Autumn 2002

(Details from Carstens Argonautes)

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Baxt, George.  A Queer Kind of Death.  New York, St. Martins, 1979. Advanced proof.  Fine in fine printed wraps, 249 pages.  A reissue of the 1966 edition. 

$50

Baxt, George. A Queer Kind of Love a Pharoah Love Mystery.  New York, Penzler, 1994.  Advanced proof.  Fine in fine paper wraps, 279 pages. 

$45

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Beckford, William.  Life at Fonthill 1807-1822 with Interludes in London and Paris From the Correspondence of William Beckford Translated and Edited by Boyd Alexander.  London, Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957.  First edition, first printing. Very fine in very fine dust jacket, 352 pages. Inscribed by Boyd on the f.e.p.  Interesting collection of letters mainly involving Beckford's shopping sprees--think Liberace with taste. 

$85

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Cartens, Asmus Jacques.  (1754-1798)   Les Argonautes Selon Pindare, Orphee et Apollonius de Rhodes Rome, 1799.  Oblong  folio, 28 by 38cm, bound in three-quarters leather and paper covered boards, leather and gilt title label on front board.  Front and rear board detached, damp stains to the engraved title page and first 8 plates--covering about one-third of the right hand image area of the first plate to start and diminishing steadily there after, all other 16 plates fresh and clean.  Elaborate watermarked very delicate paper.

A wonderful collection of 24 large copper plates engraved by Joseph Koch after drawings by Carstens with very strong homoerotic/Uranian under currents.  Cartens spend his last decade in Rome producing Neo-Classical art influenced strongly by Winckhelmann’s theories on human (mainly male) beauty.  An extreme scarce work, only two copies are held by German libraries, one in the US at Yale, and the Italian NUC shows no holdings in Italian libraries. 

[sold]

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Dillard, Gavin. In The Flesh. Number one of 38 signed limited edition copies (the exact number issued is not known, but this is the only copy I've come across). Fine in a black cloth covered clam shell box, 289 pages with a Greg Gorman photo of Dillard laid in.

The unexpurgated version of Dillard's blow by blow description of Hollywood and the stars of both legit and blue films. Find out exactly how big some of the moguls really are.

$750

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Esser, Kevin. Something Like Happiness Amsterdam, Acolyte Press, 1993. Fine in fine paper illustrated wraps by Krolis. First edition, 208 pages. One of the scarer Esser titles.

<$75

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Finders, Karl. Up Daddy A Love Story. New York, Travelers Companion, 1971. First edition, fine in good wraps with creases, 215 pages. Norman listing number 1990. Certainly not Eric Segal and a must have title for collectors of bad writing and banned books (well at least in Alabama).

[sold]

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Fleuret, Fernand. Le Carquois du Sieur Louvigne du Dezart... Paris, Aux Editions du Monde, 1923 Very fine, bound in three-quarters dark green leather with raised bands and gilt decorated spine panels, 290 by 205mm. A very attractive hand-marbled paper covers the rest of the boards. Number 182 of 233 copies, (1), engraved title page, title page in red and black, 126, (2). Lavishly illustrated throughout with very naughty head and tail pieces and vignettes--fruit baskets of phallic designs, etc. Also contains four full sized engravings of an even naughtier nature with some slight off sets to the facing pages--of note are the man and teenager and goat and the act of sodomy slyly inserted into the drawing of the drunken Noah. Extremely uncommon edition, no OCLC, COPAC, BL, or Bibliotheque Nationale holdings.

$950

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Herlihy, James Leo. A Story That Ends With a Scream Advanced uncorrected proofs. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1967. Mint condition in yellow paper wraps, string bound with a white thick chord, bottom seal unbroken, 300 by 175mm, about 200 pages on coated paper.

