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Nicolas Edme Retif de La Bretonne (1734-1806) Les Parisiennes, ou XL Caracteres Generaux Pris dans les Moeurs Actuelles, propres a Servir a l'instruction des Personnes-du-Sexe. Neufchatel: Chez Guillot, 1787. First edition, four 12mo volumes illustrated with twenty plates, bound in contemporary sponge-decorated French calf; the leather dry, endcaps chipped, spines darkened, 6 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (4)
N.B. "Retif was a 'pornographer' in the modern sense of the word, being a writer of graphic depictions of sex. However, he was also a 'pornographer' in the Ancient Greek sense of the word, as he wrote about the day-to-day life of prostitutes, and concerned himself with their well-being. It was the latter definition which he accepted as the rightful use of the word." (Kendrick, Walter (1987). The Secret Museum: Pornography in Modern Culture (First ed.). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 19-20. ISBN 0-520-20729-7.)
Estimate $300-500
I: A14, B-M12, N4 [6 plates including frontis]; II: A8, B-Q12, R6 [4 plates including frontis]; III: A4, B-R12 [5 plates including frontis]; IV: A-Q12 [5 plates including frontis]. Total plate count: 20
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Nicolas Edme Retif de La Bretonne, Los AngelesJohn Dorfman
Director, Books & Manuscripts
508-970-3293
Fine Books & Manuscripts
The Fine Books & Manuscripts department delivers scholarship, expertise, and attention to detail in appraisals, evaluations, and auctions of rare books and historically important material ranging from medieval manuscripts to presidential documents.