Léonor Fini’s O
Jun 13th, 2013 by houghtonmodern
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items from the newly acquired Santo Domingo collection.
The infamous erotic novel Histoire d’O has featured in this space before, but this version is striking enough to warrant revisiting: a 40-centimeter large-format edition of 350 numbered copies published by Cercle du Livre Précieux in 1962, eight years after the original publication. The edition is illustrated in evocative drawings and watercolors by Léonor Fini, and issued as an unbound portfolio. This copy, formerly owned by Swiss erotica collector Gérard Nordmann, is outfitted with a black velvet-covered slipcase, in keeping with its general opulence.
Pauline Réage. Histoire d’O. Paris: Cercle du livre précieux, 1962. PQ2635.E15 H5 1962.
Thanks to rare book cataloger Ryan Wheeler for contributing this post.