The Library: Books and Art

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Books on the history of sexuality and historic erotica available through: Click on the book cover for more information, or to order a Copy To save money, remember to watch for the links for used copies available on Amazon.
Art & Literature
Erotica 17th-18th Century A collection of the best 17th and 18th century images from Erotica Universalis, volumes I and II. From Rembrandt to Fragonard and lots of others in between (known, unknown, and anonymous)	Erotica 19th Century a collection of the best 19th century images from Erotica Universalis Volumes I and II.
The Libertine Reader: Eroticism and Enlightenment in Eighteenth-Century France "French lovers" and their self-styled reputations can be traced to eighteenth-century libertine novels. The idle aristocrats in these novels are exclusively preoccupied with their erotic life. Deprived of other battlefields to fulfill their thirst for glory, libertine noblemen seek to conquer the women of their class without falling into the trap of love, while their female prey attempt to enjoy the pleasures of love without sacrificing their honor.	The Erotomaniac: The Secret Life of Henry Spencer Ashbee Henry Spencer Ashbee (1834-1900) was a prosperous, respectable Victorian gentleman with a secret -one so delicious that he rented a separate apartment to contain it. Ashbee concealed a vast collection of erotica and pornography, thousands of volumes strong. Ashbee, a man who happily supported his wife and four children but spent his spare time meticulously cataloging such risquŽ titles as Miss Bellasis Birched for Thieving. The author has uncovered evidence that Ashbee may himself have been the author of the notorious My Secret Life-the "true" autobiography of an unnamed Victorian gentleman and his sexual adventures.
The Hindu Temple: Deification of Eroticism Alain Danielou, 2001, ISBN: 0892818549. translated for the first time into English, an illustrated tour of the major temple complexes of India. The erotic sculptures that cover the walls of these temples are not merely symbolic portrayals of voluptuous acts but serve as profound reminders that man is closest to the divine during the instant of sexual transcendence.	The Yoni: Sacred Symbol of Female Creative Power Rufus C. Camphausen, 1996, ISBN: 0892815620. Traces the Yoni motif from its first occurrence almost 30,000 years ago in Europe to its remains in today's cultures.
Sex Pots: Eroticism in Ceramics A look at erotic motifs in historic and modern ceramic art. This book was part of the inpiration for our line of erotic pottery.	Roman Sex: 100 B.C. to A.D. 250 by John R. Clarke. 2003 ISBN: 0810942631. When, in 1968, the men in Clark's Pompeii tour group were ushered into a locked, windowless room in the Naples Archaeological Museum, Clark did not realize that he would eventually become an authority on ancient Rome's sexual iconography.
Unfit for Modest Ears : A study of Pornographic, Obscene and Bawdy works Written, or Published in England in the Second Half of the Seventeeth Century by Roger Thompson. 1979 ASIN 0847661954 Unfit for Modest Ears	The Phallus: Sacred Symbol of Male Creative Power Alain Danielou, 1995, ISBN: 0892815566. Phallic imagery, in one form or another, may be found in the artistic traditions of virtually every world culture since prehistoric times. Alain Danielou here unveils the religious impulse underlying art that at first glance seems to have no purpose beyond the erotic.
Gods of Love and Ecstasy: The Traditions of Shiva and Dionysus Alain Danielou, 1992, ISBN: 0892813741.	Great Moments in Sex by Cheryl Rilly, 1999, ISBN: 0609802437. An entertaining romp through the history of sex--from ancient times to the era of Viagra and Monica Lewinsky -- complete with the gadgets, people, literature, songs, advertisements, movies, and events associated with all things sexual.
Sacred Sexuality in Ancient Egypt by Ruth Schumann-Antelme, et al, 2001, ISBN: 0892818638. The first book to fully explore the sexual philosophy and practices of the ancient Egyptians. Illustrated with erotic scenes from papyri that have long been hidden from the public. Clarifies the connection of sacred sexuality to Egyptian cosmic symbolism.	Sex and Sexuality in Early America by Merril D. Smith, 1998, ISBN: 0814780687. Accounts of the early years of the United States tend to overlook the importance of their influence on the shaping of American culture. This book addresses this neglected topic with original research covering a wide spectrum, from sexual behavior to sexual perceptions and imagery, and more.
