[FINE BINDING]
BURTON, RICHARD [trans.]. The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, with Supplemental Nights. Benares: Kamashastra Society, 1885-88. First edition. Sixteen volumes, full dark-green morocco by H.S. Nichols Ltd., spines heavily gilt, moire silk endpapers, gilt dentelles, top edges gilt, original cloth bound in at the rear of most volumes. 9 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches (24 x 15 cm); illustrated throughout with remarque proofs on Japan paper. Spines uniformly sunned to brown, a few very minor marks to covers, but a sound, well bound and attractive set.
Often considered Burton's most enduring work, the first ten volumes were issued in 1885, and the balance three years later. The edition was one thousand copies. This translation is quite explicit, as are some of Burton's notes. The Kamashastra Society was Burton's vehicle to avoid prosecution, which would have been likely if this work had been published in an open edition. Privately disseminating works with explicit content among the members of a society was legal, and was the means by which Burton skirted the obscenity laws.