De Figuris Veneris

Paris: Charles Hirsch, 1906. Hardcover. Orig. brown boards and lighter brown cloth quarter spine, front illustration on paper. Orig. intact cloth ties. Near fine. 24.5 X 30 cm. Limited edition, copy 118 of 175 copies. De figuris Veneris is an anthology of ancient Greek and ancient Roman writings on erotic topics, discussed objectively and classified and grouped by subject. Each illustration with French text taken from classical authors including Ovide, Platon, Suetone et al. The brief text on semi-clear tissue is attached to the illustration with a brief explication of the image. A graduate of Académie des Beaux-Arts his reputation as artist established, and he received many commissions to illustrate both major authors and the so-called "galante literature" of the day, a form of erotica. Some of the erotica herein curiosly French, depicts the usual or unusual positions with the participants [amusingly, or dumb fun] wearing shoes and/or sox.