Two Scarce Erotic Novels From 1787 Exposed (May Be NSW)

by Stephen J. Gertz

A couple of extremely rare erotic books recently came into the marketplace, wowsers both, each from the eighteenth century and scarcely seen but when seen goggle eyes and boggle mind.

Mémoires de Saturnin (1787), is one of the best of the many reprints of Histoire de Dom B***, Portier des Chartreux by lawyer Jean-Charles Gervaise de Latouche (1715-1782); “one of the most celebrated French erotic novels of the 18th century” (Kearney). It is the most important erotic novel in the period immediately prior to Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1748) and one of the most frequently reprinted books of all erotic literature.

Originally published in 1741 in two editions (true first not firmly established) it has become an old warhorse, a classic anti-clerical erotic novel that under its original title went through seventeen editions  between 1741 and 1960.

"Saturnin" is the surname of the protagonist, Dom Bourge, "the fruit of the incontinence of the reverend Celestine Father of the town of B," and a porter in the convent at Chartreux.  As you might expect from  a so surnamed person, saturnalias ensue. "My heart is agitated - is it through fear that I shall be reproached with revealing the mysteries of the Church? Alas! I must overcome this compunction. Who does not know that all men are men, and especially the monks? they have certainly the faculty of cooperating in the propagation of the species; and why should we hinder them…?"

Why stop there? The biblical story of Sodom is considered  slanderous to homosexual activity, which gets a workout satisfying to all concerned. The book was banned not so much for its pornographic nature as its  anti-religious aspects, a greater threat to civilization than indecency.

Patrick J. Kearney notes seven editions 1772-1946 under the title Histoire de Gouberdom; three as Histoire de Saturnin; twenty-three as Le Portier des chartreux 1784-1954; five editions 1787-1815 titled Memoires de Saturnin; and eight English editions 1743-1930. Most may be aware of the novel as published by Maurice Girodias' Ophelia Press in 1958 under the title The Life and Adventures of Father Silas by Beauregard de Farniete, apparently a reprint of the London 1907 (i.e. Paris: Charles Hirsch, 1910) English edition with the same title. During the 1960s, a slew of paperback reprints based upon the Ophelia Press edition was issued under various titles by American pornsters. There are undoubtedly editions that have yet to be recorded. Mr. Kearney's checklist is the most complete to date.

The edition under notice is one of the most highly desirable, with twenty-four unsigned engraved plates by François Rolland Elluin after designs by Antoine Borel. It was anonymously published in Paris by Cazin in 1787 as two parts in one book, in octavo and 18mo issues. The volume under notice is one of only three known large paper octavo copies.

“C’est la plus belle edition que l’on puisse trouver de ce roman érotique et l’une des plus réussies dans les productions de Cazin” (Cohen. “This edition is the most beautiful that you can find of this erotic novel and one of the most successful productions of Cazin”).

Of the engravings, Pascal Pia, in Les Livres de l’Enfer, notes “Les Meilleures que l'on ait faites pour illustrer ce classiques de l'érotisme” (“The best that have been made ​​to illustrate this classic of erotica”).

Publisher Hubert Martin Cazin (1724-1795 was the son of a bookseller in Reims, a trusted member of the community of booksellers and printers of the city.

He followed in his father’s profession but with a taste and clientele for prohibited books. As a result he was enjoined from bookselling in 1754. In 1784, he moved to Paris and began his career as a publisher.

Cazin editions were, and remain, highly regarded for their production quality and licentious character. For his efforts Cazin earned many fines and two involuntary vacations in the Bastille.

The anonymously written “by a sacrificer to Venus,” Les Heures de Paphos, was published in 1787 with four subsequent editions 1864-1875. The 1864 edition was anonymously issued by Auguste Poulet-Malassis in Brussels and falsely dated 1787. The 1872 edition was falsely dated 1787. The 1875 edition was falsely dated 1789.

