World Food Books

Think of The Self Speaking : Harry Smith — Selected Interviews

1999, English
Softcover, 186 pages, 15.5 x 23 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Cityful Press / Seattle

$110.00 - In stock -

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First, only edition of "Think of The Self Speaking : Harry Smith — Selected Interviews", published in 1998 by Cityful Press and long out-of-print. In this incredible collection you will find the flavour and texture of experimental filmmaker, music anthologist, and enigmatic polymath Harry Smith’s conversation, his rambling, obscure, luminous, cantankerous genius. This collection of interviews spans Harry Smith's long and influential life in American arts and letters. They cover a quarter-century, touching on the full range of Smith's activity as a groundbreaking experimental filmmaker, obsessive collector, folk music anthologist, visionary painter, student of Native American lore, anthropologist, cosmographer, alchemist, hermetic scholar, occultist, autodidact, classic American eccentric, and all-around explorer of the possibilities of human consciousness and creativity. Jordan Belson writes, "THINK OF THE SELF SPEAKING is the next best thing to being with Harry himself-perhaps better, certainly safer. The interviews are remarkably similar to his collage films. A brilliant mind unhinged." Includes an introduction by Allen Ginsberg.

Very Good copy with only light shelf wear.

File under: Harry Smith Allen Ginsberg Allen Ginsberg Rani Singh Cityful Press / Seattle Theory / Essay Sound / Music Film / Video Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Counterculture Occult / Esoterica Out-of-print / Rare Art

Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz Anno 1459
by Anonymous (Johann Valentin Andreae)

1616 / ?, German
Hardcover, 150 pages, 15.8 x 12.5 cm
Reprint (date unknown),
Published by Kentaur / Rotterdam

$70.00 - In stock -

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Lovely rare clothbound reprint of the first 1616 edition of The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459), first published anonymously at Strasbourg in 1616 and attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae. It is one of the three foundational Rosicrucian manifestos, inspiring several Rosicrucian organizations such as Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (1750s–1790s) and Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (1865–present). An extraordinary allegorical romance unfolding over seven days, it follows Christian Rosenkreutz through a mysterious castle and a series of initiatory trials, purifications, death, resurrection and ascension surrounding the alchemical marriage of a king and queen. Rich in biblical, alchemical and mystical symbolism—including the Monas Hieroglyphica of John Dee—it became a seminal text for Rosicrucianism and an enduring source of inspiration for alchemists, poets and occult thinkers.

Reprint of the 1616 edition by the humanist publisher and printer based in Strasbourg during the Renaissance (c. 1551–1616), L. Zetzners. He and his heirs are famous for printing foundational Renaissance texts spanning alchemy, medicine, literature, and theology. This republication, published in Holland, date unknown, reproduces all the original Fraktur typeset L. Zetzners content.

Very Good copy. Previous owner's name penned to first blank.

File under: Johann Valentin Andreae Kentaur / Rotterdam Occult / Esoterica Fiction / Poetry Theory / Essay Out-of-print / Rare Ancient / Medieval / Gothic

Iconophages: A History of Ingesting Images
by Jérémie Koering

2024, English
Softcover, 480 pages, 23 x 15.4 cm
Published by Zone Books / New York

$49.00 - In stock -

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Translated by Nicholas Huckle

Eating and drinking images may seem like an anomalous notion but, since antiquity, in the European and Mediterranean worlds, people have swallowed down frescoes, icons, engravings, eucharistic hosts stamped with images, heraldic wafers, marzipan figures, and other sculpted dishes. Either specifically made for human consumption or diverted from their original purpose so as to be ingested, these figured artifacts have been not only gazed upon but also incorporated—taken into the body—as solids or liquids.

How can we explain such behavior? Why take an image into one’s own body, devouring it at the risk of destroying it, consuming rather than contemplating it wisely from a distance? What structures of the imagination underlie and justify these desires for incorporation? What are the visual configurations offered up to the mouth, and what are their effects? What therapeutic, religious, symbolic, and social functions can we attribute to these forms of relations with icons? These are a few of the questions raised in this investigation into iconophagy.

Iconophages aims to retrace, for the first time, the history of iconophagy. Jérémie Koering examines this unexplored facet of the history of images through an interdisciplinary approach that ranges across art history, cultural and material history, anthropology, philosophy, and the history of the body and the senses. He analyzes the human investment, in terms of culture and imagination, at stake in this seemingly paradoxical way of experiencing images. Beyond the hidden knowledge unearthed here, these pages bring to light a new way of understanding images, just as they illuminate the occasionally outlandish relations we maintain with them.

“Brilliantly written, this groundbreaking study combines the vividness of historical case studies with the lucidity of philosophical reflection… Iconophages makes a fundamental contribution to a comprehensive anthropology of the image.” —Peter Geimer
“This long-awaited transhistorical study of iconophagy is remarkable for its scope. With eloquence and erudition, Koering marshals an astonishing array of materials often seen as archaic, marginal, or primitive to demonstrate the ubiquity of image ingestion within the western tradition. Taking us far beyond the default ocularcentrism of art history, Iconophages engages current concerns with embodiment and materiality in a study with significant implications for the consumption and conception of images in and before modernity.” — Finbarr Barry Flood, Director of Silsila: Center for Material Histories and William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of the Humanities, New York University

“Iconophages is a tremendously entertaining book, an exploration of a permeable boundary that has developed between recent art history, anthropology, and religious studies, permitting histories that can encompass living images: images that speak, ‘operate,’ kill, and eat. After an opening look at Egyptian and Greek practices, Koering goes on a tour of edible images in Europe. He considers representations of Saint Catherine drinking blood (‘the best of sauces’ according to a sixteenth-century source) directly from Christ’s wounds, the unappetizing Sicilian pastries called ossa dei morti (‘bones of the dead’), the idea of drinking the Virgin’s milk, and iron presses for figured Eucharistic wafers.” — James Elkins, Chair of the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

