Histoire d’O is a landmark of erotic literature, first published in 1954 under the pseudonym Pauline Réage, later revealed to be French writer and editor Anne Desclos. This is a limited large-paper edition, of only 350 copies, of one of the most famous and controversial erotic novels ever published, with 16 provocative full-page colour lithographs and numerous in-text illustrations by surrealist Léonor Fini. The 1962 edition by Le Cercle du Livre Précieux stands out for its artistic refinement, illustrated by the surrealist painter Léonor Fini. This collaboration between two remarkable women transformed the novel from a controversial text into a rare art object. Fini’s contributions — evocative, sensual, and mythic — deepen the psychological complexity of the narrative and offer a female visual perspective on a story often read through the lens of male desire. “It describes in cool, elegant language the experiences of a young woman as she willingly enters a dark maze of perverse sexual practices within a clandestine amoral society. Revelling in pure fantasy, its theme is total submission through love to excesses of sadism and masochism, and the bond of ‘ownership” (Doris Kloster). The book’s content sparked so much controversy that the Department of the Interior brought obscenity charges against the publisher and its mysterious author— but the case was eventually thrown out of court. Leonor Fini’s art offers a woman’s take on surrealism, which large dealt with male fantasies, by offering a female view of the female body and of erotic pleasures. THIS EDITION This edition is among the most celebrated and luxurious incarnations of Pauline Réage’s controversial novel. Conceived not merely as a book but as a collector’s art object, it was issued in a limited, numbered run, reserved for subscribers to the Cercle’s exclusive bibliophile series. The printing is on fine vélin d’Arches paper, notable for its creamy texture and durability, and the typography is elegant, minimalist, and finely balanced, underscoring the text’s classical restraint. The book’s binding varies slightly among copies, but most are presented in a black velvet-covered slipcase, sometimes embossed or gilt-stamped, which adds a tactile sensuality that mirrors the novel’s themes of concealment, touch, and secrecy. The velvet slipcase became emblematic of this edition — both protective and erotic, it embodies the tension between exposure and privacy central to Histoire d’O. Léonor Fini’s contribution transforms this edition into a visual and psychological exploration of erotic power. Her etchings and lithographs, rendered in delicate grayscale and subtle tonal washes, depict figures in ambiguous postures — half-clothed, masked, or entwined in dreamlike compositions. Unlike many illustrators of erotic literature, Fini avoids explicit depiction; her imagery evokes the interior world of submission and transformation rather than mere physical acts. The characters, often androgynous, seem suspended between pleasure and transcendence, reflecting Fini’s fascination with myth, metamorphosis, and female agency. Each plate resonates with Réage’s prose, suggesting that the story’s eroticism lies as much in imagination and ritual as in flesh. In this way, Fini reframes Histoire d’O through a distinctly female gaze, at once empathetic and unsettling. As a physical artifact, the 1962 Cercle du Livre Précieux edition is a masterpiece of mid-century French book design — part bibliophilic tradition, part avant-garde provocation. The combination of Fini’s surrealist art, Réage’s austere prose, and the sumptuous tactile presentation turns the book into an emblem of erotic luxury and intellectual daring. The velvet slipcase, in particular, bridges art and fetish object: soft, mysterious, and protective, it invites touch while concealing the book’s scandalous content. Collectors prize this edition not only for its rarity and craftsmanship but also for its symbolic unity — an erotic novel written by a woman, illustrated by another woman, and clothed in an object that literally enacts the novel’s aesthetic of allure and restraint. It remains one of the most significant and artistically sophisticated editions of Histoire d’O, a perfect union of literature, art, and material sensuality. Folio: 188 pages. With 15 original illustrations (not 12 as mentioned), by Léonor Fini, a 20th century Italian surrealist artist. Edition limited to 350 copies only, this being number 219 of 314 on velin d'Arches pur chiffon. A lovely copy on thick and rich paper, untrimmed, loose in its paper folder, then enclosed in velvet covered boards (slight wear on bottom of spine), preserved in black velvet slipcase. A large and heavy item. Sensual and beautiful.