This work offers bibliographical descriptions of all printings of erotic fiction in English issued clandestinely during the period 1800-1930. By 'clandestine' is meant books whose publishers and printers attempt to hide their identities, usually by offering title pages whose misleading places and dates of publication may shock and amuse, but which always aim to mystify. Using internal and external evidence, an attempt is made to establish who were the printers, booksellers and publishers, English and Continental, involved in this trade. The printing families or 'groups' into which a large percentage of the material falls are classified, accompanied by illustrations which identify the main printing characteristics ('house styles') of the groups. Bibliographical descriptions follow a checklist of clandestine catalogues; these provide valuable evidence for dating, pricing and 'sales pitch' and information on items of which no copies can now be traced. The work concludes with a series of appendices which provide significant external evidence, and three indexes: of themes, titles and names. Peter Mendes' original research builds on and significantly extends the essential pioneer work of the Victorian collector and bibliographer H.S. Ashbee ('Pisanus Fraxi').

"The Life and Amours of the Beautiful, Gay and Dashing Kate Percival, The Belle of the Delaware, Written by Herself, Voluptuous, Exciting, Amorous and Delighting" is a 1864 erotic novel of anonymous authorship. Presented as an autobiography, the story entails the recounting of the narrator's life and her varied, numerous, and risque sexual encounters in a bawdy and frank manner. Humerous at times, shocking at others, this volume is not to be missed by fans and collectors of Victorian erotic fiction. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in a modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on the history of erotic literature.

Licentious Gotham, set in the streets, news depots, publishing houses, grand jury chambers, and courtrooms of the nation's great metropolis, delves into the stories of the enterprising men and women who created a thriving transcontinental market for sexually arousing books and pictures. The experiences of fancy publishers, flash editors, and racy novelists, who all managed to pursue their trade in the face of laws criminalizing obscene publications, dramatically convey nineteenth-century America's daring notions of sex, gender, and desire, as well as the frequently counterproductive results of attempts to enforce conventional moral standards. In nineteenth-century New York, the business of erotic publishing and legal attacks on obscenity developed in tandem, with each activity shaping and even promoting the pursuit of the other. Obscenity prohibitions, rather than curbing salacious publications, inspired innovative new styles of forbidden literature--such as works highlighting expressions of passion and pleasure by middle-class American women. Obscenity prosecutions also spurred purveyors of lewd materials to devise novel schemes to evade local censorship by advertising and distributing their products through the mail. This subterfuge in turn triggered far-reaching transformations in strategies for policing obscenity. Donna Dennis offers a colorful, groundbreaking account of the birth of an indecent print trade and the origins of obscenity regulation in the United States. By revealing the paradoxes that characterized early efforts to suppress sexual expression in the name of morality, she suggests relevant lessons for our own day.

It is like a journal, more about the amours and less about the life of Kate Percival. The Life and Amours of the Beautiful, Gay and Dashing Kate Percival, The Belle of the Delaware, Written by Herself, Voluptuous, Exciting, Amorous and Delighting (1864)

I am about to do a bold thing. I am about to give to the world the particulars of a life fraught with incident and adventure. I am about to lift the veil from the most voluptuous scenes. I shall disguise nothing, conceal nothing, but shall relate everything that has happened to me just as it occurred. I am what is called a woman of pleasure, and have drained its cup to the very dregs. I have the most extraordinary scenes to depict, but although I shall place everything before the reader in the most explicit language, I shall be careful not to wound his or her sense of decency by the use of coarse words, feeling satisfied there is more charm in a story decently told than in the bold unblushing use of term which ought never to sully a woman's lips.*** New edition with Larger Print 12 point font

"Voluptuous, Exciting, Amorous and Delighting" Kate Percival, a self-proclaimed lady of pleasure, recounts her tale of sexual discovery with rousing effect; from her first embraces with fellow convent student Laura, to espying the motions of Father Clark and student Margaret from behind doors ajar. From the touch of a young man, to becoming the Governess and lover for one older. She thrills at her own wantonness, and excites at the merest hint of impropriety. This little seen work of Edwardian Erotica from 1902, written pseudonymously by the main character herself, bursts at the bodice-seems with raw passion, describing all manner of alluring scenes in titillatingly graphic prose. The Belle Of The Delaware will not disappoint.

The Life and Amours of the Beautiful, Gay and Dashing Kate Percival is a little-seen work of Edwardian Erotica from 1902. The book was written pseudonymously by the main character herself. Kate Percival, a self-proclaimed lady of pleasure, tells a story of her sexual discoveries from her first embraces with fellow convent student Laura, and first touches of a young man, to becoming the Governess and lover for one older one.

A classic of American erotica! Controversial, funny, sexy, shocking, wild, pornographic. "Kate: The Life and Amours of the Beautiful, Gay and Dashing Kate Percival, The Belle of the Delaware" is presented as an autobiography. The very randy Kate Percival tells the story of her life-and her life is crammed with sexual escapades. This novel was written in 1864, but it is just as detailed, graphic, smutty, and arousing as modern day pornography. Kate Percival is a pseudonym, the real author is unknown.