This post is the first attempt to record in full, two editions by Carrington. Clandestine and Unpublished. The background information to this originates with Sheryl Perry. The Erotica Bibliophile. Links to her bibliographical information are at the base of this post.
My Thanks to Sheryl Perry for permission to use her descriptions that feature in this post. All images and physical descriptions, come from the books themselves, which are in my possession, Inherited from my friend and fellow bibliomaniac, Michael Neale.
It must be noted that Carrington spends over 100 pages, complaining about the poor quality of everyone else’s edition of this title, compared to his; from poor translations to bad quality paper and print, he expands into referencing his publication of “The Old Man Young Again”, which apparently had not been a popular title, sales wise, so he links it to the “Perfumed Garden on the basis of its study of aphrodisiacs . (Sales Pitch).
He further rants about the unfairness of piracies and goes so far as to set up a society to punish the transgressors. He does this sort of thing all the time. But he did produce some beautiful books.
Original Wraps, with the full title, but stating publisher to be:-
Librairie de L’Edition ,4 Rue de Furstenberg Paris, 1907
When Carrington moved back to France in 1912 he took up shop at 11 rue de Châteaudun but financially his days of publishing were coming quickly to an end. In a 1913 reply to a letter from Lawrence Forster in Canada on the feasibility of producing a bibliography of English erotica post-Ashbee, Carrington indicates he is very poor “I am now practically done for and in fact have not enough money to bring out the second part of the Perfumed Garden nor other translations from the Arabic, the French and the Latin that I have all ready to issue.” Somehow, though, he was able to keep his bookshop open and he did publish a small number of books up until his death. Interestingly, between 1912 and 1914 he published four books using his real name, Paul Ferdinando, on the imprint; the only time in his career he had ever done so.
The Perfumed Garden, For the soul’s Delectation, Translated from the Arabic of THE SHAYKH NAFZAWI (XV Saec.).The First of Three Volumes. “This is no baby’s book.” (Sir R. F. Burton.)PARIS and BENARES THE KAMASHASTRA SOCIETY 1907.PRIVATELY ISSUED: 4to. 281pp. Title page in red and black. Printed by Veuve Félix Guy et Cie in a limited edition of 1000 copies on laid, deckle-edged paper. Title and headings in red throughout. In original Publishers paper wraps, printed in red and black, (cover and spine) over plain card covers.
To follow a post on SCENTED GARDEN MAN’S HEART TO GLADDEN an unpublished Carrington, from the Michael Neale collection;
Please see links to The Erotica Bibliophile
Erotica Bibliophile about Carrington
Erotica Bibliophile Carrington Search