The X-Rated Bible: An Irreverent Survey of Sex in the Scriptures by Ben Edward Akerley, 1998, ISBN: 0922915555. Incest, rape, adultery, exhibitionism, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, mate swapping, bestiality -- it's all there in the book held sacred by three of the world's major religions. Originally published to reveal the hypocrisy of fundamentalists' attempts to censor and suppress the kind of material found throughout their own scriptures, The X-Rated Bible quickly became the American Atheist Press's most notorious and best-selling book.
Contraception
Devices and Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America Andrea Tone, 2002, ISBN: 0809038161. From thriving black market to big business, the commercialization of birth control in the United States	Contraception and Abortion in Nineteenth-Century America by Janet Farrell Brodie, 1997, ISBN: 0801484332 Examines the changes in attitudes, technology, and medical knowledge that led to a 49 percent decrease in the number of children born to white native-born women during the 19th century.
Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance by John M. Riddle 1994 ISBN: 0674168763 Riddle (history, North Carolina State U.) contends that the ancient world had safe and effective means of birth control, but that knowledge of them was lost in the course of the Middle Ages as medicine was taken over by university-trained physicians who had no contact with folk traditions.	Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West by John M. Riddle 1999 ISBN: 0674270266. Having demonstrated in that until fairly recently women regulated fertility safety and reliably with an extensive pharmacopeia, Riddle now explores how they lost that knowledge in modern times.
Sexuality & Society
The Encyclopedia of Sacred Sexuality : From Aphrodisiacs and Exstasy to Yoni Worship and Zap-Lam Yoga Rufus C. Camphausen, 1999, ISBN: 0892817194. A reference book, lavishly illustrated and extensively cross-referenced, encompasses all eras and cultures in exploring the meaning of sexuality.	Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America From Library Journal: "An irony of historical writing is that sexuality, one of the most important factors in everyone's lives is perhaps the least discussed. Gender relations, the purpose of sexual intercourse, and the meaning of marriage shape the daily lives of most adults, yet historians often ignore such matters. Now this oversight is rectified by an excellent survey of sexuality in America from colonial days to the 1980s"
Sex: An Intimate Companion With over 250 illustrations (many of them rare) and utterly frank contributions from over 20 distinguished writers.	A History of Orgies: Lost Treasures by Burgo Partridge 2002 ISBN: 1853754919 In this sensational chronicle, first published in 1958, Burgo Partridge (scion of Bloomsbury luminaries Ralph and Frances Partridge) coolly and with great erudition, tells the story of one of the most fascinating of social phenomena: the orgy.
The Hell-Fire Clubs: A History of Anti-Morality by Geoffrey Ashe 2000 ISBN: 0750924020 The hell fire clubs of the 18th and 19th centuries are legendary for their debauchery. Geoffery Ashe has assembled the most complete and accurate account of the clubs and their origins.	A Mind of His Own : A Cultural History of the Penis by David Friedman. 2003 ISBN: 0142002593 An Intelligent and often hilarious account of man's complicated relationship with his closest friend.
Pox: Genius, Madness, and the Mysteries of Syphilis by Deborah Hayden. 2003 ISBN: 0465028810 A work of social history reveals the hidden impact of syphilis on many of history's famous figures--from Wilde to Hitler to Abraham Lincoln--and its influence on the culture they created	Before the Bawdy Court; Selections from Church Court and other Records relating to the Correction of Moral Offences in England, Scotland, and New England 1300-1800 by P.E.H. Hair. ASIN: 006492646X Before the bawdy court
The Book of Courtesans by Susan Griffin, 2003. ISBN: 0767904516. From Veronica Franco who graced the palazzos of 16th century Venice, to La Belle Otero of Gay Nineties Paris the Book of Courtesans illustrates their lifestyles and life stories.	Skin Flutes and Velvet Gloves: A Collection of Facts and Fancies, Legends and Oddities About the Body's Private Parts Terri Hamilton. 2002, ISBN: 031226951X Dr. Hamilton explores the history, development, legends, and myths of human sexuality to provide the revealing answers to these and a host of other questions in this fascinating look at our most private parts.
