Another great rarity and a very welcome addition to my collection, this was very kindly gifted to me earlier this year and arrived unexpectedly on my Birthday, the donor was John Mc Leish of Glasgow, who informed me that this item was formerly in the collection of Gershon Legman. I have had copy of this title before and the one referenced in the Bibliography as in the collection of Angus Carrol actually originated with me. Pat Kearneys speculation that the two items were stapled together at a later date is an error , as evidenced by this copy which has the same side stapled condition. I am tempted to separate the two pamphlets as the catalogue is of significant interest as it lists Beckett’s “Watt” at number 58 in the Traveller’s Companion Series, which never happened, I attempted to communicate this to a fellow collector who is convinced he has seen a copy of this TC Watt.but i have as yet had no response.
For now you will just have to settle for the limited images posted here as I do not want yet to seperate the two, and risk damaging either. Although it would be interesting to copy the catalogue in full, this will have to wait until I pluck up courage to carry out the operation, currently with only one reliable hand such a delicate task is at the moment beyond me.
On the Old Theme of Literature & Censorship with A List of Olympia Press Titles and Others. Paris Olympia Press 1958
The bibliographical information below is provided courtesy of Patrick Kearney, The Paris Olympia Press, Liverpool University Press 2007.
MY NOTE: The catalogue is dated MXMLV11 (1957) on the cover, it references Imp Mazarine as the printer but has no print details.
14.7.1 1958. On the Old Theme of Literature & Censorship. – 17.4 x 8.8 cm. Printed on white wove paper. A dated pamphlet of 32 pages, incl. plain typographical wrappers. A curious publication comprising for the most part extracts from the minutes of the Select Committee on the Obscene Publications Bill, which had been published by the British Government in1957. Printed by Impr. Mazarine, Paris.
Notes: It is doubtful that Girodias would issue a pamphlet of this sort unaccompanied by a sale catalogue or price list for his publications. A copy in Angus Carrollřs collection is stapled together with the item following (14.8.1). Whether the two were issued together as a single unit is uncertain. Despite being the same size and having the same date and printer, each is printed on a different coloured paper and they are connected awkwardly with two staples driven through the side. The possibility exists, however, that they were issued together but became separated, and were badly reunited by a later collector.
14.8.1 1958. A List of Olympia Press Titles and Others. 17.4 x 8.8 cm. Printed on pale blue wove paper. 24 pp. including plain typographical wrappers. Extracts from, or write-ups of, a number of Travellerřs Companion and Ophelia Press titles. There is a 2-page price list and order form, advertisements for German editions of Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn and Querelle de Brest. There are also advertisements for L‘Erotisme au cinema and Technique de l‘erotisme by the prolific Giuseppe Maria Lo Duca. These illustrated works were actually published by Jean-Jacques Pauvert, but apparently distributed in some way by the Olympia Press. Printed by Impr. Mazarine, Paris.
Notes: Possibly issued to accompany a 32-page pamphlet called On the Old Theme of Literature & Censorship, reprinting extracts from the minutes of the Select Committee on the Obscene Publications Bill, which had been published by the British Government in 1957. See item 14.7.1, above.
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