Books for Trade: Au bord du lit. Stances: Alexandre de Vérineau, [d.i. Louis Perceau]. Published by Erotopolis, à l’Enseigne des Bacchantes [d.i. Paris, Maurice Duflou], 1927 Illustrées de onze eaux-fortes originales par Lucas. O [d.i. |Luc Lafnet|]:


Sometimes you just get lucky, and I did with this one, I have been considering purchasing this for a long time, but had been put off by the description which stated that two of the eleven plates called for had been excised, leaving nine, eventually I thought I would make an offer on it because nine plates sounded OK and the book is very rare. My plan was to list it here and make my usual plea (nearly always ignored) for anyone who has a copy to get in touch and copy scans of the missing plates.

Well the book arrived and I opened it and it is very nice indeed, I noticed immediately that the plates are fixed in the book in a strange fashion, with just stubs instead of a full double leaf, this could of , I suppose given the impression that pages had been cut out, but more to the point when I counted the plates there were 11, of this I was certain because I ran out of fingers when I counted and had to utilise an extra digit to make the eleven (don’t ask).

A clandestine publication but completely revealed as the title above gives evidence to.


Re-bound in marbled boards in quarter leather, spine with title , author and date in  gilt. with original card covers preserved.

Binding

Spine


Au bord du lit. Stances.: Vérineau, Alexandre de [d.i. Louis Perceau].

Illustrées de onze eaux-fortes originales par Lucas. O [d.i. |Luc Lafnet|].

Published by Erotopolis, à l’Enseigne des Bacchantes [d.i. Paris, Maurice Duflou], 1927.,

Title Page


39 pages and | 11 plates with original etchings. One of 350 numbered copies (total of 360), which were not in the trade. Rare work, which, through the pseudonyms used, only betrayed the true authorship and origin of connoisseurs. Luc Lafnet, also under pseudonym, created the 11 erotic representations.

Front cover

Back and spine (bound in)

Limitation




See also

Special Edition: NOUS DEUX – simples papiers du tiroir secrets, par Nelly et Jean, curiosa attribué à Marcel VALOTAIRE et illustré par l’artiste lyonnais Jean DULAC. Clandestine publication 1929

Books for Trade: LES SONNETS LUXURIEUX DU DIVIN ARÉTIN., Pour un Groupe de Bibliophiles. n.d.n.p

 

Books for Trade: Anonymous: A Week-End Visit, by the Author of – “The Way of a Man With a Maid”, “Parisian Frolics”, etc.. LONDON (ND) (1920-1924)

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Here we have another clandestine puzzle to solve, but also a few clues, to possibly assist us, this book is a delightful little item, printed on good quality paper and with very nice decorative chapter headings consisting of decorative printers devices, which I have enlarged for use in the listing and possibly others. The most interesting image for me however is the small emblem shown below which is identical to that from the title page of my recently listed “Father Silas”. My curiosity made me raise the question with Pat Kearney, about what could be inferred from the same printers device on the two titles, and his response confirmed that it was likely to confirm that it was the same printer, if not the same publisher.

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Pat goes on to say.
“Forgotten if you have Mendes, but he describes “Weekend Visit” at entry
no. 211, indicating that the pagination ends at p. 166 and that it has blue
wrappers with the title on the front printed within an ornamental device
and with a device with cupid’s wings on top. He says that textually the book
seems to be written by the same author as “The Way of a Man with a Maid”
and the translation of “Parisian Frolics”. He makes no suggestion as to who
published it, but feels it was printed between 1920-1924. “

Following this line of investigation, and very much aware that I am making assumptions, I had chanced, identifying “Father Silas” as a 1930 edition possibly published by Hirsch, and because of the format possibly printed by Maurice Duflou.

One way that clandestine publishers are tracked down is often by discovering the clues that give away who the printer was, and what decorative devices they were using sometimes on both clandestine and openly published titles, this can lead to at least an indication of when the book was produced. In this instance all we have thus far is the same small quite crude printers device in two different titles, not conclusive , but at least enough for us to speculate that it might well be the same printer, but is it Duflou?

Fortunately for us, and I emphasise us, the complex decorative designs in “A Week-End Visit”, give us the opportunity to look for these designs in other books of the period, so enough talking and time for you to get looking.


A Week-End Visit,

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by the Author of – “The Way of a Man With a Maid”, “Parisian Frolics”, etc.. LONDON (ND) (1920-1924)

Description: In original thin blue paper covers, with a decorative emblem of a winged cherub, framing the title in a flamboyant box (Printed in Blue).

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Contents: Two blank endpapers, half title, verso blank, Title Page, verso blank, Pages 7 to 166, two blank endpapers.