“Iconophages invites us to take a new and different look at the objects of art history. Far beyond our common understanding of images as primarily visual phenomena, Koering reveals a fascinating practice of touching, tasting, and ingesting images – from magical practices to modern art, from the sacred to the profane, from the natural to the supranatural world. Brilliantly written, this groundbreaking study combines the vividness of historical case studies with the lucidity of philosophical reflection. By opening up hitherto little-known aesthetic, religious, and cultural dimensions of visual artifacts, Iconophages makes a fundamental contribution to a comprehensive anthropology of the image.” — Peter Geimer, Director, German Center for Art History, Paris

File under: Jérémie Koering Zone Books / New York Art Theory / Essay Renaissance / Neoclassicism / Romanticism Ancient / Medieval / Gothic Occult / Esoterica Anthropology Philosophy

The Dedalus Book of Medieval Literature: the Grin of the Gargoyle
Edited & Translated by Brian Murdoch

1995, English
Softcover,‎ 259 pages,‎ 22.8 x 15.2 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Dedalus / Cambs

$35.00 - In stock -

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First 1995 edition.

Brian Murdoch provides an alternative view of the Middle Ages, showing the anarchy and decadence which lurked below the surface of a devout and conformist society. The grinning gargoyle, which mocked the solemnity of Gothic cathedrals, symbolises the violence, depravity and irreverence inherent in man which could not be suppressed by the church.

Texts translated from the prose, chronicles and verse of the period, such as the Trial of Gilles de Rais, Boccaccio's Decameron, I Have a Gentil Cok, A Black Mass and Metrical Verses on the Subject of his Prick, reveal the wilder aspects of medieval man. Brian Murdoch has assembled and translated texts from Medieval Latin, Old French, Italian, Scots Gaelic, Cornish, Old and Middle English, Old Irish and Welsh which will redefine the Middle Ages for the modern reader.

Brian Murdoch is Professor of German at the University of Stirling and a former Visiting Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he delivered the Waynflete Lecture in 1994. Primarily a specialist in medieval and renaissance literature (German, Latin, Celtic), he has also written on the literature of the world wars, and has translated classical and medieval Latin as well as medieval and modern German texts. He is the editor of The Dedalus Book of Medieval Literature and has translated for Dedalus, with his son Brian, the texts of The Dedalus Book of Roman Decadence.

VG–NF copy with block tanning.

File under: Brian Murdoch Dedalus / Cambs Symbolism / Decadence / Fin de siècle Out-of-print / Rare Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Transgressive / Visceral / Abject Eros Ancient / Medieval / Gothic Occult / Esoterica

The Great God Pan
by Arthur Machen

1993, English
Softcover, 126 pages, 13.5 x 21.5 cm
Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Creation Books / London

$60.00 - In stock -

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"An incoherent nightmare of sex..." That was The Westminster Gazette's description of Arthur Machen's first book, The Great God Pan, upon its publication in 1894. An unwittingly complimentary description for one of the greatest works of weird horror and decadence, in which Machen unfurls with his singular eye for the bizarre and macabre the tale of a young girl cursed by her unnatural parentage to become a creature of shape-shifting polysexual demi-human evil.

Wonderful collectable 1993 Creation Books reprint, with illustrations throughout by the great Austin Osman Spare.

Arthur Machen (1863 – 1947) was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan (1890; 1894) has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror, with Stephen King describing it as "Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language."

Very Good copy, light wear.

File under: Austin Osman Spare Arthur Machen Creation Books / London Fiction / Poetry Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Out-of-print / Rare Eros Occult / Esoterica Symbolism / Decadence / Fin de siècle

The Dedalus Book of Surrealism: The Identity of Things
Edited by Michael Richardson

1993, English
Softcover, 280 pages, 20 x 12.5 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Dedalus / Cambs

$35.00 - Out of stock

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In the the public mind surrealism is associated primarily with its visual imagery: and this has served to obscure the richness of surrealist contributions in other spheres. This has been particularly so in respect of its rich storytelling tradition...Surrealism draws on older traditions of storytelling, most notably the fairy tale and the Gothic novel...it seeks to capture the mysterious essence of reality and to embody myth and the forces set free by desire.

"The range is impressive, and includes several women...Gisele Prassinos...Leonora Carrington and Meret Oppenheim; contemporary writers like Rikki Ducornet. Richardson makes available in English several early treasures, such as Salvador Dali's Reverie and Pierre Unik's Long Live the Bride, a wonderful tale of mistaken identity and metonymical transfer of meaning." —Fiona Bradley in the Times Literary Supplement

"'I went to fetch my car, but my chauffeur, who has no sense at all, had just buried it,' writes Leonora Carrington in this captivating collection of tales from 17 languages."—The Observer

VG copy.

File under: Leonora Carrington Meret Oppenheim Mary Low Marcel Mariën Philippe Soupault Andre Breton André Breton Meret Oppenheim Gisèle Prassinos Agustín Espinosa Anneliese Hager François Valorbe Irène Hamoir Jean Ferry Jindřich Štyrský Juan Breá Léo Malet Leonora Carrington Marcel Noll Mary Low Paul Nougé Pierre Unik Rikki Ducornet Marcel Mariën Julien Gracq Benjamin Péret Raymond Queneau René Crevel Dedalus / Cambs Surrealism Eros Dada Out-of-print / Rare Art Fiction / Poetry Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Occult / Esoterica

Transcendental Magic
by Eliphas Lévi; translation by A.E. Waite

1986, English
Softcover, 438 pages, 21.7 x 13.5 cm
Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Rider / UK

$65.00 - Out of stock

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Scarce 1986 Rider edition.

