen (plates) – printers.
  • Description: Oblong volume, 22 x 27 cm, quarter cloth over marbled boards with gilt Zichy’s signature fac-simile and gilt lettering to spine in dust jacket lettered “The | Erotic | Drawings | of | Mihály | Zichy” on both front and back, blurbs on flaps, unclipped; printed on wove paper, unpaginated. Title-page: THE EROTIC DRAWINGS | OF | MIHÁLY ZICHY | Forty drawings | GROVE PRESS INC. | NEW YORK || Collation: (1) h.t., (1) t.p./copyright, (1) Preface; (40) leaves of plates, (1) blank; total 44 leaves. The plates are photomechanical offset copies made from the photogravures of 1911 Leipzig private press edition [SVE-0501.2021] of 300 copies, the copy used for reprint was № 277; photogravures were made from the original watercolours and crayon drawings produced by Zichy in 1874-1879; the original album of 51 compositions was sold at Christie’s sale of Gérard Nordmann collection on December 14-15, 2006 in Paris. Ref.: Bibliothèque érotique: Gérard Nordmann; Livres, manuscrits, dessins, photographies du XVIe au XXe siècle / Catalogues de ventes, seconde partie. — Paris: Christie's, 2006; p. 280, № 564 (drawings); №  565 photogravures [LIB-2810.2021]. See a copy of the Leipzig album № 285 in this collection [SVE-0501.2021].
  • Softcover, in flapped pictorial wrappers, 28 x 21.6 cm, 35 entries, with colour illustrations. Catalogue # 4 of the sales exhibition on September 19-22, 2000 in NY; pagination: [1-3] 4-61 [1], ils., some folding. Contributor: Sebastian Izzard