American Aphrodite: A Quarterly For The Fancy-Free
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark — and deeply controversial — publication in the history of American literary erotica, American Aphrodite: A Quarterly For The Fancy-Free presents a curated collection of erotic fiction, poetry, and illustrated content that Samuel Roth produced in the early 1950s as a subscription-based literary magazine in book form. Roth, a notorious and polarizing figure in the American publishing world, championed the cause of sexually frank literature at a time when such material was aggressively suppressed by postal authorities and obscenity laws, and this quarterly stands as a bold artifact of that ongoing cultural battle. Each volume blends literary ambition with provocative content, drawing on both original works and adaptations of classic erotic texts, illustrating the tension between artistic expression and censorship in mid-century America. The publication ultimately contributed to the landmark 1957 Supreme Court case Roth v. United States, which redefined the legal standard for obscenity and reshaped the boundaries of free speech — making American Aphrodite not merely a period curiosity, but a pivotal document in the legal and cultural history of American publishing.
Author: Samuel Roth
Format: Hardback
Published: 1953, American Aphrodite, New York
Genre: Anthology
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark — and deeply controversial — publication in the history of American literary erotica, American Aphrodite: A Quarterly For The Fancy-Free presents a curated collection of erotic fiction, poetry, and illustrated content that Samuel Roth produced in the early 1950s as a subscription-based literary magazine in book form. Roth, a notorious and polarizing figure in the American publishing world, championed the cause of sexually frank literature at a time when such material was aggressively suppressed by postal authorities and obscenity laws, and this quarterly stands as a bold artifact of that ongoing cultural battle. Each volume blends literary ambition with provocative content, drawing on both original works and adaptations of classic erotic texts, illustrating the tension between artistic expression and censorship in mid-century America. The publication ultimately contributed to the landmark 1957 Supreme Court case Roth v. United States, which redefined the legal standard for obscenity and reshaped the boundaries of free speech — making American Aphrodite not merely a period curiosity, but a pivotal document in the legal and cultural history of American publishing.