Two ink portraits by the aesthete of his friend and contemporary Edward Sackville-West. The portraits are on a sheet of Waldorf Hotel stationary (4.5" x 7") and each bears assorted notations in Tennant's hand: "Eddie- the portrait of a spiritual attitude" and "Cycle of the Ring- your profile shows your soul of a mystic....your marveous eye...." Sackville-West and Tennant were both sensitive gay men in the circle of The Bright Young Things in the 1920s and Sackville- West is perhaps known as a music critic. More

Volume II. London: Printed for E. Curll in Fleet Street (1719). Hardcover. 58pp. A record of the famous Castlehaven sodomy trial in 1631, among a number of similar publications issued by this publisher to exploit the case for his own commercial purposes and which fed on the “sodomite-hunting” that was rampant during the period. The 2nd Earl of Castlehaven was convicted of abetting the rape of his wife and of committing sodomy with his male servants and the trial was a spectacular sex scandal, resulting in the execution of Castlehaven and his servants. Included with this publication is another sensational trial from 1699 involving adultery and divorce of Henry Duke of Norfolk. Contemporary calf boards, front panel missing, front endpaper a bit browned and worn. Rare. More

Two autograph letters from the acclaimed painter to his longtime friend and confidant, Charles Kains-Jackson, both dated 1926. Tuke was best known for his paintings of maritime subjects, particularly of nude young men at the beach. The first is dated 11 February 1926, toward the end of Tuke's nine-week stay in Jamaica and was written on the letterhead of the Waterloo Hotel on Black River. Tuke writes: " I have done quite a lot of sketches & studies & found some good subjects, if one was ever to come back here for any length of time." The second letter was dated at Hampstead, England on 4 May 1926, shortly after his return, discussing his plans to visit the artist colony at Kardomah, Wales with friends: "Masson, Colin, and Towsey are all staying this week-end with Sidney Lomer!" Tuke's patron Sydney Lomer once famously asked Tuke to define the genitals more clearly in one of his paintings. "Colin' was possibly Colin Goodwyn, a model for his 1900 painting 'The Coming of Day'; 'Masson' was in all probability the artist's close friend Charles Masson Fox (1866-1935); and the final guest would be the photographer Stanley Towsey. Tuke also writes "If you come here I can show you a number of my sketches and you can inspect the new room I have added to the house." Signed as H .S. Tuke, each 2 pages, the first 8 1/2x5 1/2 inches, 21 1/2x14 cm, and the other a bit smaller; moderate wear and soiling to the first letter and minimal wear to the second. More

Paris, Sansot, [1919]. 64pp. 16vo. The second ediiton of these poems, originally published in 1907. Very good in lightly worn wrappers. More

Berlin-Neurahnsdorf A. Brand [1900]. 220pp. The first true anthology of homosexual writing, produced by the artist and writer and initiated in response to Oscar Wilde's imprisonment. The writers represented include the early Greeks and include Goethe, Verlaine, Adolf Brand (with whom he collaborated on the long-running gay journal, Der Eigene) and numerous others. Von Kupffer's introduction to the book argues that homosexuality is a fundamental part of social life and disparages the idea of a "third sex" advocated by Hirschfeld and others as destructive. The volume was banned by authorities in 1903 and the book has become a great rarity and is an important milestone in gay history and one of the cornerstones of gay literature. The arguments articulated in the book remain as culturally significant as they were in his own day. The volume precedes the other major anthologies in the field, Men and Boys: An Anthology (1924) and Edward Carpenter's Iolaus (who was inspired to collect his material after reading this book). A very good copy in lightly worn contemporary boards, the uncommon wrappers are present and bear the signature of the Romantic writer Peter Hille. The book was published in 1900 by the gay rights crusader Adolf Brand and the sheets were later conveyed to Max Spohr, who re-issued the book under his own imprint. Quite rare. $2000. More

Albert Wainwright (1898-1943) was born in Castleford and studied at Leeds School of Art, where he was friends with fellow student, Henry Moore. He was a prolific artist and illustrator, primarily in a post-Beardsley and Viennese secessionist manner. He found early success with a one-man show in Leeds, at the age of 22, followed by a show at the Goupil Gallery in London. He traveled extensively to Germany and Austria, where these images were created. One verso is another gouache drawing: “Gentleman in traditional costume, Salzburg.” Both images are ink and wash drawings, unframed, unsigned, (25cm x 18cm). More

Paris: Les Éditions Crès (1922). An uncommon book on the famous costume balls of Paris, with illustrations by the author. Warnod descibes in detail many of the fin de siècle balls and those of the post-War period with amusing vignettes. This edition (as opposed to the trade edition of the book) was available to subscribers only and contains four controversial sections on "Les Bals d'Invertis", "Le Dernier Grand Écart", "Grandeur et Décadence de la Danse du Ventre a Paris" and Les Filles de Maisons Closesau Bal Public". This edition also contains four addiitional images illustrating these sections laid into the text (see illustration). Limited to 200 numbered copies, very good in original illustrated wrappers, pages uncut. More

Edinburgh: Tragara Press (1984). One of a series of books by Weeks on Corvo published at the Tragara Press. This copy is one of 25 special copies for the author. Inscribed by Weeks to Brian Reade on endpaper. Laid in is a 2pp ALS to Reade detailing the publication history of the book. Fien in salmon wrappers. More

London (Tate Gallery). Reproduction of the Expedition of Rare Meats mural at the Tate, with an explanation. The murals are reproduced in color on a folding pamphlet, printed on both sides. Very good. Reproduction of the Expedition of Rare Meats mural at the Tate, with an explanation. The murals are reproduced in color on a folding pamphlet, printed on both sides. Very good. More

Napoli: Colonnesse (2000). Soft cover. More

Verona: Privately Printed (1983). 161pp. Memoirs of the author's friends, including Capote, Tennessee Williams, Beaton and many others. Illustrated. One of 400 numbered copies, very good in wrappers, light spotting to wrappers. More

London (1977). Memoir by the accomplished British painter, onetime lover of the notorious male courtesan and opium addict, Denham Fouts. Illustrated. very good in very good jacket. Warmly inscribed by the author on title page. Young 4212. More

Paris: Alphonse Lemerre [ca. 1912] 5th ed. One of two novels written by the lesbian heiress and one of her last publications. The novel begins in Port Saïd and follows the wanderings of Prince Charles-Auguste de Lindenfels throughout the Far East with a shifting ensemble of wealthy expatriates. Very good in 1/4 leather and marbled boards, original wrappers not present. Warmly inscribed by the author in her usual purple ink on endpaper. Uncommon. More