As the second part in my series I am listing a French edition, and from the limitation it is now obvious that the French edition differs from the German, in two ways, it is printed in calligraphic text from the manuscript, and is in a smaller limitation of only 500 copies as opposed to the German version of 1000. which is printed in a standard typeface.

I have also been challenged on my spelling of the surname, and interestingly the Bel-Rose editions are all spelled MONTORGEUIL, and the éditions Astarté titles MONTORGUEIL, which the Christie’s auction record below also confirms (the E and U transposed.), given that the Bel-Rose editions were signed, and the signature appears to support MontorgEUil, I shall default to that spelling.

It is interesting to note that despite the many coloured versions that appear in various editions, that the originals were largely mono coloured with just traces of colouration as described below.

From the auction record of the Christies sale of 2014 from the collection of Tony Fekete:

Lot Description

[MONTORGUEIL, Bernard (dates unknown), pseudonym.] Four manuscript books with original drawings: Dressage, Une Brune piquante, Une Après-midi de Barbara, and Les Quat’ jeudis. France, 1920s-1930s.

Four works in four volumes, quarto (278 x 244 mm), comprising a total of 115 pages of manuscript text in black ink with initials and titles in red, and 59 full-page pencil drawings with touches of colour; or, vol. 1: 41pp of text and 29pp of drawings; vol. 2: 8pp text and 7pp of drawings; vol. 3: 27pp text and 12pp of drawings; vol. 4: 39pp of text and 11pp of drawings. (Occasional light soiling.) 20th-century cloth, respectively blue, green, maroon, and white, the spines titled in gilt (corners rubbed, light soiling).

ORIGINAL ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS OF HIS MOST IMPORTANT WORKS BY ONE OF THE MASTERS OF SM EROTICA. Montorgueil’s work celebrates the dominant woman, his drawings showing tender young men as willing playthings in a dizzying variety of scenarios. The present manuscripts are the source for the Belrose edition of 1970, and the many subsequent reprints by Leroy which introduced Montorgueil to a much wider audience. Little is known of the author, whose work was produced between the wars, but began to circulate clandestinely in the 1950s. The Nordmann collection held a smaller group by this leading 20th century erotic illustrator (sold, Christie’s Paris, 14-15 December 2006, lot 382).

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The original illustrations are likely best sampled from the éditions Astarté publications “Dans la Maison des Amazones” 2007 and “Le Chevalet de Madame de Brandes” 2008, complimented by the third volume “Montorgueil” “Cahiers d’ébauches”2010, the latter which contains copies of many of the rough sketches. It is my intention to seek permission to reproduce the images from these titles, but whether or not consent will be given remains to be seen.

So this post is another in a series about the mysterious Montorgeuil, by no means unique, because there are a number of blogs dedicated to this author. I shall of course as always post the illustrations, but my theme is really around the books, and I would be very interested to have any contribution that evidences Montorgeuil, prior to 1970, and especially interested for any information regarding “Sinistre Editions S.A”, a Publisher who apparently published the series in English in the 1980’s.

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Bernard Montorgeuil: Barbara, Volume 2 Les jardins des delices des supplices: Editions Bel-Rose Rotterdam.1970

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Limitation Page

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Cover

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The Illustrations

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See also Links:-

Bernard Montorgeuil, Vier Donnerstage

Grégor Yvan. :LA PRINCESSE SONIA,