The Chapter Headings, interspersed with exploded printers decorations

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I have another copy of this title, which I think is a 1950’s facsimile, with a white cover title in black (no decoration)the half title on the verso of the front sheet, and the title page lacking the “By the Author of ” details, otherwise identical with all the decorations, but on very cheap paper.


I almost forgot to say this title is available for trade against my Paris Olympia Press wants.


Any Questions or information please leave a comment, or complete a contact form

LINK: The Life and Adventures of Father Silas


Books for Trade: The Life and Adventures of Father Silas written by himself and now translated from the original French edition (dated 1742) London (Paris) 1907 (1930?)

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Another clandestine gem, which rather amusingly destroys it’s own claim to being the first translation  into English in a book dated 1907, with a translators note dated 1896, which would approximate with the date of the Carrington edition, this copy is likely by Hirsch c:1930, one of two versions of around that date this possibly printed by Maurice Duflou, given its small size and variant emblem on the title page.


This Book is available for trade against any of my Olympia Press wants or other rare or curious items of erotica that might enhance my listings



The Life and Adventures of Father Silas

Title Page

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Description: In original salmon pink paper wraps over plain card covers, with printed title on cover, with The Life and Adventures of Father Silas (1742)  I LONDON 1907  I printed across the spine. Back cover plain.

Spine 

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CONTENTS: Half Title, verso blank, Title Page, verso blank, two page Translators Note, Text pages 7-125, blank end paper.

Half Title

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Translators note

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Translators Note 2

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Front Cover

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Lacks the Paul Avril plates called for but still very rare in its original covers, printed on good quality paper and in very nice condition.

The publishing history is long and complicated and described in detail by Patrick Kearney on his Scissors and Paste website, with editions in a variety of languages, he identifies a possible English translation from a copy recorded but now lost as early as 1743.

Checklist Histoire de  Dom B


Any Questions Please leave a comment


Books for Trade: Special Edition, L’Anti-Justine ou les delices de l’amour. Nouvelle edition entierement revue et corrigee, etablie pour la premiere fois sur le texte original de 1798. Precede d’une notice bibliographique par Helpey [d. i. L. Perceau.]

The Anti-Justine is a pornographic novelization of Restif de la Bretonne’s own life and sexual debauches, which the author tried to defend “morally” by declaring his book to be an “antidote” to the supposed poison of de Sade; yet the book is a monumental odyssey of sexual depravity that often rivals de Sade in its relentless explicitness.

This copy is 135/350, rather curiously some books in the same limitation do not have the plates coloured. In this copy the engravings are hand coloured and rather beautifully so, the artist signs himself Le Loup, and to the best of my knowledge remains unidentified.


This book is available to trade against any of my Paris Olympia Press wants, as listed in Books Wanted on this site.


The publisher was something of a character to say the least, and  here I borrow from Patrick Kearneys Scissors and Paste web site:-

Together with René Bonnel, Maurice Duflou was one of the more important erotica publishers in Paris between the two World Wars, but unlike Bonnel he tended to avoid the more avant-garde extremes of the genre, concentrating for the most part on reprints and only the occasional original work. Duflou’s longtime association with Louis Perceau–similar to Bonnel’s with Pascal Pia–produced a number of fine new editions of important eighteenth century works, and several of Perceau’s own compositions and editorial endeavors, including Le Keepsake Galant, a fascinating anthology of shorter erotic pieces, which was by Perceau’s own admission “…l’un des curieux de ceux qu’on publiées sous le manteau au XXe siècle…”. (See Perceau, 327-1.)

In addition to being a publisher, Duflou was also a printer, and there is evidence to suggest that he may have printed books for others. School Life in Paris (‘Privately Printed, 1923’) for example is pointedly described by Pia (2nd ed., p. 684) as being merely printed by Duflou, whereas all the other Duflou titles noted by Pia are French and stated to have been both printed and published by him. This suggests that Duflou’s work as a printer for others may have been limited to cheaply produced English works ‘for the trade’ rather than the finely printed works he did in partnership with Perceau and others.


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RESTIF DE LA BRETONNE, (Nicolas-Edmé). – L’Anti-Justine, ou les Délices de l’amour. Nouvelle édition entièrement revue et corrigée, établie pour la première fois sur le texte originale de 1798. Précédée d’une Notice Bibliographique par Helpey, bibliophile poitevin [Louis Perceau]. Ile Sainte-Louis: De l’imprimerie de Monsieur Nicolas [c. 1930]. 4to. pp. 244. 12 ‘aquatintes libres reproduites en héliogravure.’ Limited to 350 copies on papier Alfax.


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This copy: Foxing to covers and edges of page block, book and contents in very good condition and complete with 12 beautifully executed explicit erotic illustrations by Le Loup.


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For a detailed description of the condition of the book please leave a comment on this page.