[POTTER, WILLIAM SIMPSON. 1805-1879.]
The Romance of Lust; or, Early Experiences. London: [William Lazenby] 1873-1876.
4 volumes. 12mo (163 x 100 mm). Extra-illustrated with 11 original unsigned watercolors. 20th century red morocco, white paper spine labels. Light wear, title pages browning, unidentified bookplate ("T.F.") in volume I.
Provenance: Max Salomon (penciled notation in German at back, indicating acquisition in 1959).
FIRST EDITION, ONE OF ONLY THREE COPIES KNOWN, and probably unique with the original watercolors. Only 150 copies were printed, of which "perhaps no more than twenty copies are now in existence" (Henry Spencer Ashbee, Catena Librorum). Mendes identifies only three extant copies, including the present example. Written anonymously by Potter, and sometimes attributed to Edward Sellon (1818-1866). Potter was a friend of Ashbee, who noted that the work was written by multiple authors, and "woven into a connected narrative" by someone possessing "one of the most remarkable collections of erotic pictures and bric-a-brac ever brought together." This is in reference to Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Hougton. Despite his political career and outward piety, Milnes was known for his collection of erotic literature and is thought to have authored at least one erotic poem. Ashbee Catena 183; Mendes 75 and X66.