[Rarebooks] FS - A hard to beat book on flagellation

[GREENFIELD BOOKS]

*SPANKER, Colonel. /EXPERIMENTAL LECTURE/.*  "Privately Printed", 
London. 1894. Larger 12mo, pp. 103. Inexpensively bound in original 
black buckram, with no external identification of author or title, and 
with plain endpapers.

"The exciting and voluptuous pleasures to be derived from crushing and 
humiliating the spirit of a beautiful and modest young lady; as 
delivered by him in the assembly-room of the Society of Aristocratic 
Flagellants, Mayfair." Author's name is obviously a pseudonym but his 
identity is uncertain. It is believed to be William Lazenby 
(1825?-1888?), alias Duncan Cameron, alias (?) Thomas Judd, an English 
writer of sadomasochistic accounts, who also edited similar writings. 
Ian Gibson, in his book on the eccentric bibliophile Henry Sepncer 
Ashbee, entitled "The Erotomaniac", suggests that the book actually had 
several authors, including General Studholme Hodgson. According to 
Pisanus Fraxi's "The Bibliography of Prohibited Books", this title was 
first published in 1878 or 1879, despite the indication on the title 
page of a publishing date of 1837. It was reprinted in French, in1887, 
by A. Brancart, the author being shown as "Colonel Singlant". Ashbee 
himself gives the following description of the text: "This book, which 
we can fairly assert is the most coldly cruel and unblushingly indecent 
of any we have ever read, stands entirely alone in the English 
language." Praxi, in his lengthy description of the book and its 
contents (vol. III, p. 251), observes: "We may console ourselves by 
thinking that this book is too deliberately horrible to be dangerous, 
for this mixture of gloating debauchery, inseparable from mental anguish 
and bodily, cold-blooded, slaughter-house ill-usage, is merely a 
highly-coloured, over-wrought phantasy of obscene ideas." See also, 
Rose, "Register of Erotic Books", volume two, #4352 and #4353 (referring 
to an 1886 Amsterdam edition). A very scarce title, WorldCat showing 
only one institutional holding, and COPAC none. Our copy shows some wear 
to the boards. The binding is a bit sprung, but nothing is loose. 
Contents age-toned. Overall, in good plus condition.

Price: $250.00.

Terms of sale - the price is in USD. Payment by check or credit card. 
Postage and packing charge will be $8 anywhere. Returnable within seven 
days of receipt if not as described.

 
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