RARE 1930 Casanova's Memoirs Illus. offers by Vincente Minelli - Beardsely-Style Illustrations by Meet Me in St. Louis Director

He was Judy Garland's husband. He was Liza Minelli's father. He directed Christmas classic 'Meet Me in St. Louis.' And his erotic illustrations grace a privately published edition of the most scandalous author of all time.

Privately published by the 'Exotica Club' in New York, this would have been a book hidden in a secret bookshelf or a locked boudoir drawer. The illustrations themselves are in an over-the-top, sumptuously 'Beardsleyesque' style. Nudity is the primary scandal of these debauched and highly stylized, sometimes surreal scenes, executed so beautifully by a man who would go on to direct the ultimate family Christmas movie.

Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer by Emanuel Levy, pg. 22 - "Around this time Minnelli also immersed himself in...the British artist Aubrey Beardsley's art nouveau drawings, such as "The Peacock Skirt," which would influence Minnelli's own drawings for 'Casanova's Memoirs,' one of his first projects when he moved to offers New York."

Condition: Very Good. In original, fragile silver foil dustjacket. Light chipping and folding, secured in a protective mylar cover, a little creasing and wear at dust jacket hinges. Ex libris stamps from the original owner, scattered throughout. Tiny bit of foxing, otherwise clean. Book bound in maroon cloth marked with silver stamp of a nude female form.

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