Hopefully this will link you to my current batch of eBay listings. .
Having enjoyed a good degree of success with my Olympia Press, Essex House and Editions Prima titles, I am periodically adding new items to my eBay listings to keep the numbers on offer at a good level, generally all of the items are scarce and in some cases very rare indeed .
Most of the other items I am listing on eBay, already appear on this site, and occasionally I list some real rarities, such as some of the extremely rare French flagellation books. These titles are priced for rarity, as any attempt to locate other copies will prove.
These titles have been listed for sale on my eBay for some time now, and a number of them have gone, there are still some very rare titles listed for sale.
A short-lived (1968-1969) Los Angeles publishing imprint, a subsidiary of Milton Luros’s Parliament News, Inc, specializing in highbrow erotica. Many Essex House novelists were young serious writers (several of them poets), and some used scenarios drawn from sf and fantasy, including future Dystopias, as settings for their pornography. About half the 42 titles published by Essex House were sf/fantasy; they included novels by Philip José Farmer, Richard E Geis, David Meltzer (perhaps the most distinguished), Michael Perkins (1942- ) and Hank Stine (see Jean Marie Stine), of which a number were ambitious, some literary, and most somewhat joyless – even emetic – and redolent of 1960s radicalism. The unusual aspirations of this imprint are generally attributed to its young editor, Brian Kirby, who also edited the pornographic books of the sister imprint, Brandon House. [PN]
further reading
Maxim Jakubowski. “Essex House: The Rise and Fall of Speculative Erotica” (September 1978 Foundation #14) [pp50-64: mag/]
ANDERSON, (JERRY):Trans. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 176. Original.wrappers.– First edition.
BRADBROOK, (GARY):Get It On! North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House,
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 160. Original pictorial wrappers.-First Edition.
BUKOWSKI, (CHARLES): Notes of a Dirty Old Man. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House,
[Milton Luros]1969. 8vo. pp. 255. Original pictorial wrappers.– First Edition.
DALLAS, (PAUL V.). :Binding with Briars. North Hollywood,Calif.: Essex House,
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo.pp. 263. With a Postscript by Hilary E. Holt. Original wrappers.
DEDEAUX, (P.N.). :Tender Buns. North Hollywood,Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo.pp. 192. Original wrappers.– First Edition.
DEDEAUX, (P.N.). :The Nothing Things. North Hollywood,Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo.pp. 160. Original wrappers.– First Edition.
DOYLE, (KIRBY) :Happiness Bastard. North Hollywood,CA.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo.pp. 206. Original wrappers.– First Edition.
FARMER, (PHILIP JOSÉ) :A Feast Unknown. Vol. IX of the Memoirs of Lord Grandrith. Edited by Philip José Farmer. [With a postscript by Theodore Sturgeon.]North Hollywood: Essex House, 1969.
8vo. pp. 286. Original pictorial wrappers.– First Edition.
FARMER, (PHILIP JOSÉ) :The Image of the Beast. An Exorcism Ritual 1. North Hollywood: Essex House.
8vo. pp. 255. [With a postscript by Theodore Sturgeon.] Original pictorial wrappers.– First Edition.
FARMER, (PHILIP JOSÉ):. Blown. An Exorcism Ritual 2. North Hollywood: Essex House.
8vo. pp. 208. Original pictorial wrappers.– First Edition.
GALLION, (JANE.):Biker. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
8vo. pp.159. Original pictorial wrappers.– First Edition.
GEIS, (RICHARD E.):Ravished. [With a Postscript by HarlanEllison.] North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp. 255. Series no.0113. Original wrappers.
GEIS, (RICHARD E.):Raw Meat. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 224. Original wrappers.– First Edition.
LAMONT, (GIL):Roach. North Hollywood, Calif.: EssexHouse
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 172.Original pictorial wrappers, reproducing a picture by Egon Schiels. – First Edition
MACPHERSON, (MICHAEL):Abducted. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp. 176.Original pictorial wrappers – First edition
MARlOWE ,(ALAN.S):Over Easy. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 208.Original pictorial wrappers – First edition
MELTZER, (DAVID):Orf. North Hollywood, Calif.:Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp160. Original wrappers.With a postscript by Stephen Bellon First Edition.
MELTZER, (DAVID):The Agency. North Hollywood, Calif.:Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp160. Original wrappers. Vol. One of The Agency Trilogy.– First Edition.