This is the foundational text of the nineteenth-century occult revival—the definitive English translation of Eliphas Lévi’s masterwork, Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie. Universally recognized as one of the most influential magical treatises ever compiled, it establishes magic not as a collection of dark superstitions, but as a disciplined, universal science of the human will and imagination.Divided into two distinct parts, the first half outlines the Doctrine—the theoretical, philosophical principles underpinning magical work. Here, Lévi masterfully synthesizes Christian mysticism, Hermeticism, alchemy, and the Qabalah into a cohesive spiritual tradition. The second half provides explicit instructions for the Ritual. It guides the seeker through the preparation of sacred instruments, ceremonial environments, and the rites governing divination, spells, and necromancy.

Enriched by Lévi's thrilling personal accounts—such as his legendary evocation of Apollonius of Tyana in London—this volume also serves as the historic link that first integrated the Tarot into Western ceremonial practice.

The translation and notes by A.E. Waite are immaculate. Waite, a noted occult scholar of his day, taught the theory and practice of magic in both the Hermetic and Rosicrucian orders. Due to the high calibre of both author and editor, this book maintains its pre-eminent position in the literature of the magic arts.

VG copy. Foxing/tanning to edges.

File under: Eliphas Levi Arthur Edward Waite Rider / UK Occult / Esoterica Out-of-print / Rare Ancient / Medieval / Gothic

Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult Revival
by Christopher McIntosh

1972 / 1975, English
Softcover, 238 pages, 21.5 x 14 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Rider and Company / London

$65.00 - Out of stock

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Scarce first 1972 edition, second 1975 printing, of 'Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult Revival', a seminal academic study by historian Christopher McIntosh, which explores the profound impact of the 19th-century French magician on modern Western esotericism, published by Rider & Company.

Eliphas Lévi is one of the key figures of Western occultism and the man of whom Aleister Crowley claimed to be the rein-carnation. This is the first full study in English of the life and writings of this colourful man and the occult revival of which he was part. This book not only brings out the sensational aspects of this era, but also analyses its importance in the history of occultism, giving much detailed information on some hitherto little-known magical orders. It also provides, for the first time, an objective and sympathetic assessment of Lévi's magical teaching.

•.. he was a fascinating character. McIntosh brings him to life in this fluent scholarly work.'–Psychic News

"This is a clearly-written and sympathetic account of the life and times of one of the most influential men in the history of occultism. Very few personal details have hitherto been published in English about Eliphas Lévi..."–Prediction

'The lively curiosity... is one which in my case Mr Mcintosh has satisfied and excited further with this serious, unsensational study of the arcane side of our pursuit and exercise of power.'–Country Life

VG copy. Light wear to boards.

File under: Aleister Crowley Eliphas Lévi Eliphas Levi Christopher McIntosh Rider and Company / London Theory / Essay Occult / Esoterica Out-of-print / Rare

Modern Ritual Magic: The Rise of Western Occultism
by Francis King

1989, English
Softcover, 223 pages, 21.5 x 13.5 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Prism Press / Dorset

$50.00 - Out of stock

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First Prism Press 1989 edition of Francis King's 'Modern Ritual Magic', expanded from the first 1970 Neville Spearman edition.

'This is the inside story of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and associated occult offshoots–told in its entirety for the first time. The author's researches into the conflict between W.B. Yeats and Aleister Crowley are described in detail, as well as the full story of Yeats early magical training and practices. Francis King also relates the often difficult relationship between Yeats and the influential Kabbalist, MacGregor Mathers.

However, it is not only the student of the Golden Dawn who will find this book absorbing. King also describes Rudolph Steiner's attempt to take over English occultism and links Bengali Tantricism with the magic of an American Mulatto. All the major figures in modern western magic feature in this book, which is rightly regarded as one of the major histories of the western esoteric tradition.

FRANCIS KING is also the author of Magic: the Western Tradition, Sexuality, Magic and Perversion and The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O.. He co-authored Techniques of High Magic with Stephen Skinner.

Very Good copy with tanning to block edges, no spine creasing.

File under: Aleister Crowley W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats S.L. MacGregor Mathers Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers Rudolph Steiner Francis King Prism Press / Dorset Occult / Esoterica Theory / Essay Out-of-print / Rare Eros

THE MAGICIAN, THE WITCH, AND THE LAW
by Edward Peters

1978 / 1992, English
Softcover, 218 pages, 23 x 15.2 cm
Out of print title / used / very good
Published by University of Pennsylvania Press / Philadelphia

$35.00 - In stock -

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"Drawing a distinction between medieval "magic" and early modern "witchcraft," Edward Peters argues that early medieval magic was considered a practical science, requiring study and skill. But as European society became more articulate and self-conscious, the old tradition of magic as a science became associated with heresy and sorcery. Thereafter the Middle Ages knew no safe, learned magic that was not subject to accusation of diabolism in one form or another, and the magician, like the later witch, could be punished for both spiritual and temporal offenses. Through Peters's analysis of the legal, ecclesiastical, and literary responses to this problem, magic and witchcraft are located more accurately in the cultural context of the time, providing important new insights into medieval history.

"With impressive sophistication in the handling of narrative sources Peters teases out of familiar tales of fear and fantasy a real picture of those who, in cell, court, and countryside, offered their sinister services to an increasingly credulous world."–History

VG copy, light wear to edges. 1992 edition.

File under: Edward Peters University of Pennsylvania Press / Philadelphia Occult / Esoterica Crime / Violence Out-of-print / Rare Theory / Essay Ancient / Medieval / Gothic

Troll I Norge
by Theodor Kittelsen

1974, Norwegian/English/French/German
Softcover (w. dust jacket), 56 pages, 24.5 x 18.5 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / good

$45.00 - In stock -

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Multi–lingual 1974 edition of this classic collection of Theodor Kittelsen's (1857–1914) Troll drawings, with introductory text in Norwegian/English/French/German by Odd Hølaas inspired by Kittelsen's famous illustrations. Kittelsen became one of Norway's most popular artists for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legends, especially of trolls, a national phenomenon in Norway - the terror of the woods, the divinity of the forests. Illustrated tipped–in plate to green title dust jacket over cream boards.

