The Secret Cabinet of History Peeped Into By a Doctor. Translated By W. C. Costello and Preceded By a Letter of M. Victorien Sardou, Member of the French Academy. First Series

Charles Carrington, 1897-01-01. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No DJ - as issued. Vintage Original Hardcover, Trade Edition Stated First Series 1897 Charles Carrington Paris 239 pages plus 7 page index and 4 pages of advertisements for other books. Very Good, no DJ - as issued. Minor shelf/edge wear to navy blue cloth with decorative blind-stamped borders and gilt spine titles - corners sharp with a touch of wear to the two bottom corners. No previous owner markings - all pages are clean, unmarked and unevenly cut. Top edge gilt (TEG). Blue endpapers. Previous owner has pasted a small ad (3/4" by 3") from an antique book catalog (that describes the book as being rare) on the inside front cover at the top left corner. This is the Trade Edition printed on "Van Gelder azure hand-made paper" as stated on the page preceding the preface. The publisher, Charles Carrington (1857–1921) was a leading British publisher of erotica in late-19th- and early-20th-century Europe. He was notorious for producing legitimate literary works to mask his activities making erotica and pornography. This is certainly an unusual book, described in the ad previously mentioned above - "In which certain information regarding the personal hygiene of Royalty, not generally accorded the privilege of publication in ordinary books, is printed". Or in modern parlance, disturbing and sometimes disgusting essays on the unusual medical conditions of notable and royal personages of the time. A very handsome vintage First Edition of a most unusual book.LOC SSS-18