GIRODIAS: The Olympia Reader, No. 00: Selections (Bookthrift / Grove Pr., 1965)

Description: TITLE: The Olympia Reader, No. 00: Selections from the Traveller's Companion Series AUTHOR: Girodias, Maurice (Editor) AUTHOR 2 (if applicable): Miller, Henry AUTHOR 3 (if applicable): Durrell, Lawrence; Donleavy, J. P.; Beckett, Samuel; Queneau, Raymond; Genet, Jean; Burroughs, William S.; Himes, Chester ILLUSTRATOR (if applicable): Rubinton, Norman (Illustrator) PUBLISHER: Bookthrift / Grove Press, Inc., Date: 1965 ISBN: N/A (pre-ISBN publication) FORMAT: Hardcover, 725 pages EDITION: Reprinted Edition PRINTING [if applicable]: Unstated Printing, c. 1970 BOOK CONDITION: Very Good JACKET CONDITION: Very Good DIMENSIONS (if available): 9.50 x 6.50 x 1.75 in. approx. KEYWORDS: Maurice Girodias, Olympia Reader, Selections, Traveller's Companion, Series, Erotica, Fiction, Literature, 20th Century, Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell, J. P. Donleavy; Beckett, Samuel; Queneau, Raymond; Genet, Jean; Burroughs, William S.; Himes, Chester DESCRIPTION: From the dustjacket flaps: The Olympia Press was founded in Paris in the spring of 1953 by Maurice Girodias, "conceived," he writes, "as a desperate move on my part to escape complete social and economic annihi-ation." It followed in the footsteps of The Obelisk Press, owned by his father, "a Jewish gentleman from Manchester, an attraction to the ladies and an expert in elegant living, being the owner of seven bulldogs and fifty pairs of trousers," who died at the outbreak of World War II, "stricken by the sheer horror of it all." Girodias, after losing one publishing venture which achieved some success despite the fact that its initial capital consisted of a ton of worthless black market celery, and after living for three years in “near complete bumhood”, began the Olympia Press on a shoestring. From the beginning it was unique among publishing houses. Located in Paris, it published in English. Its authors included some of the greatest of the past and the present day, as well as a stable of young Americans and Britons sojourning in the world capital of art and eking out their small incomes with Olympia stipends. Many of its books could not at that time be published or imported into the United States or Great Britain. But despite this, the classics of the erotic and the written-to-order racy novels found their way throughout the world. American servicemen, especially, soon got to know what Girodias calls "the ugly plain green covers" of The Trav-eller's Companion Series. Despite the gay and insouciant air with which The Olympia Press defied convention and conducted its business, a seriousness of purpose ran through the venture. Girodias was able to bring to the public an astonishing number of important writers-Miller, Durrell, Beckett, Genet, Sade, Burroughs and a succession of brilliant gems: Candy, Lolita, Pinktoes, Stra-della, I Hear Voices, The Young and Evil, Story of O, The American Ex-press, Madame Edwarda, and many others. This anthology gathers a rich harvest of the great, the near-great, and the inimitable Olympia entertain-ments, with emphasis on excerpts that have never appeared in this country: a section from The Ginger Man omitted from the American edition, a gamy translation of Zazie never printed in America, and so on. Taken together, it constitutes perhaps the best existing collection of the ribald and erotic. Maurice Girodias has supplied an extensive introduction and lengthy notes —charming and informative— including a history of Lolita and the reason why no excerpt from it appears in this book. CONDITION: The dustjacket is slightly age-toned but solid with limited edgewear, some surface scuffing. Previous owner has put a tag at the base of the spine giving Library of Congress cataloguing information, otherwise the jacket appears unmarked, and is now protected in a brodart jacket. No price on the jacket, perhaps a bookclub or other off-market version. Text block is slightly age-toned but solid, sound, and appears completely unmarked. A very good copy. FROM THE BOOKSELLER: Thank you for visiting the Dactyl Books eBay Store! Dactyl Books is a second-hand and antiquarian reseller of books specialising in History, Science, Literature, and Mystery & Detective Fiction, but we have a little bit of everything in our boxes of goodies! If you are looking for a specific title or edition, don't hesitate to send it on to us and we will be glad to check our stocks and give you our opinion on how best to find your desired title. SHIPPING NOTES: Orders placed will generally be shipped within one business day. If you are in the United States and need the book faster, please choose the express shipping option for USPS. International customers are recommended to insure their shipping: Dactyl Books uses the eBay Global Shipping Programme. We pack carefully and securely, with our best hope being that the book