Good copy with tanning to dust jacket, light wear to edges, foxing.

File under: Theodor Kittelsen Odd Hølaas Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Occult / Esoterica Out-of-print / Rare

The Tears of Eros
by Georges Bataille

1989, English
Softcover, 213 pages, 20.5 x 18 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by City Lights Books / San Francisco

$120.00 - Out of stock

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First 1989 City Lights English translation, long out-of-print.

Tears of Eros is the culmination of Georges Bataille's inquiries into the relationship between violence and the sacred. Taking up such figures as Giles de Rais, Erzebet Bathory, the Marquis de Sade, El Greco, Gustave Moreau, Andre Breton, Voodoo practitioners, and Chinese torture victims, Bataille reveals their common death. This essay, illustrated with artwork from every era, was developed out of ideas explored in Death and Sexuality and Prehistoric Lascaux or the Birth of Art . In it Bataille examines death—the "little death" that follows sexual climax, the proximate death in sadomasochistic practices, and death as part of religious ritual and sacrifice. "Bataille is one of the most important writers of the century."— Michel Foucault Georges Bataille was born in Billom, France, in 1897. He was a librarian by profession. Also a philosopher, novelist, and critic he was founder of the College of Sociology. In 1959, Bataille began Tears of Eros , and it was completed in 1961, his final work. City Lights published two of his other Story of the Eye and The Impossible . Bataille died in 1962.

French essayist, philosophical theorist, and novelist, often called the "metaphysician of evil." Bataille was interested in sex, death, degradation, and the power and potential of the obscene. He rejected traditional literature and considered that the ultimate aim of all intellectual, artistic, or religious activity should be the annihilation of the rational individual in a violent, transcendental act of communion. Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, and Philippe Sollers have all written enthusiastically about his work.

Very Good copy, light wear to extremities/corners.

File under: Georges Bataille City Lights Books / San Francisco Surrealism Occult / Esoterica Eros Fetishism / BDSM Transgressive / Visceral / Abject Theory / Essay Philosophy Sociology / Politics Out-of-print / Rare Art

Le Sang et La Rose No. 2, 1969

1969, Japanese / French
Softcover, 228 pages, 23 x 18 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Tensei Shuppan / Tokyo

$110.00 - Out of stock

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Revue de Érotologie, Homosexualité, Sadisme, Masochisme, Fétischisme, Narcissime, Infantilisme, Magie, Occultisme, Humour Noir, Complexe Psychisme. What more could you ask for? Le Sang Et La Rose is a masterpiece of the Japanese underground. A groundbreaking, powerful, yet short-lived Japanese arts and literary journal published in Tokyo from late 1968—mid 1969, published in a total of four luxurious, now collectible, volumes. The first three issues were edited by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (1928—1987), a legendary, controversial Japanese novelist, art critic, translator of French writers such as Jean Cocteau, Georges Bataille and Marquis de Sade, and specialist in medieval demonology. The importance of this magazine to the Japanese avant-garde and radical culture cannot be overstated.

Born from a period of political, social and economical turmoil in Japan, Le Sang Et La Rose may be understood as a emblematic distillation and product of the late ‘60s student rebellion and anti-authoritarian underground culture. Wilfully politically subversive, the publication drew upon a vast range of perspectives - from criticism, literature, obscure esoteric sciences, art, eroticism, radical avant-garde and a historical-rooted Japanese counterculture; featuring literature, theory, art, photography, illustration and graphic design from the most innovative and subversive Japanese and international (predominately French) artists, authors and critics, spanning the themes above. As instigator, Tatsuhiko Shibusawa in effect formulated the magazine’s design to be a spiritual and political operative that would weaponize its readers minds. This stance was made clear in the 1969 manifesto text — "My 1969" — in which Shibusawa discuss' how he perceived the ‘60s as being the age of ideas, ideas as weapons, and outlined a distain towards systems of power, moralism, State oppression, sanitised and harmless liberalism, dogmatic academic sciences and an outright distrust for ideological, progressive literary scholars who advocate "freedom of expression", but have never caused friction with the judicial power. The magazine sketched out an aim to push towards a new kind of personal freedom, intellect, autonomy and moral compass. Here, the concept of ‘erotism’ — as discussed by Georges Bataille in his highly influential 1957 book "Erotism: Death and Sensuality" — acts as a critical force. 

Issue no. 2 includes photographic features by Yasuhiro Yoshioka and Yoshihiro Tatsuki, the artwork of French decorator of department store mannequins and surrealist Sunday painter Clovis Trouille, Venus in Furs erotic photo shoot by Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Yokoo Tadanori, Hans Bellmer, Leonor Fini, Alberto Martini, Félicien Rops, Rene Magritte, an incredible feature "Machine for Murder" with art by Hiroshi Nakamura, Tomi Ungerer, Koichi Tanigawa, Osamu Tsukasa, Tatsuo Ikeda, Marcel Duchamp, Seiichi Horiuchi, and others, an article on the erotica of Ukiyo-e with a fold-out colour three panel poster, the fully illustrated museum supplement on Demonology by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa with artworks throughout history, texts by Apollinaire, Burroughs, Mutsuo Takahashi, articles on laws pertaining to homosexuality, Kama Sutra, shoe fetishism, and much more.

