A. Carrache - L'Aretin d' Augustin Carrache ou Recueil de postures érotiques, D'après les Gravures a l'eau-forte par cet Artiste célèbre

A. Carrache - L'Aretin d' Augustin Carrache ou Recueil de postures érotiques, D'après les Gravures a l'eau-forte par cet Artiste célèbre. Avec le Texte explicatif des Sujets - Paris - Au Cercle du Livre Précieux - 1962 - 1st edition [thus] - [10], 10, [2], 80, [36] pp - Leather binding and portfolio in slip-case - 21 x 32,5 cm.

Condition: Excellent set - no. 493; the slip-case is good, with wear / tear.

Reprint of a collection of erotic episodes from classical literature, typeset from the Baskerville type, originally published in 1798. Illustrated with a suite of 20 reproductions of the pornographic prints by the Italian artist Agostino Carracci (1557-1602), printed on luxe vélin d Arches paper with watermark.

Limited hardback edition in 575 copies (this is one of the 550 'regular' copies). Cf. Kearney p. 24-28; Pia p. 86: a copy of this edition is kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

¶ I Modi (Italian for: “The positions”; Latin title “De omnibus Veneris Schematibus”) first saw the light in 1524 but was prohibited and destroyed. The second edition of I Modi from 1527 (also not preserved) featured sonnets by Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) and since then they have been referred to as 'the positions of Aretino'.

This series of explicit etchings depicting sexual poses is best known from this French version, originally published in the late 18th century after late 16th century prints by Carracci in a later edition of Aretino's position book. The engraver is probably the "Artiste célèbre" Jacques Joseph Coiny (1761-1809).