(quarter-bound, light blue cloth over marbled boards; gilt-stamped lettering and small nude figure illustration on spine; no dust jacket) [a lovely copy, with just the slightest wear to the extremities, including a very slight exposure of the board at the lower tips; some of the pages remain unopened]. (B&W etchings) A nice copy of this desirable edition of the French poet's scandalous first novel, originally published in 1896, which recounts the tortured relationship of the courtesan Chrysis and the sculptor Démétrios, the latter driven to commit theft and ultimately murder by the former's resistance to his desire for her. A sensation in France (it was reported to have already had 35 printings within a few months of its first publication), an English translation was printed in Paris as early as 1900, but the book drew the attention of American censors and customs officials and remained difficult to obtain in the U.S. for many years. (When Louys's brother-in-law lectured at Harvard in 1900, one prominent and widely-syndicated literary critic opined that "he ought to be ashamed of the relationship" because "Aphrodite" was "written, printed and bound nastiness, and unadulterated filth." Eventually a theatrical adaptation had a five-month run in New York in late 1919 and early 1920, and got the bluenoses' panties in a bunch all over again.) The nekkid-lady illustrations in this edition ("limited to 650 copies of which which 600 copies are for sale," this being no. 499) are by Clara Tice, the so-called "Queen of Greenwich Village"; this was one of a dozen or so books Tice illustrated during the 1920s, when she was at the height of her fame and in great demand as a magazine and theatrical illustrator. Seller Inventory # 28373

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Aphrodite

Publisher: Privately Printed, (n.p.)

Publication Date: 1926

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Illustrated by Clara Tice

Condition: Near Fine

Edition: Limited Edition.

Store Description

Welcome to ReadInk (pronounced like "Dead Ink"), now in its 27th year of putting interesting books into the hands of interested people. Our watchwords here are: * Availability. Every book listed for sale is in my possession and available for purchase; every image posted is a picture of the actual book on offer. * Service. Although I occasionally adopt the so-called "royal We," in fact ReadInk is just Me -- I handle everything from one end of the pipeline to the other: buying, cataloging, customer service, shipping, you name it. Nothing automated here -- just prompt, personal attention to every order. * Accurate Description. I use standard book-grading terminology -- Good, Very Good, Fine (with various +/- gradations as appropriate) -- and try to avoid both excessive jargon and obsessive amounts of detail. "Fine" is my highest grade, and a book has to be darn near perfect to earn it; even the smallest flaw or blemish will knock the grade down to "Near Fine.? I strive to present a faithful impression of a book?s condition and appearance; significant flaws such as remainder marks, previous owner's names, tears in the dust jacket, etc. are always noted, or if too numerous are reasonably summarized. * Information. Whenever practical, I try to include some information about a book's content in my listing, even if only a carefully chosen quotation from the dust jacket copy. This may sound like a small thing, but take a look sometime and you'll see how amazingly few sellers bother with this. On the occasions I let this slide, it's generally because the book is a common one, or because the title itself is sufficiently descriptive. * Care for the Book. I package all books with great care, to ensure they will withstand the rigors of the U.S. Postal System, and will reach their new owners in the same condition as advertised. My specific packaging techniques vary according to the needs of the book itself, but either a sturdy box or an unbendable package is always involved. (No bubble envelopes, ever, unless the contents are thoroughly protected within.) That?s all there is to ReadInk: just a guy who has loved books all my life (perhaps to excess) and entered the trade in my "middle years" to see what I could make of it. And I'm still finding out. My inventory appears here on AbeBooks and on my own website ? www.readinkbooks.com. Come on in! Howard Prouty, prop.

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ReadInk, ABAA/IOBA
CA, U.S.A.

Terms of Sale:

All orders will be processed promptly and shipped within 48 hours, barring unforeseen circumstances. We grade our books conservatively (Fine being our highest grade, used only for books with no discernible flaws) and package them liberally: most hardcover books are sent in boxes, securely wrapped and cushioned, and with the dust jacket (if present) protected by a new mylar cover. We provide a concise, accurate description of the condition of every book (and a scanned image of the actual book on ...

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Shipping Terms:

We offer free Media Mail shipping for all domestic (U.S.) orders, and endeavor to keep our Priority Mail rates as reasonable as possible. International shipping in most instances will be via USPS First Class International mail, at the posted rates. Only on rare occasions do we request additional shipping charges, when warranted by the weight or value of the book. Our first priority always is TOP-QUALITY PACKAGING, for MAXIMUM PROTECTION of your book, and we will never compromise on this point.

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