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (1928—1987), was a well-known and controversial Japanese novelist, art critic, and translator of French writers such as Jean Cocteau, Georges Bataille and Marquis de Sade. In 1960 he and his publisher, Kyōji Ishii, were trialled for public obscenity over the publishing of Shibusawa's translation of de Sade's Juliette into the Japanese language. What was to be known as the "Sade Trial" took 9 years and although many of Japan's leading authors testified for the defense, in 1969 the Japanese Supreme Court ruled them guilty and charged. This did not deter Shibusawa, whose essays on black magic, demonology and eroticism were popular reading in Japan, and in 1981 he was awarded the 9th Izumi Kyoka Literature Prize.

Good-Very Good copy. Light general tanning/wear. Some rippling to back cover.

File under: Yoshihiro Tatsuki Clovis Trouille Tadanori Yokoo Yasuhiro Yoshioka Yokoo Tadanori Hans Bellmer Leonor Fini Alberto Martini Félicien Rops Rene Magritte Hiroshi Nakamura Tomi Ungerer Koichi Tanigawa Osamu Tsukasa Tatsuo Ikeda Marcel Duchamp Seiichi Horiuchi Yasuhiro Ishimoto Guillaume Apollinaire William S. Burroughs Georges Bataille Mutsuo Takahashi Tatsuhiko Shibusawa Tensei Shuppan / Tokyo Periodicals Eros LGBTQ+ Art Surrealism Counterculture Japanese Photography Photography Out-of-print / Rare Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Theory / Essay Occult / Esoterica Fetishism / BDSM Ero Guro / Erotic / Grotesque Philosophy Fiction / Poetry Transgressive / Visceral / Abject Symbolism / Decadence / Fin de siècle Ancient / Medieval / Gothic

Le Sang et La Rose No. 3, 1969

1969, Japanese / French
Softcover, 232 pages, 23 x 18 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Tensei Shuppan / Tokyo

$110.00 - In stock -

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Revue de Érotologie, Homosexualité, Sadisme, Masochisme, Fétischisme, Narcissime, Infantilisme, Magie, Occultisme, Humour Noir, Complexe Psychisme. What more could you ask for? Le Sang Et La Rose is a masterpiece of the Japanese underground. A groundbreaking, powerful, yet short-lived Japanese arts and literary journal published in Tokyo from late 1968—mid 1969, published in a total of four luxurious, now collectible, volumes. The first three issues were edited by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (1928—1987), a legendary, controversial Japanese novelist, art critic, translator of French writers such as Jean Cocteau, Georges Bataille and Marquis de Sade, and specialist in medieval demonology. The importance of this magazine to the Japanese avant-garde and radical culture cannot be overstated.

Born from a period of political, social and economical turmoil in Japan, Le Sang Et La Rose may be understood as a emblematic distillation and product of the late ‘60s student rebellion and anti-authoritarian underground culture. Wilfully politically subversive, the publication drew upon a vast range of perspectives - from criticism, literature, obscure esoteric sciences, art, eroticism, radical avant-garde and a historical-rooted Japanese counterculture; featuring literature, theory, art, photography, illustration and graphic design from the most innovative and subversive Japanese and international (predominately French) artists, authors and critics, spanning the themes above. As instigator, Tatsuhiko Shibusawa in effect formulated the magazine’s design to be a spiritual and political operative that would weaponize its readers minds. This stance was made clear in the 1969 manifesto text — "My 1969" — in which Shibusawa discuss' how he perceived the ‘60s as being the age of ideas, ideas as weapons, and outlined a distain towards systems of power, moralism, State oppression, sanitised and harmless liberalism, dogmatic academic sciences and an outright distrust for ideological, progressive literary scholars who advocate "freedom of expression", but have never caused friction with the judicial power. The magazine sketched out an aim to push towards a new kind of personal freedom, intellect, autonomy and moral compass. Here, the concept of ‘erotism’ — as discussed by Georges Bataille in his highly influential 1957 book "Erotism: Death and Sensuality" — acts as a critical force. 

Issue no. 3 (with cover by Bronzino, 1554) includes full-colour photographic feature by Kishin Shinoyama ("Virgin In Uniform" featuring models/artists Angela Asaoka, Akaji Maro, Yoko Ashikawa) and beautiful Shomei Tomatsu photo feature ("Scoptophilia"), the artwork of the great French cross-dressing painter-photographer Pierre Molinier, texts by Jirō Kawamura, Yumiko Kurahashi, Taruho Inagaki ("Memories of Hemorrhoids or "New Tsurezuregusa"), Akiyuki Nosaka ("Dear Penis, Goodbye"), Minoru Minamihara ("The Mystic Thought of Love in the Case of Jakob Böhme"), Takiji Kobayashi, The Fictitious Garden of Babylon by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, Tsunekazu Murata ("Witch's Ax : Concerning Heresy in Medieval Europe"), translation of Franz Kafka "Metamorphosis" illustrated by Franco Gentilini, recent research on homosexuality by film critic Jin'ichi Uekusa, Kama Sutra, more Gay (Danshoku) Japanese Theater history, Marquise de Blancvilliers by Koji Nakata, and much more.

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (1928—1987), was a well-known and controversial Japanese novelist, art critic, and translator of French writers such as Jean Cocteau, Georges Bataille and Marquis de Sade. In 1960 he and his publisher, Kyōji Ishii, were trialled for public obscenity over the publishing of Shibusawa's translation of de Sade's Juliette into the Japanese language. What was to be known as the "Sade Trial" took 9 years and although many of Japan's leading authors testified for the defense, in 1969 the Japanese Supreme Court ruled them guilty and charged. This did not deter Shibusawa, whose essays on black magic, demonology and eroticism were popular reading in Japan, and in 1981 he was awarded the 9th Izumi Kyoka Literature Prize.

Very Good copy. Light general tanning/wear.

