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Illustrations for Fanny Hill by Paul Avril

Édouard-Henri Avril (1849–1928) used the pseudonym Paul Avril to produce his exquisitely rendered erotica. He studied at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts and first began exhibiting in 1878.

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland was first published in 1748. Due to its erotic content it became one of the most controversial and banned books ever written. Despite its controversy it has been republished numerous times since then. It is better known as Fanny Hill, or The Memoirs of Fanny Hill.

In 1908, Avril was commissioned to illustrate a new French edition of the classic. The two volume French edition, Mémoires de Fanny Hill, was so successful that the twelve illustrations were reissued in a discrete folder for collectors.

Collected here are the twelve illustrations from the separate folder as well as the two head illustrations from the novel.

Illustrations