The illustrations - twelve engraved plates plus frontispiece - are in the manner of Claude-Louis Desrais (1746-1816), painter, illustrator, engraver, and student of Italian painter, Francesco Casanova (Giacomo's younger brother). Desrais was particularly known for his gallant/erotic illustrations to contemporary novels.

Today’s post is false-dated 2013.  It was actually anonymously written in 2074 with false imprint Santa Monica-in-the-Sea, CA  (i.e. Ulan Bator: Mongol Art Editions).
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GERVAISE De LATOUCHE, Jean-Charles. Mémoires de Saturnin, écrits par lui-même. Nouvelle édition, corrigée & augmentée avec Figures. Premiêre [and] seconde partie. Londres [Paris]: n.p. [Cazin], 1787. Later edition, two parts in one volume. 235 pp. Twenty-four engraved plates by Elluin after Borel.

Pia 622. Dutel A-523. Cohen 431.

[DESRAIS, Claude-Louis, illustrator]. Les Heures de Paphos. Contes moraux par un sacrificateur de Venus. Paris: n.p., 1787. First edition, large paper. Octavo. 74 pp. Frontispiece and twelve engraved plates after Desrais.

Pia 611. Dutel A-496. Cohen 486.

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Illustrations courtesy of Camille Sourget Livres Anciens, currently offering these titles, with our thanks.

Title pages from Dutel, Bibliographie des Ouvrages Erotiques...1650-1880.

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Of Related Interest:

The Wages of Sin: : $80,000 For Rare Fanny Hill.

Hey Rare Book Guy! Is It Pornography, Erotica, or Curiosa? 
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Comics Get Stripped At The Museum Of Sex

By Nancy Mattoon

A History Of Dirty Drawings By Craig Yoe,
Curator of the Comics Stripped Exhibit.

One of the greatest things about art, whether it consists of words or images, is that it can create fantasy worlds that have never existed, and never could. Mention the literary genre of fantasy, and the first images that come to mind might be unicorns, fairies, swords and sorcerers, or other stock elements of children's books. But another kind of fantasy, the adult, sexual kind, has also inspired a genre of art with its own instantly recognizable icons: voluptuous women and muscle-bound men; fetish clothing featuring six-inch stilettos, leather, lace, and latex; bondage gear including handcuffs, masks, and corsets; and sadomasochistic props like whips, chains, and ropes.

Craig Yoe's Arf Forum,
"Celebrating The Unholy Marriage
of Art & Comics."

Call it erotica or pornography, the art that sexual fantasies inspire is as transcendent, and as impossibly unrealistic, as anything found in the worlds of Harry Potter or The Wizard of Oz. New York City's Museum of Sex has just mounted (pun intended) a new exhibition of the erotic art of comic strips and comic books in the 20th and 21st centuries, to "reveal how the comic book medium has been used over time to depict sexual fantasy, poke fun at taboo topics and lampoon icons of popular culture." Comics Stripped, a show made up of over 150 artifacts, including original drawings, illustrated books, comic books, magazines and videos, chronicles the history of "dirty drawings" from the Great Depression to the present day.

A Selection Of Tijuana Bibles.
(Image Courtesy of The Museum of Sex.)

The exhibit begins with 18 examples of the rare, underground comic books known as "Tijuana Bibles." These cheaply-produced pulp paperbacks, clandestinely published in the 1930's, often featured well known mainstream comic strip characters, such as Blondie and Dagwood, or Popeye and Olive Oyl, engaged in graphic sexual activity. In what may well be the most shocking statement in the exhibit's press release, the Museum of Sex staff maintains these crude little comics were frequently used by teenagers as sexual "instruction books." (A reminder that responsible sex education in the home is always the smart move...) Despite their lowbrow pedigree, the Museum points out that some notable comic book artists moonlighted by producing "bibles," including Wesley Morse, who created the Bazooka Joe and Gang characters featured inside the wrappers of Topps' bubble gum.

Cartoonist Wally Wood's
Erotic Take On Superman.

