Window Shopping in Rome
Original vintage photograph (9" x 10"), copyright stamp on verso with penned inscription by Lyons.
Featured Items
A vintage "stereoview" photograph, likely German (1890s) depicting a partially nude helmeted man with a sword assaulting another unclothed man lying on the ground in a rural setting. (6.25" x 3.5"). Very good, with the number "P-1191" printed in the plate at lower right.
A vintage "stereoview" photograph, likely German (1890s) depicting two nude men, one of whom appears to be strangling the other. (6.25" x 3.5"). Very good, with the number "P-686" printed in the plate at lower right.
Le Amicizie di collegio: ricerche sulle prime manifestazioni dell'amore sessuale, etc
Roma: Soc. ed. Dante Alighieri (1898). 308pp. A study of same sex attractions in school-aged individuals by this moral philosopher. Good in marbled paper over boards, a bit of bubbling to paper and occasional light spotting.
Sexual-Probleme. Zeitschrift für Sexualwissenschaft und Sexualpolitik
Sauerländers Verl: Frankfurt (1911). & Jahr. Marz. This periodical contains an essay on Walt Whitman and his "phallic" poetry. Very good in browned covers, slight loss at one edge.
Hecatelegium ou Les Cent Élégies
Paris: Isidore Liseux (1885). Fifteenth century erotic text translated here into French for the first time with the Latin original on the opposing page. The 100 elegaic poems were considered exremely obscene even by the standards of the Renaissance humanists. One of only 120 numbered copies, none of which were intended for sale (#99). Inscribed on front endpaper, perhaps by the editor. B.N. Enfer 102. Pia 326. Very good in contemporary binding, a little marked, bookplate on front pastedown.
Onze Lettres ˆ Un Jeune Pretre Homosexuel
Saint-Maxant (1990). A collection of eleven letters written by the French writer and Academician to a young gay priest in the 1930s and 1940s, some of which are reproduced in facsimile. Introduction by Andre Dalbigny, S.J. This is the first appearance of these letters and they are an important insight into a part of the writer's life that is not widely known. One of only fifty copies printed on Demi Chiffon Gris Janseniste (and an hors commerce copy for the archbishop of Bordeaux). This copy is also an hors commerce copy. Fine in original black wrappers. Uncommon.
Imre: A Memorandum
Naples: The English Book-Press: R. Rispoli (1906). sm. 8vo. [6], 205, [3]. original grey wrappers printed in red, [vi], 205, [3] pp. 1st Edition. Soft cover. First edition of the first novel by an American with both an explicit gay theme and a sympathetic attitude toward its gay characters. Styled a “little psychological romance” by the author, the novel recounts the growing love between a middle-aged British aristocrat and a Hungarian military officer. According to the colophon, Imre was “Privately printed in a limited edition,” and, although the limitation is unstated, scholars have long debated the publishing history of this book, as well as that of the author’s other great work on homosexuality, The Intersexes. Although it appears that Imre was ostensibly issued in an edition of 500 copies, the book is far rarer than The Intersexes, which was limited to only 100 numbered copies. Scholars agree that the prime reason for the scarcity of Imre is because many copies were destroyed in the great Messina earthquake of 1908. Edward I. Stevenson was born in New Jersey in 1868 and, although he passed the state bar examination, he began writing books instead. Writing under his own name, his literary output ranged from several novels for boys with faintly Uranian tones to various collections of short stories and music criticism. But his greatest legacies, by far, were Imre and The Intersexes, not just rarities of early 20th-century American literature, but also groundbreaking books with enduring influence. Each is a founding document of modern lesbian and gay studies, and each seems to have required its author’s expatriation and his assumption of a closelyguarded pseudonym, in order to be published. The present example is unique and quite significant in that it includes a previously unknown page tipped into the text, which identifies where the book could be purchased. The publishing history of the book has always been extremely cloudy, no doubt because of Stevenson’s frequent obfuscations about the true identity of the Very good in original printed wrappers with light cover wear and light wear to spine. The cover and title page bear the revised 1908 date of publication sticker, also present in other copies of the book. Only three institutions currently hold copies (Harvard, Cornell, British Library). Quite rare.