$225

Herlihy, James Leo. The Sleep of Baby Filberston and Other Stories. New York, Dutton, 1959. First edition, first printing. Very good in very good dust jacket, 190 pages. Herlihy's first book. Illustrated by Tom Keogh. Inscribed by Herlihy on the f.e.p. "For Gary Olivo GBA winner 1965. May your life be one long trophy. Fond regards James Leo Herlihy GBA winner 1950." Dust jacket blurbs by Nelson Algren, Anias Nin, and Frederick Prokosch, among others. Young listing 1772.

$350

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Johnson, Gordon. Out Of The Men's Room Options For The Male Homosexual. New York, Barnes, 1979. Bound galley. Fine in slightly sun faded wraps. Promotional material addressed to Gay Sunshine laid in.

$55

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Kirstein, Lincoln. Ballet Alphabet A Primer for Laymen. New York, Kamin, 1939. Very fine in fine illustrated paper wraps (slight bump to lower right hand corner). Illustrated with 4 line drawings by Paul Cadmus of mainly young men in tights doing splits. Very uncommon.

$225

Kirstein, Lincoln. Dance. New York, Putnam, 1935. First edition, first printing. Very fine in blue cloth covered boards with sun faded spine and edges, 369 pages. Lavishly illustrated with black and white plates. Ex Libras Carl Van Vechten with his whimwical fiddler cat and naked black fan dancer bookplate on the f.e.p.

$175

Kirsten, Lincoln. Rhymes of a PFC. New York, New Directions, 1964. First edition, first printing. Very fine in very fine dust jacket (slight sunning to spine). Bound in three-quarters leather and cloth covered boards with a real PFC chevron on the front panel. Squarish 8vo, 179 pages. Number 4 of only 100 copies printed. Signed by Lincoln on the limitation page. Also inscribed by him to his publisher on the f.e.p. A stunning collection of homoerotic poems steeped in the miasmatic muck of war. Young 2154.

$400.

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Kuzmin, M. A. (Mikhail Alekseevich), 1872-1936. Zanaveshennye kartinki Amsterdam, 1920. One of 307 copies Good condition, 34 pages, 250 by 205mm, paper wraps, edge wear and very light damp stain to the lower margins of 8 pages not affecting text also some smudge marks to the margins, again not affectin text. Illustrated with black and white line drawings by Vladimira Milashevskago. An extremely rare collection of poems celebrating the penis and the joys of homo love penned by a pioneering Russian gay author.

[sold]

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Lon of New York. An excellent silver geletin print by Lon of New York of Glenn Bishop, 8 by 10, tape remains to top verso edge, very good condiiton some light surface defects visible only at an angle. (Scan doe not do justice)

$650

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A very important set of four Thomas Mann works annotated by Ernst Bertram. For over a quarter of a century, Ernst Bertram was the object of Thomas Mann's, perhaps unrequited, love as well as one of his closest literary collaborators and a friend of the family. The relationship bitterly ended (primarily caused by Mann) in the mid 1930's as Bertram became more closely associated with the "ideals" of the Third Reich. During the heyday of their relationship, however, Bertram was a major source of psychological support for Mann and the inspiration for various parts of Mann's fictional characters. It should also be noted that Bertram was the long time real homosexual lover of Ernst Gloeckner, a major figure in Stefan George's inner circle (the group's official calligrapher) and along with Bretram, an early member of the Der Kreis organization. The following four works, although lacking in any "modern first, fine in fine dust jacket" values, are perhaps the most interesting addition to the Mann literary canon seen in many a year.

Buddenbrooks. Berlin, S Fischer, 1906. Two volumes in one, a later edition of Mann's first novel. Fine in fine gilt and cream decorated boards. A presentation copy from Gloeckner to Bertram with Bertram's neat pencil notations throughout.

Tristan. Berlin, S. Fischer, 1906. Later edition published in the same year as the first edition of the set of six novellas. Near fine in decorated boards. Bertram's copy with his pencil notations throughout.

