Marseille [Paris]: A L’Enseigne des Trois Cagoles [Maurice Duflou], N.d. [1934]

8vo, pp. 136. Original orange stiff paper wrappers, lettered in black to front panel. Edges uncut. 43 pornographic illustrations by Luc Lafnet, using the pseudonym ‘Pol’. Wrappers a little faded, especially at spine, but an extremely well preserved copy.

First edition. One of 400 copies, printed on vergé Chesterfield.

A collection of filthy stories, pornographically illustrated, and published as deniably as possible, with no publication date (1934), a false place of publication (Paris, not Marseille), and publisher Maurice Duflou’s name nowhere to be seen (just a notional imprint which roughly translates as ‘Sign of the Three Balaclavas’).

The illustrations are by the Belgian artist Luc Lafnet [1899-1939]. Lafnet moved to Paris in 1922 and painted murals for churches around Montmartre, but enjoyed a highly successful second career as a pseudonymous illustrator of erotic books and comic strips. The work of Jim Black, Lucas O, Luc, Grim, Rich, Viset and (as here) Pol, is all the work of Lafnet.

A near fine copy of a scarce and fragile publication.