In her representations for O, Fini focuses on female submission and the brutality of sexual assault. “Leonor Fini’s art offers a woman’s take on surrealism, which large dealt with male fantasies, by offering a female view of the female body and of erotic pleasures” (Spaightwood Galleries). The book’s content sparked so much controversy that the Department of the Interior brought obscenity charges against the publisher and its mysterious author- but the case was eventually thrown out of court. Revelling in pure fantasy, its theme is total submission through love to excesses of sadism and masochism, and the bond of ‘ownership” (Doris Kloster). “It describes in cool, elegant language the experiences of a young woman as she willingly enters a dark maze of perverse sexual practices within a clandestine amoral society. When Anne Desclos’ (aka Pauline Réage) Story of O was first published in 1954 in Paris by Jean-Jacques Pauvert, it became the most widely translated French novel in the world. Limited large-paper edition, number 79 of only 350 copies, of one of the most famous and controversial erotic novels ever published, with 16 provocative full-page color lithographs and numerous in-text illustrations by surrealist Léonor Fini. Large folio (12 by 15 inches), original cream paper wrapper, 28 loose gatherings, as issued uncut and unopened, 16 loose plates, original black velvet slipcase and chemise, vellum spine label. Paris: La Compagnie des Bibliophiles, au Cercle du Livre Précieux, 1962. We look forward to serving you.“DEPTH, TRANSLUCENCE, TRANSPARENCY, IMPENETRABILITY, AND OTHERWORLDLINESS”: CLASSIC EROTIC NOVEL, RÉAGE’S HISTOIRE D’O, ILLUSTRATED BY LÉONOR FINI

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The story of o anne desclos