1918 Mexican Revolution Era "Book of Passion and Pleasure" - Presentation copy

Solon de Mel (pseud. of Guillermo Luzuriaga y Bribiesca)

[FETISHIZING BREASTS IN MEXICO 1918]. Manzanas Del Paraiso. Libro de Pasion y de Placer, escrito en elogio de los Senos, Prologado Por Los Poetas Francisco Villaespesa y Luis G. Urbina

Mexico City: [Escalante], 1918. Second edition. 8vo. [14], 11-61, [2] pp. Contemporary neat green cloth, with the monogram "J.R.R." (Jose Ruben Romero) at the foot of spine. Lacking wrappers. Text evenly browned, upper margins of a few leaves with short tears (not affecting text). NOT ex-library! Very good. Item #3483

Scarce and little-known erotic book published during the Mexican Revolution, a "Book of Passion and Pleasure" consisting of nine poems written in praise of women's breasts. There is a large title-page illustration by Saturnino Herran Guinchard, and an additional illustration in the text by Antonio Zaldivar. As a prologue, two "opinions" about the work were included, one by Luis G. Urbina, who enjoyed great recognition in Mexico, the other by the Andalusian Francisco Villaespesa, at that time a poet of considerable fame within the Hispanic world.

Ours is a presentation copy from the author (signed as "Solon de Mel") to the Mexican author Jose Ruben Romero (1890-1952), poet, novelist, and short-story writer who vivid depictions of the Mexican Revolution, and of the people of his native Michoacan, brought him critical acclaim.

Whereas the title-page of our copy does not state "2nd edition," there is a 4-page "Proemio del Autor en la 2a Edicion" inserted before p. 11; this bifolium contains a single poem by Luzuriaga which does not seem to be recorded elsewhere. Certainly it is not in the UT Austin copy (Genaro Garcia Collection). Neither the first nor the second 1918 editions appear in Rare Book Hub, which currently lists more than 10 million records in the Rare Book Transaction database.

SEVEN (7) COPIES KNOWN WORLDWIDE:

Univ. of Arizona, Univ. New Mexico, UT Austin, Universidad Iberoamericana, Univ. Iowa, Insituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Sup., BN Mexico.

See Marco F. Ramirez Padilla, "De como los libros contaron la historia" in: La Revolucion Mexicana: Otras voces, otros escenarios (2008) pp. 56-57, noting the existence of "at least two editions," and with a transcription of the entire third poem "Ofertorio."

Price: $250.00