(Image Courtesy of The Museum of Sex.)

Tijuana Bibles also took on the most sacred cows of wholesome cartoon characters, those created under the auspices of Walt Disney. Featured in the Museum of Sex exhibit are two rare (and Disney wishes rarer) "bibles" featuring Donald Duck and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in compromising positions. Another artifact lampooning the squeaky-clean Disney characters is a centerpiece of the show. The Disneyland Memorial Orgy, a tableau drawn by Wally Wood, and published by Paul Krassner in his counterculture magazine, The Realist, hit the newsstands in 1967. Surprisingly, the ever litigious Magic Kingdom chose not to sue the orgy's creators, in order to avoid bringing any more attention to the blasphemy. (For those of you can't wait to see Goofy having his way with Minnie Mouse, a link is thoughtfully provided here.)

Joe Shuster's Cover Illustration
For The First Issue of Nights Of Horror.
(Image Courtesy of The Museum of Sex.)

But Goofy and Minnie Mouse were far from the only comic icons to be eroticized by the sexual comics, or comix, movement. Artist Joe Shuster, co-creator of DC Comics world-famous Superman, drew sadomasochistic scenarios featuring Lois Lane and Clark Kent for his Nights of Horror, a fetish comic book series. And Eric Stanton's Blunder Broad series starred a less-than-wonderful version of Wonder Woman, forever enduring sexual humiliations due to her own ineptitude. Five original issues of issues of Nights of Horror will be on display during the exhibition as well as six original illustrations from Blunder Broad.

Cover Image Of A Collection Of
Playboy Cartoons By Eldon Dedini.

The exhibit also features the erotic cartoon art of risque "men's magazines" from Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, through Ballyhoo, and on to Playboy. Of the Playboy cartoonists, the Museum's press release notes, "Visitors to Comics Stripped will enjoy original art, on loan from the Playboy Enterprises, Inc., of iconic Playboy artists Jack Cole (1914-1958) and Eldon Dedini (1921-2006). Cole may be best known for creating the superhero Plastic Man. His cartoons for Playboy became the gold standard for creating cartoons published in the popular men's magazine. Dedini's watercolor depictions of horny satyrs chasing voluptuous nymphs were an iconic Playboy feature."

A Candy Bar Wrapper Featuring R. Crumb's "Devil Girl."

(Image Courtesy of The Museum of Sex.)

Comics Stripped also examines the ongoing censorship of erotic comics in the United States, culminating in the creation of Comics Code Authority in 1954. The repressive legislation of the red-baiting McCarthy Era ironically led to the proliferation of underground publications, containing outrageous, shockingly graphic images, deliberately unsuitable for publication in even the raciest mass market men's magazine. The most famous artist who got his start in those publications was R.Crumb, the creator of such characters as Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural and Devil Girl. Comics Stripped includes many of Crumb's original drawings, which have recently been on display at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London. Homoerotic comic art from gay underground publications is also on show at the Museum of Sex, including the iconic work of Tom of Finland, who proudly proclaimed: "If I don't have an erection when I'm doing a drawing, I know it's no good."

Craig Yoe's Well Reviewed Book On
The Fetish Art Of Joe Shuster.

Comics Stripped was created by Museum of Sex Curator Sarah Forbes, and Guest Curator Craig Yoe. Yoe has been called "Indiana Jones of comics historians," the "archivist of the ridiculous and sublime," and "a fine cartoonist and a comic book historian of the first water." He is the author of the definitive work on Superman's co-creator, Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Joe Shuster (Abrams ComicArts, 2009). Yoe himself modestly says of his curatorial duties for Comics Stripped, "Many artists of 'dirty drawings' had full time gigs in mainstream entertainment. I consider myself to be following in a fine tradition of men who knew what they wanted and how to put it on paper." Knowing what you want, and knowing how to put it down on paper--a perfect description of the art of sexual fantasy.

Comics Stripped opened at the Museum of Sex on January 13, 2010, and continues indefinitely.
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