Mémoires d'une Chanteuse (Memoiren einer Sängerin) by Schröder-Devrient, Wilhelmine; Polvexio (Illustrated by) - 1947

Paris: Trois Cents Disciples d'Esculape, 1947. Limited edition. Hardcover. vg. 1/279. Large quarto. 166, [14]pp. 3/4 olive morocco over marbled paper covered boards with gold lettering and decoration on spine. Raised bands. Top edge gilt. Original printed wrappers bound in. Color frontispiece. Title page in red and black lettering. Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, was a German operatic soprano. As a singer, she combined a rare quality of tone with dramatic intensity of expression, which was as remarkable on the concert platform as in opera. After her death, a two-volume work entitled Memoiren einer Sängerin (Memoirs of a [female] singer), purporting to be her erotic memoirs, was published in two instalments in 1868 and 1875. The first volume is a plausible account of her sex life, though various discrepancies with known facts have led many to doubt its complete veracity. The erotic adventures contained in the second volume, however seem to descend into complete sexual fantasy. These include the author indulging in lesbian sadomasochism, group sex, sodomy, bestiality, scatology, necrophilia, prostitution, and vampirism: all before she had reached the age of 27. Whether true or not, this work is Germany's most famous work of erotic literature, many times reprinted, and translated into English as Pauline the Prima Donna. This striking limited edition contains the two parts of Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient's memoirs, and is superbly illustrated throughout with 15 delightful etchings, with an additional suite of 6 refused etchings by French artist Polvexio. Each plate is protected with a tissue-guard. Minor shelf wear and moderate rubbing along edges of binding. Spine slightly sunned. Minor and sporadic foxing throughout. Text in French. Binding and interior in overall good+ to very good condition.