MELTZER, (DAVID):The Agent. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp. 160. With a Postscript by Norman Spinrad. Original wrappers.– First Edition. Vol. Two of The Agency Trilogy.
MELTZER, (DAVID):Lovely. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 159. With a Postscript by Frank. M. Robinson. Original wrappers.– First Edition. Book 1 of the Brain Plant series.
MELTZER, (DAVID):Healer. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 176. With a Postscript by Jack Hirschman. Original wrappers.– First Edition. Book 2 of the Brain Plant series.
MELTZER, (DAVID):Out. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 192. Original wrappers.– First Edition. Book 3 of the Brain Plant series.
MELTZER, (DAVID):How Many Blocks in the Pile?. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp. 160. With a postscriptby Norman Spinrad. Original wrappers.
MELTZER, (DAVID):The Martyr. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 176. With a postscript by Frank M. Robinson. Original wrappers.– First Edition.
MELTZER, (DAVID):Glue Factory. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 192. First Edition.
PERKINS, (MICHAEL) :Blue Movie. North Hollywood, Calif: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp. 176. Original wrappers.– First edition. Signed presentation copy.
PERKINS, (MICHAEL): Down Here. North Hollywood, Calif. Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp.159. Original wrappers.– First edition.
PERKINS, (MICHAEL): Estelle. The Second Half of a Double Feature. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 160. Original wrappers.– First edition. A sequel to Blue Movie.
PERKINS, (MICHAEL) : Evil Companions. North Hollywood,Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo.pp. 176. Original wrappers.
PERKINS, (MICHAEL): Queen of Heat. North Hollywood, Calif. Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp.160. Original wrappers.– First edition. Signed presentation copy.
PERKINS, (MICHAEL):Terminus. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 160.Original wrappers.– First edition.
PERKINS, (MICHAEL):Whacking Off. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 160. Original wrappers.– First edition.
PORTER, (GIL): Coupled. North Hollywood, Calif. Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1968. 8vo. pp. 208.Original wrappers.– First edition. With a Postscript by Jack Hirschman.
RAMIREZ, (ALICE LOUISE): The Geek. North Hollywood, Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo. pp. 190. With a Postscript by Philip José Farmer. Original wrappers.– First Edition. Dedicated to Harlan Ellison, Norman Spinrad and Hank Stine. Publisher’s file copy, with embossed stamp on front wrapper reading ‘Not For Sale.Office Copy.’
STINE, (HANK):Thrill City. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo.pp. 159. Original wrappers.-First edition
STINE, (HANK):Season of the Witch. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo.pp. 224 With a Postscript by Harlan Ellison. Original wrappers.-First edition
TOLEDANO, (HENRY):The Bitter Seed. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo.pp. 350. Original wrappers. With a Postscript by Philip José Farmer.-First edition.
TOLEDANO, (HENRY):A Sort of Justice. North Hollywood, Calif.: Essex House
[Milton Luros], 1969. 8vo.pp. 272. Original illustrated wrapper.-First edition.
As stated at the top of the page, extra images and full description of condition on request.
Another major player in the 1930’s flagellation market, along with Orties Blanches, were Les Editions Couvre-Feu, followed by Le Jardin d’Eros, distinctly different in that the contents and illustrations were more twisted and aimed at torture and humiliation, unlike the titles issued by Editions Prima, which always seem to have smiling faces , no matter what act of depravity is taking place, the characters in these editions seem to be taking it a bit more seriously.
This title is available for trade against my Paris Olympia Press wants.
A rare fragile and altogether beautiful item, in original covers with exquisite illustrations by Wighead. I have done my best with the photographs, and my apologies for any deficiencies.
ÉpouvantesVoluptueuses
J.Van Styk. :Épouvantes Voluptueuses. Le Jardin d’Eros. 6 Rue de Tracy, Paris, s.d. [1935] In Original paper wraps with cover illustration in colour by Wighead, frontispiece and 8 illustrations hors-texte in black by Wighead on papier couche. 191 p.p. Printed by . Imprimerie nouvelle 121, rue de Monument,Champigny -sur-Marne.
Title Page
Spine
The Illustrations
Any questions or information about this title please complete a contact form.
This being the third book and my fourth post on Montorgeuil, I am sticking with the spelling as it appears on the editions we are viewing.