Bilse und Ich. Munchen, Bonsels, 1906. Third printing, very good in paper covered boards. Bertram's copy with his signature on the half title and sparse pencil notations throughout.

and most importantly,

Aus Gewahlte Erzahlungen. Berlin, Fischer, 1948. Fine in fine paper wraps. A collection of stories which includes Death in Venice. Again, Bertram's copy with very extensive pencil notations to the Death in Venice, perhaps the work Bertram felt most associated with and one that appears to have drawn him like a moth to a flame even after the passage of so many years of one-sided Mannian animosity.

$12,500 for the collection of four books

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McCavley, Stephen. The Man of the House a Novel. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1996. Advance uncorrected proofs. Mint in mint paper wraps, 287 pages

$45

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Cover from Jean's No. 19

Moody, Roger. Indecent Assault. London, Word is Out, 1980. Third printing, fine in lightly scuffed paper wraps, 64 pages. The true account of a Uranian Orwellean nightmare. $45--prime fodder for an article or two in--

Paidika A highbrow unillustrated journal of Uranianism. Amsterdam. Issues 2 through 4, volume 2 issues 1 through 3, and volume 3 issues 1 through 3. Per each $50 or $400 for the set of nine.

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More European decadence. Twenty five photo books, circa late 1970s to late 1980s. Folio size, 30 by 20cm, all paper wraps, condition of wraps good to very good. Mostly French, various photographers. All frontal nudity more or less censored with white or black markings. No sexual activity depicted but lots of buns in the sun fun. [sold]

1. Sommernachtstraum, Stockholm, 1988, 32 leaves of plates.

2. Les Garcons, 24 leaves of plates

3. Legende de Chris, 18 leaves of plates--censors missed a few here

4. Le Club des 5 Yogi, 34 leavesw of plates

5. Un Jeune Exhibitionniste, 22 leaves of plates

6. Jean's No. 19, 18 leaves of plates

7. Les Garcons Los Maier, 32 leaves of plates

8. Les Enfants de Rebelo, 33 leaves of plates

9. L'ete des Mes 14 ans, 24 leaves of plates

10. Peter et Thomas, 34 leaves of plates

11. Les Enfants d'Akki, 1986, 35 leaves of plates

12. Petits Marins Au Port by Christopher Baltus, 30 leaves of plates and line drawings

13. Les Petits Modeles No. 2 by Jean-Manuel Vuillaume, 55 leaves of plates with some slipping past the magic marker

14. Caten A Photos No. 2, 24 leaves of plates

15. Les Apprentis Pirates de "Big Old Joe" by Hajo Prtil, 1988, 24 leaves of plates

16. Des Garcons de Toutes, 30 leaves of plates

17. Jean's No. 18, 18 leaves of plates

18. Paradis Naturisto No. 1, 32 leaves of plates

19. Paradis Naturisto No. 2, 32 leaves of plates

20. Paradis Naturisto No. 3, 32 leaves of plates

21. La Recreeation, 29 leaves of plates

22. Petit Loup, 1988, 18 leaves of plates

23. L'Enfant Impossible, 20 leaves of plates

24. Boys International, 1977, 22 leaves of plates

25. Claude, 19 leaves of plates.

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Plato Il Liside di Platone de L'amicita Tradottoda Francesco Colombi et il Forore Poetico... Venice, 1548. Complete, 100 by 155mm, (1), title page, (6), 32 leaves numbered on the recto only, (1). Woodblock initial letters. Very fine condition with no worming, tears, stains, etc. Bound in later speckled paper covered boards. Only two Italian NUC holdings and holdings at BL and two US (Yale and Harvard). One of the earliest separate printings in Italian of Plato's Uranian dislogue on friendship.

[sold]

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"We are weak because it never enters into our thoughts we could be strong"

Salzmann, Christian Gothilf (1744-1811). Gymnastics for Youth or a Practical Guide to Healthful and Amusing Excerises for the Use of Schools.. London, J. Johnson, 1800. Fine in fine leather covered boards, xvi, 433. Complete with all ten plates (including one folding). The birth of the German physical fittness craze and associated homoerotic impluses can be traced in part to this insemination by Salzmann.

Text block and plates in very fine condition with no trace of foxing, tears, etc. Attractively bound in period full tree calf with gilt spine decorations, front hinge split and slightly tender.

