La Muse Libertine. Florilege des Poetes Satyriques: Orne de Quarante Aquarelles de Dubout

Paris: Editions du Valois; Impriermies Union et Dechaux, 1957. Limited Edition. Wraps. With slipcase. Near Fine. No. 3871 of 4569. 4to. 255 pp. Anthology of late Medieval and Renaissance to Enlightenment French poetry that is sensual, lewd, erotic or plain naughy. The range is from the sublime to naughty, with the Dubout illustrations decidedly of the latter camp, and thus the soft porn campiness of the whole production. Being French, the anthology exudes style and class, even when it most boisterously violates all standards of decorum. Represented here are the greats Ronsard, du Bellay, Voltaire, Diderot and many others, less well-known, from the 15th through the 18th century, all underscoring the point that the fun in vulgarity is nothing new. A clean copy, with the only qualification that there is a minor closed tear on the spine head, and the lightest of crease marks on the base of the wraps. The slipcase has minor wear but matches the volume perfectly and is an attractive bonus.