Item 27 is a catalogue from one of the most notorious of booksellers and publishers, A Catalogue of Books printed for H. Curll... circa 1726. That would be Henry Curl, but he was really a front for his infamous father, Edmund Curll. Edmund published and sold all sorts of books, a combination of the worthy with scandalous and pornographic items.
He also dabbled in patent medicines and published medical books based on made-up claims. He was noted for pirating others' works, and when they complained, he would just publish more. He would instigate disputes and then publish writings on both sides of the argument to sell more books. He would obtain writers' private letters, and if this were not sufficient, make some up. On occasion, he would go too far and be sued for libel or obscenity, several times being imprisoned. For a while, he officially dropped out of the business when the heat was too great, and allowed his son Henry, who apparently had no more scruples than his father, to front it. Such was the case in the period 1725-1728 when he was repeatedly prosecuted, which is why this catalogue is attributed to his son. €900 (US $1,290).
Nothing can make a book more popular than a prohibition against reading it. Nevertheless, it took the Church many centuries to figure this out. The result was a flow of prohibition lists which likely encouraged as many readers as they discouraged. Item 49 is one such list, Index Librorum Prohibitorum, issued in 1761. This list had been drawn up during the papacy of Benedict XIV, though he died before this printing. €950 (US $1,363).
Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books has a website at www.fritsknuf.com, and may be reached by telephone at +33 (0) 254 72 26 56.
Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2008 Issue
European Books About Books from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books
This index of prohibited books graphically displays what should be done with them.