reaches you in exactly the condition that it leaves us. Due to weight and size restrictions, a few items may require additional postage: please contact us with questions or for more details. TERMS & ABBREVIATIONS IN OUR LISTINGS: For your convenience, here is a quick list of terms and abbreviations that I commonly use in listings: IBC: Inside Back CoverIBEP: Inside Back End PaperIFC: Inside Front CoverIFEP: Inside Front End PaperText-Block: The body of the book contained between the covers. NOTES ON EDITIONS: I use a number of resources to attempt to determine the edition of the book that I am listing. My most frequently referenced resource is Zempel and Verkler's "First Editions: A Guide to Identification," although I sometimes use other internet sources and make comparisons with listings I find on various internet sites. Errors, if any, remain my own. ON "MAKING AN OFFER" THROUGH eBay: Many of these items have automatic levels at which offers will be accepted which we have pre-set through eBay. Making an offer within the pre-determined range will result in your offer being immediately accepted. A few items also have levels below which offers will be declined. ALL offers are reviewed, and reasonable offers are always considered (although it being my business, I am the one who defines "reasonable"). If you have a question about making an offer on an item, do drop me a line. We strive to be extremely careful and diligent in describing our listings, but if you receive a book and don't feel that it's quite what you ordered, please contact us through the "Contact Seller" link to see what we can do for you. To avoid the chances of this happening, if you have a question about a book or other item, or would like to see additional photos, please use the "Contact Seller" link in the item description and let us know what you need. We will do our best to answer your questions *before* any sale. Thank you for ordering from Dactyl Books! -- William FROM THE BOOKSELLER: Thank you for visiting the Dactyl Books eBay Store! Dactyl Books is a second-hand and antiquarian reseller of books specialising in History, Science, Literature, and Mystery & Detective Fiction, but we have a little bit of everything in our boxes of goodies! If you are looking for a specific title or edition, don't hesitate to send it on to us and we will be glad to check our stocks and give you our opinion on how best to find your desired title. SHIPPING NOTES: Orders placed will generally be shipped within one business day. If you are in the United States and need the book faster, please choose the express shipping option for USPS. International customers are recommended to insure their shipping: Dactyl Books uses the eBay Global Shipping Programme. We pack carefully and securely, with our best hope being that the book reaches you in exactly the condition that it leaves us. Due to weight and size restrictions, a few items may require additional postage: please contact us with questions or for more details. TERMS & ABBREVIATIONS IN OUR LISTINGS: For your convenience, here is a quick list of terms and abbreviations that I commonly use in listings: IBC: Inside Back CoverIBEP: Inside Back End PaperIFC: Inside Front CoverIFEP: Inside Front End PaperText-Block: The body of the book contained between the covers. NOTES ON EDITIONS: I use a number of resources to attempt to determine the edition of the book that I am listing. My most frequently referenced resource is Zempel and Verkler's "First Editions: A Guide to Identification," although I sometimes use other internet sources and make comparisons with listings I find on various internet sites. Errors, if any, remain my own. ON "MAKING AN OFFER" THROUGH eBay: Many of these items have automatic levels at which offers will be accepted which we have pre-set through eBay. Making an offer within the pre-determined range will result in your offer being immediately accepted. A few items also have levels below which offers will be declined. ALL offers are reviewed, and reasonable offers are always considered (although it being my business, I am the one who defines "reasonable"). If you have a question about making an offer on an item, do drop me a line. We strive to be extremely careful and diligent in describing our listings, but if you receive a book and don't feel that it's quite what you ordered, please contact us through the "Contact Seller" link to see what we can do for you. To avoid the chances of this happening, if you have a question about a book or other item, or would like to see additional photos, please use the "Contact Seller" link in the item description and let us know what you need. We will do our best to answer your questions *before* any sale. Thank you for ordering from Dactyl Books! -- William

Price: 19.49 USD

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

End Time: 2025-01-29T17:19:48.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.13 USD