File under: Kishin Shinoyama Shomei Tomatsu Pierre Molinier Franco Gentilini Yokoo Tadanori Angela Asaoka Akaji Maro Yoko Ashikawa Tatsuhiko Shibusawa Franz Kafka Yukio Mishima Taruho Inagaki Jun’nosuke Yoshiyuki Kôichi Iijima Jûrô Kara Ikuya Kato Minoru Yoshioka Ryûichi Tamura The Marquis de Sade Georges Bataille Andre Pieyre De Mandiargues Jirō Kawamura Yumiko Kurahashi Akiyuki Nosaka Minoru Minamihara Jakob Böhme Takiji Kobayashi Tsunekazu Murata Jin'ichi Uekusa Tensei Shuppan / Tokyo Ero Guro / Erotic / Grotesque Transgressive / Visceral / Abject Eros Fetishism / BDSM Out-of-print / Rare Periodicals Japanese Photography Surrealism Philosophy Theory / Essay Fiction / Poetry Symbolism / Decadence / Fin de siècle Ancient / Medieval / Gothic Art Counterculture Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées LGBTQ+ Occult / Esoterica Photography Sociology / Politics

Le Sang et La Rose No. 1, 1968

1968, Japanese / French
Softcover, 228 pages, 23 x 18 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Tensei Shuppan / Tokyo

$110.00 - Out of stock

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Revue de Érotologie, Homosexualité, Sadisme, Masochisme, Fétischisme, Narcissime, Infantilisme, Magie, Occultisme, Humour Noir, Complexe Psychisme. What more could you ask for? Le Sang Et La Rose is a masterpiece of the Japanese underground. A groundbreaking, powerful, yet short-lived Japanese arts and literary journal published in Tokyo from late 1968—mid 1969, published in a total of four luxurious, now collectible, volumes. The first three issues were edited by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (1928—1987), a legendary, controversial Japanese novelist, art critic, translator of French writers such as Jean Cocteau, Georges Bataille and Marquis de Sade, and specialist in medieval demonology. The importance of this magazine to the Japanese avant-garde and radical culture cannot be overstated.

Born from a period of political, social and economical turmoil in Japan, Le Sang Et La Rose may be understood as a emblematic distillation and product of the late ‘60s student rebellion and anti-authoritarian underground culture. Wilfully politically subversive, the publication drew upon a vast range of perspectives - from criticism, literature, obscure esoteric sciences, art, eroticism, radical avant-garde and a historical-rooted Japanese counterculture; featuring literature, theory, art, photography, illustration and graphic design from the most innovative and subversive Japanese and international (predominately French) artists, authors and critics, spanning the themes above. As instigator, Tatsuhiko Shibusawa in effect formulated the magazine’s design to be a spiritual and political operative that would weaponize its readers minds. This stance was made clear in the 1969 manifesto text — "My 1969" — in which Shibusawa discuss' how he perceived the ‘60s as being the age of ideas, ideas as weapons, and outlined a distain towards systems of power, moralism, State oppression, sanitised and harmless liberalism, dogmatic academic sciences and an outright distrust for ideological, progressive literary scholars who advocate "freedom of expression", but have never caused friction with the judicial power. The magazine sketched out an aim to push towards a new kind of personal freedom, intellect, autonomy and moral compass. Here, the concept of ‘erotism’ — as discussed by Georges Bataille in his highly influential 1957 book "Erotism: Death and Sensuality" — acts as a critical force. 

Issue no. 1 (1968) sets the scene perfectly, opening with Japanese author Yukio Mishima depicted as Saint Sebastian by photographer Kishin Shinoyama in a pictorial feature "Les Morts Masculines", a photographic homage to Georges Bataille that also features the photography of Eikoh Hosoe, Ikkō Narahara, Masahisa Fukase, and Osamu Hayasaki, with models including Butoh founder Tatsumi Hijikata, actor Akira Mita, author Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, actor Jin Nakayama, playwright Jūrō Kara, and others. Other features include " All Japanese are Perverse" — stories by Japanese writers including Yukio Mishima, Taruho Inagaki, Yutaka Haniya, Shinji Sōya; Henry Miller's letters to Anais Nin; a colour gallery of artwork by Belgian painter Paul Delvaux; articles on Vampire fantasy in the arts (including many original illustrations; Witches (illustrated by James Ensor); Oriental Eros, Ancient Indian poetry; Kama Sutra; female bi-sexuality; the history of gay (Danshoku) theatre in Japan; the full-colour art gallery "Masturbation Machine", featuring avant-garde artists Natsuyuki Nakanishi, Masuo Ikeda, Setsu Nagasawa, Carlos Marchioli, Kuniyoshi Kaneko, Masakazu Horiuchi, Tadanori Yokoo, Koji Suzuki, Tommy Ungerer; the fully illustrated museum supplement "Pain and Pleasure : On Torture" by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa with artworks throughout history; pornographic stories by Guillaume Apollinaire and Nicolas Restif de la Bretonne (who coined the term "Pornographer"); fiction by Pierre Morion (pseudo. André Pieyre de Mandiargues); critic Jin'ichi Uekusa on the controversial writings of Roger Peyrefitte, illustrations by Ernst, Bellmer, Labisse, Fini, Lam, and much more.

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (1928—1987), was a well-known and controversial Japanese novelist, art critic, and translator of French writers such as Jean Cocteau, Georges Bataille and Marquis de Sade. In 1960 he and his publisher, Kyōji Ishii, were trialled for public obscenity over the publishing of Shibusawa's translation of de Sade's Juliette into the Japanese language. What was to be known as the "Sade Trial" took 9 years and although many of Japan's leading authors testified for the defense, in 1969 the Japanese Supreme Court ruled them guilty and charged. This did not deter Shibusawa, whose essays on black magic, demonology and eroticism were popular reading in Japan, and in 1981 he was awarded the 9th Izumi Kyoka Literature Prize.

Good copy with some spine damage and tanning/wear.

