Historical Erotic Epistolary from the 1910s with More than One Hundred Original Color and Black and White Drawings

Hardcover. A unique look at human sexuality and literary Romantic love in the early part of the twentieth century during the colonial and modernist eras. As noted by the famous French philosopher Michel Foucault in his "repressive hypothesis," the age of Victorian repression clearly produced non-traditional expressions of lust. The epistolary consists of an original diary and correspondence between two lovers from 1912 to approximately 1916. It is written primarily in English with some excerpts in Italian. The primary diarist is presumed to be an Italian officer during the colonial era of the early 20th century involving Italy, Britain and the "Mad Mullah" in the Benadir region of East Africa. The other correspondent is probably a British lady living in Tuscany at the time. The epistolary includes more than one hundred original drawings of various sexual acts, most of which are in color and include detailed descriptions of the scenes depicted. Some images are watercolors, some pastels, and others are simple pencil sketches. The size and type of paper used varies greatly. The letters were bound at least twice. The current binding is full red calf with raised bands on the spine, and gilt decorations on the cover and the spine. The volume comes in a custom made marbled paper slipcase and it measures approximately 20 x 30 cm. The first and last few pages have some stains but most of the letters and drawings are remarkably well preserved. Scans of some of the drawings and pages are available on request. ; Curiosa.