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THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
[BURTON, Richard Francis (1821-1890)]. The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana. London and Benares: for the Hindoo Kama Shastra Society, 1883.
Details
[BURTON, Richard Francis (1821-1890)]. The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana. London and Benares: for the Hindoo Kama Shastra Society, 1883.
7 parts in one volume, 8o (240 x 150 mm). Title-page printed in red and black. (Some light spotting.) Later blue half calf (expertly rebacked, corners renewed).
RARE FIRST EDITION OF BURTON'S KAMA SUTRA. ONE OF ONLY 250 COPIES. The Kama Shastra Society had a membership of two: Burton and "Bunny" Arbuthnot, a close friend since their days in India in the 1850s and a fellow student of Hindu erotic literature. The Obscene Publications Act of 1857 applied only to publicly circulated material; the "Society" circumvented its strictures and its publications were anonymous. But it was short-lived, commencing with this work and ending with Burton's death in 1890. The Benares and, later, Cosmopoli imprints were merely a ruse to conceal the true place of publication. As early as 1923, Penzer noted that "the edition in parts was soon exhausted, and is now practically unobtainable." Penzer p.163; Casada 83; Spink 83.
7 parts in one volume, 8o (240 x 150 mm). Title-page printed in red and black. (Some light spotting.) Later blue half calf (expertly rebacked, corners renewed).
RARE FIRST EDITION OF BURTON'S KAMA SUTRA. ONE OF ONLY 250 COPIES. The Kama Shastra Society had a membership of two: Burton and "Bunny" Arbuthnot, a close friend since their days in India in the 1850s and a fellow student of Hindu erotic literature. The Obscene Publications Act of 1857 applied only to publicly circulated material; the "Society" circumvented its strictures and its publications were anonymous. But it was short-lived, commencing with this work and ending with Burton's death in 1890. The Benares and, later, Cosmopoli imprints were merely a ruse to conceal the true place of publication. As early as 1923, Penzer noted that "the edition in parts was soon exhausted, and is now practically unobtainable." Penzer p.163; Casada 83; Spink 83.