The Book of the Penis Maggie Paley 2000, ISBN: 0802136931. Chapters on penis worship, fellatio, as well as the penis in art, fashion, literature, films, and much more.	A History of Celibacy by Elizabeth Abbot, 2001, ISBN: 0306810417. Celibacy is a worldwide practice that is often adopted, rarely discussed. Elizabeth Abbott's work examines it in all its various forms: shaping religious lives, conditioning athletes and shamans, surfacing in classical poetry and camp literature, resonating in the voices of castrati, and permeating ancient mythology
Homosexuality
Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: A Sourcebook of Basic Documents by Thomas K. Hubbard (Editor) , 2003, ISBN: 0520234308. The most important primary texts on homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome are translated into modern, explicit English and collected together for the first time in this comprehensive sourcebook.	Homosexuality and Civilization by Louis Crompton, 2003, ISBN: 067401197X. How have major civilizations of the last two millennia treated people who were attracted to their own sex? In a narrative tour de force, Louis Crompton chronicles the lives and achievements of homosexual men and women alongside a darker history of persecution, as he compares the Christian West with the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, Arab Spain, imperial China, and pre-Meiji Japan.
Gay Warriors: A Documentary History from the Ancient World to the Present by B. R. Burg (Editor), 2002, ISBN: 0814798861. In Ancient Greece and Rome, in Crusader campaigns and pirate adventures, same-sex romances were a common and condoned part of military culture. From the Peloponnesian War to the Gulf War gays and lesbians have played a crucial but often hidden role in military campaigns. Richard Burg has recovered important documents and assembled an anthology on these often invisible gay and lesbian warriors.
Miscellaneous
The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction Rachel P. Maines, 2001, ISBN: 0801866464. For centuries, women diagnosed with "hysteria" thought to result from a lack of intercourse or gratification and were treated by massaging their genitals in order to induce "paroxysm." Male physicians sought various ways of avoiding the task, often foisting it off on midwives or, starting in the late 19th century, employing mechanical devices. The Technology of Orgasm combines a discussion of hysteria in the Western medical tradition with a detailed examination (including several illustrations) of the devices used to "treat" the "condition."	Bawdy Language: Everything You Always Wanted To Do But Were Afraid To Say by Lawrence Paro. 2003 ISBN: 0967200520. A reference book like no other, it features a wide ranging survey of taboo language, both sex and toilet talk, to help you express the inexpressible. No mere catalogue of phrases, however, it's several books in one -a history of sex, a personal body manual, a social commentary, and a tasteful but biting editorial statement against the forces of restraint and convention.
The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs by Ed Cray. 1999 ISBN: 0252067894. A revised and expanded edition of the 1968 work "The Erotic Music exposes the earthy underside of American culture, exploring our society's complex relation to the taboo of obscenity while demonstrating the bawdy song's importance to a full understanding of American culture."	American Sex Machines by Hoag Levins. What happens when the legendary American passion for invention collides with the legendary American passion for sex?
The Prehistory of Sex by Timothy Taylor. Taylor, a British archeologist, taps archeological evidence (reproduced in some 50 photographs) that is virtually unknown outside specialist circles?graphic depictions of sex in prehistoric cultures	The History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault.
Sexy Origins and Intimate Things: The Rites and Rituals of Straights, Gays, Bi'S, Drags, Trans, Virgins, and Others by Charles Panati, 1998, ISBN: 0140271449. a grab bag of cultural, sexual trivia that makes for compulsive reading and retelling. What are the origins of the words queer, fairy, faggot, and dyke? Who invented the bra and the corset? How did the common rituals surrounding marriage, sexual activity, circumcision, and birth come about?