Customer Reviews

Erotica: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature

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I highly recommend "Erotica - Illustrated Anthology"; the book is filled with beautiful, sexy and sensual art and literature. Great to get for yourself, or as a sexy gift for the one you love....

This is a sexy, lighthearted book with pictures and writing that ranges from gorgeous to goofy.
A fun book for couples as well as to look over alone or with a friend.
A lot of the pictures appear in other erotic anthologies, but the presentation here is worth the buy.

Today, moreso than ever literature fine works of art never change .... a book, once written can easily become timed, but the works of art of the ages become more valuable with age and allows us an insight into the many hidden treasures of the past.

The erotic art contained in this illustrated anthology shows works over a span of 2000 years from all on the continents and many many cultures. From painings, etchings, drawings, snuff boxes, carvings, mouldings etc etc this book is exquisitely compiled and a pleasure to read and enjoy. If you have ever enjoyed wandering into chinatown in San Francisco to see the wide selection of erotic ivory carvings being offered then definitely you will just devour this book which also includes some fine examples of these carvings.

Most erotic literature published as little as ten years ago always included some of the drawings and etchings to illustrate the stories. Todays books however are devoid of these little pleasures which makes this illustrated anthology that much more important.

If you have any appreciation for fine art and erotica then buy this book it's a treasure to be enjoyed over the years.

Hill and Wallace have scoured hundreds of years of Western literature, from Aretino and Boccacio to Nin and Miller, carefully gleaning the spicy bits for this collection. And what a collection! The editors' commentary alternates with extracts from the erotic literature, helping to set the historical and cultural context for the exciting passages presented here.

It's not just an anthology of the good parts, though. Paintings, prints, and drawings decorate nearly every page. I liked seeing that the visual arts cover more of the human experience, including Japanese shunga and other samples from China and India. Scraps of poetry also adorn the side-bars of many pages, giving a varied look and reading experience to each page.

Bibilographic attribution lets interested readers find more by favored authors. Unfortunately, readers are on their own in hunting down more imagery by any of the artists shown here. Although enjoyable, the pictures vary in quality, sometimes appear in such small format that they become hard to read, and under-represent recent artists and photographers. Still, they cover a wide range of styles and practices, and complement the text quite well.

The editors intentionally omit non-consensual practices, a decision that I applaud and that might broaden the appeal of this book. Given this delightful introduction, I'm looking forward to the later volumes by these same editors.

-- wiredweird

This was an exceptionally charming book. I first wanted it for the promise of the rare art, but while that was indeed gorgeous, it was the literature that really charmed me in the end. Mostly Victorian, with both earlier and later works thrown in along with some Eastern spice, it's intriguing to realize how much has changed in both society and sexual tastes since - and how much remains exactly the same.

The downside would be the double-standards of the author/s themselves. While clearly wishing to promote erotica as something positive to be enjoyed without shame, they do at the same time condemn and moralize over any practices they themselves don't care for in quite harsh terms (as "having the blight of psychopathology" for example). Everyone approaches sexuality differently, and for the author/s to simply ignore the things they don't agree with had been far better than attacking them - in the end, this gives the whole presentation a slightly sour holier-than-thou undercurrent it would have been better without.

On the whole the book was still charming, though definitely a work enjoyed for the presented historical masterpieces far more than the modern commentary.

This book was/is worth every penny. The best parts of the book were:

1) the blend/presentation of pieces of erotic art, alongside excerpts of the finest literary erotica in the history of publishing/the written word

2) the scope of the selected works (which span over 2000 years of both Eastern and Western cultures)

I have a few other erotic anthologies (which are mostly either art, or text-focused), and this is the one that I repeatedly recall, and/or go back to. It's an excellent resource book (if you're wondering which "great erotic author to check out next"), and there have been several times where I can attribute first seeing/knowing about a particular piece of sexual art ["a Chinese nineteenth-century rosewood toilet box (with eleven concealed miniatures)", "Coloured wood-cuts by Utamaro", "charcoal drawings by the artist known as 'AL'"!!], to this book.

All of the paintings are erotic/sensual, as opposed to pornographic/degrading (with regards to both sexes in all sorts of sexual positions/situations -- I think it's best to see the paintings rather than describe them in detail here).

The book is exactly what its subtitle says: "An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature". I may have added the adjective "Fine", before "Sexual Art and Literature", if I were the editor/copy editor of this anthology. I'd even have considered calling it "The Definitive" anthology/edition (...of Sexual Art & Literature). I mean, there are books II and III in this "immensely popular series" (description taken from the product description of Erotica III: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature), which feature visuals and prose that stimulate and amuse. The authors/editors have exquisite taste, which shows in the selections they have included in this first anthology. I'll be checking out the two other books in this series, asap.

--Jess C Scott, Author of EyeLeash: A Blog Novel

"Erotica: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art & Literature," Charlotte Hill & Wm. Wallace, NY, Carroll & Graf, 1992, ISBN: 0-88184-874-3, PC, 160 pgs., Intro. 4 pg. & Ref. 2 pg., 10 5/8" x 8 7/8".

Two authors provide a colorful collection of erotic illustrations "excluding pernicious, degrading or violent material" together with erotic literature from "fiction, poetry, drama, songs, letters & journals" covering an expanse of 2,000 yrs,, purporting appeal to both sexes, emphasis on "life-enhancing qualities of good erotica."

"Erotica" has Introduction to its origin (deriv. Gk. Eros, god of love) in both Eastern & Western cultures, its pirating, rendering, expurgation but inherent reluctance of many library repositories to make their erotic cache available for research, review, etc. "Erotica" literary review includes excerpts from Kama Sutra, My Life & Loves, Satyra Sotadica, Decameron, Story of O, Tropic of Cancer, etc. Overall, the textual & illustrative contents share equally in annotation of sexuality. The 176 illutrations include depiction of art objects, carvings, pencil sketches, cartoons, oil & watercolor paintings & charcoal drawings, but not erotic photography.

Authors' disclaimer states "Women-haters and those addicted to cruelty and violence must look elsewhere - there is nothing in this book for you." The many illustrations vary from amusing, sordid, candid, wollgathering & for some a phatasmagoria of abject vs. dignified realism that the reader must judge for himself those he finds exciting, enjoyable, banal but otherwise entertaining or titillating. Obviously, much research went into the production of this anthology, a book for your library shelf & not yet ready for the coffee table.