File under: Max Ernst Léonor Fini Felix Labisse Wilfredo Lam Hans Bellmer Paul Delvaux Natsuyuki Nakanishi Masuo Ikeda Setsu Nagasawa Carlos Marchioli Kuniyoshi Kaneko Masakazu Horiuchi Tadanori Yokoo Koji Suzuki Tommy Ungerer Tatsumi Hijikata Tatsuhiko Shibusawa Eikoh Hosoe Ikkō Narahara Masahisa Fukase Osamu Hayasaki Kishin Shinoyama James Ensor Tatsuhiko Shibusawa Jin'ichi Uekusa Roger Peyrefitte Yukio Mishima Taruho Inagaki Yutaka Haniya Shinji Sōya Henry Miller Suehiro Tanemura Guillaume Apollinaire Andre Pieyre De Mandiargues Nicolas Restif de la Bretonne Jūrō Kara Tensei Shuppan / Tokyo Fiction / Poetry Japanese Photography Occult / Esoterica Philosophy Photography Art Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Fetishism / BDSM LGBTQ+ Eros Ero Guro / Erotic / Grotesque Out-of-print / Rare Periodicals Counterculture Surrealism Symbolism / Decadence / Fin de siècle Transgressive / Visceral / Abject Ancient / Medieval / Gothic

Plexus 17
October 1968

1968, French
Softcover, 162 pages, 20 x 17.8 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Planète / Paris

$50.00 - In stock -

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Issue 17 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 17, October 1968. Cover by Gilles Rimbault. Features a gallery of art by Gilles Rimbault, Didier Moreau, Georges Wolinski, photography by Emil Cadoo, actress Geneviève Grad, Anton LaVey, Emmanuelle Arsan, Yves de Saint-Agnes, Jacques Sternberg, and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age, small sticker damage to lower cover (sample image only)

File under: Georges Wolinski Gilles Rimbault Didier Moreau Emil Cadoo Geneviève Grad Emmanuelle Arsan Yves de Saint-Agnes Jacques Sternberg Anton LaVey Planète / Paris Periodicals Art Eros Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Photography Counterculture Film / Video Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Occult / Esoterica Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Drugs / Psychedelia

Plexus 29
November 1969

1969, French
Softcover, 130 pages, 20 x 17.8 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Planète / Paris

$50.00 - In stock -

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Issue 29 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 28, November 1969. Cover by Jean Coulot. Features a gallery of art by Jean Coulot, Raymond Bertrand, Tiger Tateishi, actress/model Elsa Martinelli, Pieyre de Mandiargues, Emmanuelle Arsan, André Guillois, and article on Hitler illustrated by Gérard Gachet, and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age, small sticker damage to lower cover (sample image only)

File under: Gérard Gachet Raymond Bertrand Tiger Tateishi Elsa Martinelli Jean Coulot Pieyre de Mandiargues Emmanuelle Arsan André Guillois Planète / Paris Counterculture Out-of-print / Rare Periodicals Eros Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Art Photography Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Occult / Esoterica Film / Video Drugs / Psychedelia

Plexus 26
July 1969

1969, French
Softcover, 144 pages, 20 x 17.8 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Planète / Paris

$45.00 - In stock -

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Issue 26 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 26, July 1969. Cover by Roman Cieślewicz. Features a gallery of art by Claudine Wick, Georges Wolinski, an "unprecedented document on homosexuality" an investigation by Pierre Hahn featuring contributions by Roger Peyrefitte and Michel Butor (writers), Claude Dumezil (psychoanalyst), Daniel Guérin (sociologist), Marc Oraison (priest), Roger Bastide (ethno-sociologist), André Baudry (director of "Arcadie"), Daniel Guérin, Jacques Sternberg, Hair, and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age.

File under: Roman Cieślewicz André Baudry Claudine Wick Georges Wolinski Roger Peyrefitte Michel Butor Claude Dumezil Daniel Guérin Marc Oraison Roger Bastide André BaudryDaniel Guérin Jacques Sternberg Pierre Hahn Planète / Paris Periodicals Out-of-print / Rare Counterculture Art Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Eros Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Photography Film / Video Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Occult / Esoterica LGBTQ+ Drugs / Psychedelia

Plexus 30
December 1969

1969, French
Softcover, 130 pages, 20 x 17.8 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Planète / Paris

$40.00 - In stock -

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Issue 30 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 30, December 1969. Cover by Bonneville. Features a gallery of art by Max Savy, the first ever pornography fair in Copenhagen, Contemporary art and the sexual revolution (Niki de Saint Phalle, Mel Ramos, Alina Szapocznikow, Martial Raysse, Roy Lichtenstein, Christo, Tom Wesselmann, Yves Klein, David Hockney, Richard Lindner, Bernard Rancillac, James Rosenquist, Larry Rivers, etc. by Pierre Restany, French author Catherine de Prémonville, Edgar Morin, and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age.

File under: Catherine de Prémonville Edgar Morin Max Savy Alina Szapocznikow Niki de Saint Phalle Martial Raysse Christo Yves Klein David Hockney Richard Lindner James Rosenquist Larry Rivers Roy Lichtenstein Tom Wesselmann Pierre Restany Jacques Sternberg Catherine de Prémonville Edgar Morin Planète / Paris Periodicals Out-of-print / Rare Eros Counterculture Drugs / Psychedelia Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Art Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Film / Video Photography Occult / Esoterica Philosophy Sociology / Politics Nouveau Réalisme / Zero / Kinetic Pop Art

Plexus 25
June 1969

1969, French
Softcover, 162 pages, 20 x 17.8 cm
Published by Planète / Paris

$55.00 - In stock -

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Issue 25 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 25, June 1969. Cover by Michel Plaisir. Features a gallery of art by Hans Bellmer, Yves Chaix, Jacques-Armand Cardon, Pierre Bonnard by Pierre Cabanne, erotic photography by Ica Vilander, manifestations of POSSESSION (from voodoo, Macumba, sorcery, to Surrealism, Happenings, Yoga and L.S.D.), Pieyre de Mandiargues, Jacques Sternberg, Michel Bernard, Henri Guillemin, and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age.