The plates are attributed to William Blake. Although unsigned, "their style shows strong evidence of Blake's work"--Geoffrey Keynes, Bibliography of William Blake, 1921, page 248. In the later 1803 American edition of this work, the plates were crudely copied by American engravers--losing some of the more (ahem) detailed aspects of the orginials. Extremely rare with only two US holdings--Harvard and UCLA.

$2,400

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(Smut). A Gay Tale of Bisexual Passion--The Love for both Men and Women.. Zepher Press, 1950. Copy 79 of an unknown number printed. Mimeogrpahed sheets, 30 pages with crease to title page. A fine example of a Tijuana Bible publication. The title is a bit of misnomers, since the women in this guy's life are very few and far between since he spends most of his time with stable boys and reformatory guards.

$150

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Vilmore, Daniel. A Novel Tobey's Lie Advanced uncorrected reader's proof. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1995. Very fine in very fine paper wraps, 271 pages.

$45

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Wescott, Glenway. A Calendar of Saints for Unbelievers. Paris, Harrison, 1932. Mint condition with uncut pages, bound in full black cloth covered boards with gilt decorated spine. Original glassine wraps, gray paper covered slipcase. A wonderful production, one of 695 copies, signed on the limitation page by Westcott (although not called for), 232 by 150mm, 237 pages.

Illustrated through out with drawings by Paval Tchelitchew. Of particular note are two explicit homoerotic drawings. One a full frontal shower scene, the other a sixty-niner between the Gemini twins. These two drawings are not mentioned in any of the normal descriptions usually found for this work.

$500

Wescott, Glenway. The Dream of Audubon Scenario of a ballet in three scenesA carbon typed manuscript, 13 pages, 1940. In response to the war in Europe (most likely the fall of France), Glen penned this ballet scenerio as an expression of his grief. In brief, James Audubon, the supposed son of Louis XVI, falls into a deep reverie in his cabin in the swamps of Louisiana. While lost in never never land, he dreams of meeting his decpiatated parents, dances with a brace of half naked Cajun hunks, plays boomerang with a dead black swan, and is finally brought back to the land of the living by a gaggle of of extinct birds wearing diamond tiaras. I don't think was ever produced and no record exists of it ever having been published. Not a copyrighted item, so you have the chance of setting dance back 200 years. Obviously not his forte--a true embarrassment most likely fueled by one too many martoonis. May have been distributed only to his friends, who wisely passed over it in their memories.

$950

Westcott, Glenway and Monroe Wheeler. New York, 1937. A very tasteful Christmas card from Glen and Monroe for the 1937 season. Mint condition, 16mo, hand made Japanese paper, deckled edges with a four page printed description of their farm in New Jersey during the Winter months.

$125

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Whitman, Walt. Calamus Poemes...Revision Nouvelle de Leon Bazalgette. Geneva, Editions du Sablier, 1919. Very fine in very fine paper wraps with the original glassine, 120 by 170mm. One of 760 copies on hand laid paper, 101 pages, (8). Illustrated with 10 homoerotic linoleum prints by Frans Masereel. Extemely scarce.

$750

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"..loving Beauty much, (he) loved Live too well.."

(Oscar Wilde) Le Galliene, Richard. On Some Recent Editions of Oscar Wilde. Privately printed, 1921. One of only 25 copies on four folded hand laid paper. Mint condition in its original paper envelope with the upper hinge of the envelope partially split, 22 by 16cm. Extremely rare with only two US holdings--Yale and UCLA.

$750

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Willingham, Calder. End As A Man. New York, Vanguard, 1947. First edition, first printing. Very fine in very fine first state dust jacket (blank back panel), 350 pages. Signed by Calder on the f.e.p. Clipping from the New York Times laid in, causing a bit of off setting to front end sheets. Article deals with the legal hearing about this book brought by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (before they rolled up their tents and moved to Afganstan).

$475

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Click here for the Summer 2001 catalogue