My interest in Montorgeuil is twofold, first because of the apparent mystery around his identity, and secondly how myth would have us believe that here was someone operating clandestinely , possibly in the 1930’s and providing works exclusively for wealthy collectors. I am not convinced of this story, and certainly there is no published material prior to 1970, when Editions Bel-Rose in Rotterdam produced two identical four volume editions,one in German of the series ” Die Gärten der lustvollen Freuden ” or the French version “Les jardins des delices des supplices”, therse are rather lovely books in limited editions on fine paper, printed on only one side, and in most cases signed.
Having explored the spelling of the name and having established via communication with Camillemm and Christophe Bier, that the spelling as it appears on the Bel-Rose editions both printed and signed, is not typically French either in sound or meaning. The only other progress I have made regarding the name is that it does appear to have a place in the Catalan language, and that there is a rue Montorgeuil in Paris. As interesting as this may be it takes no further forward with who the artist illustrator was and whether or not his work was in circulation prior to 1970.
As i find being provocative quite productive, I want to explore a theory that appears to have some as yet unstated support, it has been suggested to me that Montorgreuil, (apparently regardless of spelling) is a fake, and interestingly only this week I purchased the last missing title from my Bel-Rose, French editions, from a book-dealer who has gone so far as to state as much, perhaps he has been reading this blog? I will not name him because that would not be fair, however given that I have paid for the book I feel at liberty to quote his description of it.
1 volume 6 feuillets dont 1planche en frontispice et 1faux-titre illustré, puis folioté de 1 à 40 (= 80 pages dont 40 de texte: verso vierge), 2 feuillets; 26 planches dont 1 double. Bon état (pâles rousseurs en tranche de tête). Reproduction en fac-similé du manuscrit autographe de Bernard MONTORGEUIL (souvent orthographié MONTORGUEIL), pseudonyme collectif de W. N. Schors, libraire et éditeur d’ouvrages érotiques, ou d’auteurs restés anonymes (notice B.N.F), illustré de 28 lithographies érotiques (masochisme masculin) de l’auteur. 3è des 4 tomes de la série (après “Les Quat’jeudis” (1er) et “Barbara” (2è), et suivi de “Une Brune piquante”),.tiré à 500 exemplaires; exemplaire justifié n°265, numéroté et signé par l’auteur, bien complet des 28 planches. Livres Reliure éditeur pleine toile verte, titre doré sur le plat et au dos, ornés d’une fleur dorée.
For those who do not read French, the interesting bit is the suggestion that the name Montorgeuil or Montorgueil, is a collective pseudonym fabricated by Schors the publishers of Bel-Rose, I have no idea where the information to support this idea comes from but I must admit that I think it is most likely correct. But how do we verify this?, however it is one thing to fabricate the name, but to go on to fabricate the signature and to sell the books as signed by the author/illustrator, surely that is more than mischief.
Then, what of the widely circulated information, including auction records that indicate that this Montorgueil, was one of the greatest artists of the genre in the last century, and that his work was clandestinely circulated in the 1930’s and 1950’s, one has to ask under what name?, if the identity was invented in the late 1960’s for publication in 1970, what was the artist called prior to that? and how can anyone have verified the authenticity of the manuscripts and artwork. A bit of a chicken and egg scenario, which came first the artwork or the name? Also a small matter of due diligence requires resolution on the part of the auction house.
Well I am hoping that someone can fill in the gaps and put me right if I am wrong. Because the most important thing is that the artwork although completely twisted is stunning and very funny, I would dearly love to read the text in English. As for the detective work, I guess the biggest part of the puzzle for me now, is who the artist was, as if they really were producing work in the 1930’s they are undoubtedly deceased, whereas if they did not do the illustrations until the 1960’s they might very well be alive.
Bernard Montorgeuil, Dressur, Die Gärten der lustvollen Freuden, Volume 3 Editions Bel-Rose Rotterdam.n.d (1970) . 80, pages in a signed limited edition of 1000, copies with 26 + 1 double full page plates.
Limitation Page
Cover
The Illustrations
Any questions or information about this title please complete a contact form.
Much to my dismay I do not posses any of the original éditions d’Antin, titles that are illustrated by Klem, or E.K, or E.Klem, I do however now own this rather lovely suite of 8 illustrations, taken from “L’Éducatrice Passionée”, which belong to the book of the same name published in 1937.
NOW FOR SALE ON MY eBay listing.
