Possibly of no interest to anyone other than myself and a handful of other collectors, this was one I have waited a very long time to obtain a copy. I had always been puzzled by the rapid reissue of this title, first published in June 53, and immediately reissued in July 53, the latter being extremely common and this the first being very scarce indeed.

Once in hand the reason for the reissue appears to be the change of address of the publisher on the title page, why the price also disappears from the back cover between first and second issue I cannot guess. This information was always available in the bibliography but somehow I had missed it.

As always the bibliographical description is courtesy of Patrick Kearney, The Paris Olympia Press, The Liverpool University Press 2007. The index number corresponds to the actual location of the description in the bibliography.

1.4.1 AMOROUS EXPLOITS OF A YOUNG RAKEHELL Guillaume Apollinaire, 1953

Title Page

GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE | AMOROUS EXPLOITS | of | A YOUNG RAKEHELL | THE OLYMPIA PRESS | 2 bis, rue des Ciseaux, Paris (6 e)

Collation: 120 pp. [1]-78, 84. 18.2 x 13.0 cm, all edges trimmed. Printed on white wove paper.

Contents: pp. [1-4] blank. p. [5] AMOROUS EXPLOITS |of | A YOUNG RAKEHELL, reverse blank. p. [7] title, as above. p. [8] [rule] | All rights reserved in all countries..p. [9], CHAPTER ONE, reverse blank. pp. [11]-20, text. p. [21] CHAPTER TWO, reverse blank. pp. [23]-29, text. p. [30] blank. p. [31] CHAPTER THREE, reverse blank. pp. [33]-37, text. p. [38] blank. p. [39] CHAPTER FOUR, reverse blank. pp. [41]-45, text. p. [46] blank. p. [47] CHAPTER FIVE, reverse [55] CHAPTER SIX, reverse blank. pp. [57]-63, text. p. [64] blank. p. [65].CHAPTER SEVEN, reverse blank. pp. [67]-75, text. p. [76] blank. p. [77] CHAPTER EIGHT, reverse blank. pp. [79]-84, text. p. [85] CHAPTER NINE, reverse blank. pp. [87]-95, text. p. [96] blank. p. [97] CHAPTER TEN, reverse blank. pp. [99]-103, text. p. [104] blank. p. [105] CHAPTER ELEVEN, reverse blank. pp. [107]-110, text. p. [111], THE END, reverse blank. p. [113] table of contents, reverse blank. p. [115] blank. pp. [49]-54, text. p. FINISHED PRINTED [sic]| JUNE 1953 | BY IMPRIMERIE RICHARD | 24, RUE STÉPHENSON, PARIS | Dépôt légal : 3e trimestre 1953. pp. [116-120] blank.

Front Cover

Binding: Plain white wrappers trimmed flush with body of the book, under dark green dustjacket printed in black, with front wrapper framed by border of white, six-pointed stars. Front cover: GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE | [double rule in white, with thicker lower rule: ] Amorous Exploits | of | A YOUNG RAKEHELL [double rule in white, with thicker upper rule: ] THE OLYMPIA PRESS‘ .

Spine

Spine: [reading up spine; horizontally: ] THE | OLYMPIA | PRESS [reading vertically: ] Amorous Exploits of a Young Rakehell [-] GUILLAUME | APOLLINAIRE.

Back Cover

Back cover blank, except for bottom right: PRINTED IN FRANCE | PRICE : 1200 FRANCS.

Notes: A translation, reportedly by Richard Seaver, of Les Exploits d‘un jeune Don Juan, an erotic novel that was first published at Paris in 1905 or 1906 by Elias Gaucher. Although generally credited as an original work by Guillaume Apollinaire, it is actually a word-for-word translation by the poet of Kinder-Geilheit. Geständnisse eines Knaben (Berlin: 1891). For details of the German original, see Hugo Hayn and Alfred N. Gotendorf, Bibliotheca Germanorum Erotica & Curiosa (München: Georg Müller,1912-14) vol. 3, pp. 551,2.

Also see

Books Wanted Ephemera: The Teasers.

Books Wanted:- MELTING [Dissolving] Travellers Companion Series No 59