The Horn Book: A Girl's Guide to the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Edmund Duponchel, Frederick Hankey and Alfred Begis (no author is cited in the book)

Published by The Erotica Biblion Society, London and New York, 1923

About this Item

At the top of the title page above the title it says 'How To Raise Love Or Modern Studies In The Science Of Stroking.' This may be the Genuine First American edition. Or not. I'm going to leave it to the expertise of the potential buyers. If I'm right that it is, it may be the Only one for sale on the Internet-- and also under-priced. C'est la Vie. So, if you check the few other sellers of a '1923' Erotica Biblion Society edition they are saying that it was likely actually published circa 1930 or 1932. Their copies have burgundy or red covers. Mine does not. My book has 1923 on the Title Page. From my experience that means it was published in 1923 and there's no 'circa' whatever that can come into play. That's definitively the year it was published. Maybe I don't know something specific to this book, but I doubt it. If the date was only on the copyright page (there's no print on the verso of the title page of my book) that would be another story. One other thing: there are no plates/illustrations in my book, which I've read makes it all the more rare and---I believe--fits with it being the genuine first. No author is referenced in the book (I wouldn't want my name on this book if I'd authored it) but another seller has stated that it was authored by three men, Edmund Duponchel, Frederick Hankey and Alfred Begis. You can see the covers in the photos. The marble front and rear have scuffing with surface losses. The spine is in rather nice shape with just one tiny tear at the top edge and two at the bottom edge. The binding of the book has some issues. The covers are solidly bound. The front one has a thin space at its juncture with the first end paper. The space begins at the top edge and continues down 2/3rds of the way. The last 1/3rd does not have the space and the juncture at the rear cover and rear end paper does not have a space. There's another space going down 1/3rd between pages 18 and 19 and 26 and 27. Page 35-36 isn't bound over the top 1" or so at the top. There's a crack between 42 and 43. The gathering between pages 43 and 50 is separated at the top 1/3rd. Another crack between 58-59. The gathering between 67 and 74 is detached. A few of these pages have a thin tear off their outer edge. A gathering between pages 75-82 is also detached. Both detachments are very clean, no tears or wear.The binding on all of the pages after page 82 is much better, no cracks/spaces and no detachments. There are153 pages. Turning over the pages, every one, I found two other edge tears over the last 71 pages. There's not much by way of creasing. There are occasional spots of soiling, but the pages are, in the main, clean. There's no foxing. There are no markings. And no one has written their name or anything else anywhere. The content is definitely not 'clean'. This book is Not for children. But the price should ensure that if it is purchased, it will be by an adult. Seller Inventory # 003715

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Horn Book: A Girl's Guide to the ...

Publisher: The Erotica Biblion Society, London and New York

Publication Date: 1923

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Good

Edition: 1st Edition