File under: Hans Bellmer Pierre Bonnard Michel Plaisir Ica Vilander Jacques-Armand Cardon Pierre Cabanne Pieyre de Mandiargues Jacques Sternberg Michel Bernard Henri Guillemin Planète / Paris Out-of-print / Rare Periodicals Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Eros Australian Science Fiction / Speculative Fiction Occult / Esoterica Film / Video Photography Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Counterculture Drugs / Psychedelia

Plexus 24
May 1969

1969, French
Softcover, 162 pages, 20 x 17.8 cm
Published by Planète / Paris

$35.00 - In stock -

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Issue 24 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 24, May 1969. Cover by Pierre Le Colas. Features a gallery of art by Pierre Le Colas, Modesto Roldan, Ivan Steiger, photography by Jean Clemmer, Piero Fornasetti, Roger Caillois, Robert Sheckley,
and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age.

File under: Pierre Le Colas Modesto Roldan Ivan Steiger Piero Fornasetti Jean Clemmer Jacques Sternberg Planète / Paris Periodicals Out-of-print / Rare Art Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Eros Sociology / Politics Collage / Mail Art / Xerox Art Occult / Esoterica Counterculture Photography Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction

Plexus 11

1967, French
Softcover, 168 pages (w. Leonor Fini pin–up), 20 x 17.8 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Planète / Paris

$65.00 - Out of stock

(more...)

(...less)

Issue 11 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 24, May 1969. Cover by Leonor Fini. Features a gallery of art by Leonor Fini (with beautiful colour fold–out pin–up), Maurice Henry, Christiane Sabatier, erotic photography by Sam Haskins, Japanese tattoos, interview with Paul Gebhard (American anthropologist and sexologist,) Pol Quentin, Pierre Restany, photos of French actress Dany Carrel, James Thurber, Jean Tardieu, Jean Clemmer, and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age.

File under: Leonor Fini Sam Haskins Maurice Henry Paul Gebhard Dany Carrel Pol Quentin Pierre Restany Planète / Paris Surrealism Art Painting Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Out-of-print / Rare Periodicals Counterculture Photography Eros Occult / Esoterica

Plexus 31
January 1970

1970, French
Softcover, 130 pages, 20 x 17.8 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Planète / Paris

$45.00 - Out of stock

(more...)

(...less)

Issue 31 of Plexus, an avant-garde French magazine published in Paris from 1966-1970, created as the companion publication to fantastical realist magazine Planète by prominent figures French journalist and author Louis Pauwels and fantastique fiction author Jacques Sternberg. Born from the ashes of surrealism into it's cultivated counterculture and subtitled "the uninhibited magazine", Plexus blended a psychedelic mix of erotica, fantasy, philosophy, psychedelia, literature, esoterica, filmmaking, science fiction, satirical cartoons and more. Only 37 issues total were published during its short four year run, but it made a big splash, even being prohibited to minors in 1967 after just one year of publication for its “pornographic content.” Each issue featured striking cover artwork by some of the most prominent artists of the period, along with galleries of erotic artworks, historical and contemporary – often seen only in the pages of Plexus.

Plexus, issue 31, January 1970. Cover by Felix Labisse. Features a gallery of art by Christian Lepère, actor Jean-Marie Rivière, de Sade in cinema, "Female Homosexuality" an investigation by Pierre Hahn featuring contributions by Jean Monod (ethnologist), Violette Morin (sociologist), Joyce Mc Dougall (psychoanalyst), Françoise d'Eaubonne (writer), Father Albert Plé (dominican), Sister M.-L. of the Child Jesus (Orthodox abbess) and photography by Kishin Shinoyama, Baron Wolman, Eikoh Hosoe, and others,

actress Sylvie D'Haetze, Mao, Michel Lancelot, Jean Gourmelin, Bernard Le Roy, Jean Clemmer, Violette Morin, Friedrich Nietzsche, and so much more.

VG copy, light wear/age.

File under: Felix Labisse Eikoh Hosoe Kishin Shinoyama Baron Wolman Jean-Marie Rivière Christian Lepère Planète / Paris Eros Surrealism Out-of-print / Rare Occult / Esoterica Art Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Counterculture Japanese Photography

The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments
by Deirdre Loughridge and Thomas Patteson

2026, English
Hardcover (w. dust jacket), 200 pages, 20.8 x 15.6 cm
Published by Reaktion books / London

$46.00 - Out of stock

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The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments is a guided tour through centuries of instruments that never existed. From ancient myths to futuristic media, these imagined devices appear in literature, theory, video games and art, at times echoing real instruments, other times pushing far beyond the bounds of technology. This book presents a wide-ranging collection of such creations, showing how they reflect changing ideas about sound, invention and the limits of the possible. At once a cultural history and a study of creative thought, it uncovers unexpected links between music, design and the human urge to make meaning through sound. These are not just fictional artefacts – they are windows into what music might mean, even when it cannot be played.

“Musical instruments exemplify the development of highly specialized and elaborate technologies, designed for mutual compatibility in collaborative contexts. In this fascinating book, Loughridge and Patteson uncover a quite different strata of invention in which speculative, impossible, and deeply strange instruments live and function within the imagination. They demonstrate conclusively that, despite the dazzling range of existent instruments, there is in human culture an appetite for musical forms that cannot be heard.”—David Toop, musician, writer, and emeritus professor

File under: Deirdre Loughridge Thomas Patteson Reaktion books / London Occult / Esoterica Sound / Music Art Performance / Dance / Theater Theory / Essay