The leaflet with this rather beautiful set claims that it is a complete set of 8 , and for the purposes of this publication that can be said to be correct, however there were 10 illustrations in the suite accompanying the book. As always there appears to be a lack of information, and I can find nothing about the publisher Comba-Borel. The images on display here are about twice the size of the original illustrations, and they were too large to fit on the platen of my scanner, so they perched across the top quite nicely, and I am pleased with the result, which is just as well because I can do nothing else to improve the images, they do come up slightly brighter than the originals and I hope you enjoy them.
A Portfolio of a suite of eight images from “L’Éducatrice Passionée” Comba-Borel Publishing n.d. C 1980
The Illustrations
L’Éducatrice Passionée
Any questions or information about this item please complete a contact form.
Here we go again, having disposed of all of nearly all my Losfeld Clandestine titles it appears that I may have stumbled upon another.
If the above title has caused some confusion, allow me to clarify. The book in question has the cover as below.
But as you can see, again below, the contents differ.
The only constant factor is the name Fukwell, which is one of several pseudonyms used by Alphonse Momas, one of the most prolific pornographers of the last century.
The actual book we are dealing with has a total of 127 pages, 110 of which appear to constitute the main text of the Fruit Verts, the remainder is entitled ” EXAMEN SUBI PAR MADEMOISELLE FLORA” which appears to be to be a poetic dialogue. this section also contains the only bound in illustration in the book.
Title Page
Chapter 1
EXAMEN
Illustration
My good friend Pat Kearney lists various editions of both of the titles:
Fruits verts, par Fuckwell. Paris-Bruxelles [Paris: printed by Chas. Renaudie for Duringe], 1902. 8vo. Two volumes, pp. [iv]+134, [iv]+129. British Library: P.C.15.aa.35.
Fruits verts, par Fuckwell. Paris-Bruxelles, 1902. 8vo. Two volumes, pp. 268.
Fruits verts, par Fuckwell. Paris-Bruxelles [c. 1920]. 8vo. pp. 244.
Fruits verts, par Fukwell [sic]. [c. 1920] 8vo.
Petites et grandes filles, par Le Nismois. 8vo.
Cited in a clandestine catalogue, and probably published at Amsterdam by Auguste Brancart about 1891.
Petites et grandes filles, par Fuckwell. Londres-Paris [Rotterdam: Bergé, c. 1893.] 8vo. pp. 248. British Library: P.C.15.aa.34.
Petites et grandes filles, par Fukwell. Paris-Londres [Paris, c. 1924]. 8vo. pp. 216.
Petites et grandes filles. [Paris:] En Souvenir d’Isidore Liseux, 1924 [Eric Losfeld, c. 1955]. 8vo. pp. 137.
[Petites et grandes filles] Pot Pourri, [par] J. Le Nismois. Paris: Editions de Poèle, Square du Champs de Mars, 1949 [Eric Losfeld, c. 1955]. 8vo. 66 ff.
An English translation of Petites et grandes filles, as Green Girls, was printed at Paris in 1899 by Renaudie for Duringe and Leonard Smithers. A modern reprint of this was published at New York by Grove Press in 1971.
You will note that none of the above are entitled Grandes & Petites Filles, as the first two title words are reversed in the original, in addition there is no record of an Amsterdam 1933 edition. Having raised these questions with Pat Kearney, his sage advise is thet this hotch potch is most likely a Losfeld Clandestine title, and therefore probably dates around the mid 1950’s.
For more details and other titles by this author please follow this link to Pat Kearneys page:-
Just to complicate things even more my copy has an extra 8 illustrations tipped in, a suite of six small monochrome images and 2 slightly larger illustrations in blue. I am reasonably confident that none of these belong to the book, but as I have no idea what they do belong to I am copying them here for your enjoyment.
ORPHANED ILLUSTRATIONS.
Any information or questions about this tile please complete a contact form.
As the final part in my, Editions Bel-Rose series I am listing a French edition, 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).
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.
Bernard Montorgeuil: Une Brune Piquante, Volume 4 Les jardins des delices des supplices: Editions Bel-Rose Rotterdam.1970. Unpaginated with 7 full page illustrations (1 double page and 5 single pages)
Limitation Page
Cover
The Illustrations
Any questions or information about this title please complete a contact form.
NOTE THIS COPY IS CURRENTLY LISTED FOR SALE ON MY eBay LISTING
