Shirtless standing tattooed male with Oriental tattoo design on back, gouache and ink on board (14" x 22"), signed "Sparrow 1957." Exhibited Museum of Sex, 2011. (OD). More

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A small collection of 12 printed ephemeral items, Christmas cards, and assorted other printed matter from one of the great Dutch printers. Many of the items are hand-colored and several are signed by the publisher/printer Ger Gleis. Works by James Purdy, William Blake, Sandro Penna and others are included. All near fine. Along with R. Breugelmans' bibliography of the press, 107 maal: Sub Signo Libelli (1/400 numbered copies). More

Paris (1972). Extraordinary collection of books on architecture and design assembled by the decorator and designer. Over 350 lots, illustrations. Very good in wrappers. More

Boston: Merrymount Press (1941). One of 75 specially bound and signed copies for the Society of Printers. Near fine in marbled boards, original glassine wrappers yellowed and edgeworn. More

Imprimé sous le manteau et ne se vend nulle part. [Paris: Albert Messein, 1903.] In-12 (183 x 116 mm). The first edition of Verlaine's explicit paean to homosexual love, which includes the "Sonnet au trou-du-cul" written in collaboration with his lover Arthur Rimbaud. The editor Le Dantec refused to include this collection in the modern critical edition of Verlaine's complete works. Enfer 1151. Pia 601 A beautiful copy of the special edition, limited to 25 (this is copy #1), bound in full morocco, signed H. Duhayon, raised bands, edges gilt, original wrappers present, wood slipcase, ex libris of Henri Fischer. With the holograph corrections to the page numbers (46. 47. 48) Van Bever & Monda, p. 67; Carteret Romantique II, p. 435; Paul Verlaine, Oeuvres poétiques complètes, Pléiade, p. 1375; Pia Enfer, 650; Dutel I, p. 170, N° 397*. More

Five of the original photo-engraved printing blocks for the illustrations for the novel. The engraved metal plates are mounted on to the original woodblocks used in the production of the book, all of which bear the title of the book on the side. The plates are in very good condition, several are lightly worn and have residue of the inks used in the letterpress process. All of the blocks are capable of being used for printing in contemporary letterpress printing. Included are the cover illustration for the book and the plates from pages 143, 155, 169 and 207. More

Paris: Sansot (1910) 103pp. A collection of twenty-four poems by the lesbian poet, published the year after her death. Vivien is perhaps best known for her tortured relationships with Natalie Barney and the Baroness Hélène van Zuylen and her drug addictions. One of fifty numbered copies (#22) printed on Japon. Very good in decorative wrappers. (Goujon, 43; Bac, p. 161). 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

Dublin: James Duffy. (1864). 233pp. The first edition of Lady Wilde's collection of poems, which bears a printed dedication to her sons Oscar and Willie. Her progressive views on women's rights and Irish independence often involved her in various controversies, but she never altered her views nd was a frequent contributor to progressive magazines. A very good copy in the original decorative green buckram, some wear to covers, gilt edges and titling dulled, occasional light browning. Front endpaper bear a partially erased (and indesipherable inscription. Inscribed by the author on front endpaper to her son Oscar: "For my dear Oscar from his mother." Laid in to the text is a xerox copy of a partial undated letter from Lady Wilde to Oscar, in which she states: ..."but it will not make me happy to know that my two sonsmeet in society and do not speak and are hostile to each other..." At rear is an advertisement for Lady Wilde's 3-vol. "The First Temptation: or, Eritis Sicut Deus", a Philosophical Romance, translated from the German; a novel. Laid in to a marbled clamshell box. More

Philadelphia: CSM Press (2013). 198pp. A collection of Wilde's writings on dress and fashion, many of which have been inaccesible until now. The book contains generously annotated and illustrated chapters that analyze the importance of dress in the historical context of Wilde's career, together with a comprehensive review of the inspiration, trends, and source material that informed his philosophy. Fine in original boards, one of 100 numbered copies (#92). More

Woubrugge: Avalon Press (2002). 44pp. The first publication of Alfred Douglas' appeal on behalf of Wilde, submitted to the Mercure de France in 1895, but never published. One of 250 copies printed letterpress. Fine in linen boards, inscribed by Wintermans on front endpaper. More

A thirty-two page notebook with numerous clippings and genealogical research on the Zuylen-Nyevelt/Rothschild family, much of which dates to the 1930s. One of the most well known families in Holland, the ancestral home at De Haar remains a great tourist attraction. Hélène van Zuylen-Nyevelt was a lover of Renée Vivien and the author of several books with her. Very good in decorative paper wrappers. More