Der Kreis/Le Cercle/The Circle: Eine Monatsschrift
Zurich: Der Kreis (1956). An unbound set of the complete year of 12 issues for 1956. It was published in German, French and English and contained articles on literature, art and culture and each edition contained photographs and artwork, many by renowned artists. Artwork by George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus, George Platt Lynes, Jean Boullet and stories by James Barr, Michael Kuzmin and others. In Hubert Kennedy's book The Ideal Gay Man, which chronicles the history of Der Kreis, Kennedy describes the magazine as having been "the world's most important journal promoting the legal and social rights of gay men" for much of its publication period and one of very few such journals in Europe at the time.Additionally, it remains the only gay publication to include editorial content in three languages. (Wikipedia) In 2014, the magazine's history was documented in a Swiss docudrama film eponymously titled The Circle. The film, which features a mix of historical footage from the 1950s and dramatizations of events, won the Teddy Award and the Panorama Audience Award in the documentary category at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. All issues are very good condition with minimal cover wear.
Der Kreis/Le Cercle/The Circle: Eine Monatsschrift
Zurich: Der Kreis (1961). An unbound set of the complete year of 12 issues for 1961. It was published in German, French and English and contained articles on literature, art and culture and each edition contained photographs and artwork, many by renowned artists. Artwork by George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus, George Platt Lynes, Jean Boullet and stories by James Barr, Michael Kuzmin and others. In Hubert Kennedy's book The Ideal Gay Man, which chronicles the history of Der Kreis, Kennedy describes the magazine as having been "the world's most important journal promoting the legal and social rights of gay men" for much of its publication period and one of very few such journals in Europe at the time.Additionally, it remains the only gay publication to include editorial content in three languages. (Wikipedia) In 2014, the magazine's history was documented in a Swiss docudrama film eponymously titled The Circle. The film, which features a mix of historical footage from the 1950s and dramatizations of events, won the Teddy Award and the Panorama Audience Award in the documentary category at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. All issues are very good condition with minimal cover wear.
Shapes on the Horizon
London (1996). 4to. A beautifully produced memorial volume in memory of Teddy Millington-Drake, with contributions by many of his friends, including Bruce Chatwin, Diana Melly and Felicity Sutherland. Numerous diary excerpts, letters, photographs and paintings are reproduced. One of 425 numbered copies produced for subscribers only. Very good in decorative boards and slipcase, bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe and Zaehnsdorf of London.
Souvenirs de Londres
Paris: Mercure de France (1957). Memories of visits to London, with references to T.S. Eliot, Alec Guinness and Bryher. Very good in wrappers.
Les Chauves-Souris
Paris: G.Richard (1893). The eccentric esthete's first book, a collection of poems which evoke his symbolist leanings with darkly turgid passages and strange allusions. Very good in original wrappers, some light wear and browning, occasional pencil marks, rebound in patterned paper boards, edgewear. Uncommon.
Les 40 Bergéres
Paris: A La Librairie de France (1925). 1st Edition. Soft cover. 4to. Subititled "Portraits, satiriques en vers inédits" this is a collection of forty brief essays that were published posthumously because of their scandalous content. de Montesquiou refers to the collection in his Mémoires III (page 108) and the essays are thinly veiled references to many of his acquaintances in the beau monde fin-de-siecle. Each vignette is introduced with an amusing woodblock drawing by Llano-Florez and the frontispiece is by Aubrey Beardsley. A lovely production, printed in two colors. The complete edition consists of only 150 copies and 20 hors commerce copies, of which this is one (press numbered "M'). Near fine in wrappers, prospectus laid in.
Les Hortensias Bleus
Paris: Charpentier et Fasquelle (1896) 418pp. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Uncommon book of poetry by the French aesthete and Proustian character. Original cover illustration designed by Paul Helleu. Very good in original wrappers, very slight wear, bound in blue linen boards with spine label, light wear to covers.
Tony - A Sketch
London: Richard Bentley (1898). Charming story of a boy's mishap on a train. Several titles by the same author appear on Murray's List. Very good in attractive gold embossed boards, small signature on endpaper. Uncommon.
The Disrobing
San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press (1982). A collection of prose and poetry by the gay writer. One of 26 specially bound and lettered copies, with a specially printed poem laid in. Near fine in boards.
