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. More