I Baroni di Taormina
Palermo (1959) sm. 4to. Essays and poetry about Taormina along with photographs by its longtime resident, Baron von Gloeden. Introduction by Roger Peyrefitte. Very good in wrappers. Uncommon.
338171 T.E.
Buenos Aires: SUR: Editions des lettres françaises (1942). Ocampo's biography of T.E. Lawrence, written in French and published by the author's SUR ediitons. Very good in original wrappers, light wear to covers.
Amant ou maitresse? ou l'Androgyne Perplexe
Paris: Flammarion (1922). 283pp. An uncommon novel by the prolific writer on sexually unconventional themes; this novel has gay subject matter. Very good in marbled boards and endpapers, edges browned, wrappers not present.
Shop Slavery and Emancipation
Westminster: P.S. King & Son (1912). The author, a relatively unknown political writer and one-time president of a Working Boy’s Athletic Club, was very much in the forefront of the Uranian movement, in the tradition of Edward Carpenter. In this, his first book, he constructed a theory of erotic socialism in which he recommends that “the way out” of the oppression of the shop assistant is the “reckless love of comrades”. “My friend,” he writes, “is my God. I know no other God. He is not one and indivisible, but one and a million times divisible. I find him everywhere, because once I found him in one single soul. He gave me my clue. He is the little apprentice who looks a momentary greeting to me across the counter, as I speak to him kindly over some trifling purchase; he is the little ink-stained clerk who moves nearer to me on the seat of the omnibus, he does not know why; he is the young undergraduate whose eyes meet mine with a serene shyness as we pass in the street; he is the young engine driver who stops work for a moment with his hand full of cotton waste, and wonders where we have met before... It is for me to choose him as of old the knight errants chose their pages. It does not matter where I find him. He may be an errand-boy, a newspaper-runner.. Whoever injures him injures me; whoever makes an enemy of him makes an enemy of me... All that I have belongs to him for a purpose that when the moment arrives he may by example become a revolutionary, an upholder of the New Aristocracy.” Quite uncommon. Very good in wrappers, small stain to cover and light wear. See d'Arch Smith @89-90.
Alcibiade Enfant a l'Ecole
Bruxelles: Chez l'Ancien Pierre Marteau (1891). 110pp. A French edition of this controversial text, considered "almost a treatise in disguise on sodomy." (Ashbee at 24.) This edition is quite uncommon. Very good in faded pink boards, original paper wrappers not present. Uncommon.
Alcibiade Enfant a l'Ecole
Bruxelles: Chez l'Ancien Pierre Marteau (1891). 110pp. A French edition of this controversial text, considered "almost a treatise in disguise on sodomy." (Ashbee at 24.) Editions were routinely confiscated and destroyed throughout, commencing with its original appearance (in Italian) in 152. An earlier publisher, Jules Gay, was condemned for the book in 1868 and all the available copies were destroyed, including the copy at the Bibliothèque Nationale. This issue uses the same imprint as that edition. Very good in original plain paper wrappers, light spotting to title page. Uncommon.
A Literary Duel
The corrected galley proofs of an essay about a duel fought between the rival editors of Blackwood's and The London Magazine in 1821. One of Patmore's relatives (Coventry) was involved in the drama and he relates here previously unknown details, published in The Literary Chronicle. Patmore is known for his vivid portrayals of Bright Young Things Stephen Tennant, Cecil Beaton, Coward and others. Also included are newspaper clippings by Patmore about J.L. Cambell and Norman Douglas (annotated in his hand: "Unpublished in my book, Private History- when I was staying with Richard Aldington in Florence and saw Norman Douglas almost every day- I was 23..." Very good, the proofs are signed by the author, penciled corrections throughout.
Lettre sur Claudel et La Pédérastie
Paris: Imprimerie de l'Institut Catholique (1985). 14pp. Unpublished letters "pederastique" to Claudel reproduced in facsimile. Issued only in an edition of 50 numbered copies printed on "papyrus cardinalice." An apparently clandestine publication with a faux publisher :"To honor the memory of St. Paul Claudel and blast pederasts, this unpublished work was completed on 1 April 1985 on the presses of the Catholic Institute of Paris. Corydon Alexis is President and Tityrus the-tail-master printer. Every copy not stamped apostolic and not initialed by the President shall be deemed false and counterfeit and liable to ecclesiastical courts..." Very good in wrappers.