Edition 69

Launched in 1931 by Jindřich Štyrský, Edition 69 consisted of six volumes of erotic literature and illustration that followed the path marked out by Louis Aragon's Irene's Cunt and Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye. Including the first Czech translation of Marquis de Sade's Justine and Pietro Aretino (both illustrated by Toyen), three volumes were from contemporary Czech avant-garde artists, and these were all illustrated by Štyrský himself, who also contributed the text for the last volume of the series. Because of the censorship laws Štyrský encountered with his illustrations for the first Czech publication of Lautréamont's Maldoror, the Edition 69 series was not for sale in regular retail outlets, nor was it made available to libraries. As the original colophons indicate, the books were exclusively for subscribers, collectors, and a circle of friends, and the original print runs numbered no more than 200 (Štyrský's volume was limited to 69 copies).

Bringing together original English translations of the three Czech contributions to the Edition 69 series, this volume comprises Nezval’s “Sexual Nocturne”; Halas’s erotic poetry collection “Thyrsos”; and Štyrský’s “Emilie Comes to Me in a Dream,” including the original essay from psychoanalyst and fellow Surrealist Bohuslav Brouk, all complemented by Štyrský’s artwork, ranging from pen and ink drawings to graphic collages to pornographic photomontages. Influenced by Max Ernst’s collage-novels, Andre Masson’s illustrations for Aragon's and Bataille's work, and the book as object, Štyrský’s overall conception for the Edition 69 series rank it among the notable achievements of European Surrealism, representing as well a sustained attempt by the interwar Czech avant-garde to investigate the taboos of bourgeois culture.

Lansata in 1931 de Jindřich Štyrský, Editia 69 consta din sase volume de literatura erotica si ilustratie care au urmat calea marcata de Cunt Irene de Louis Aragon si Povestea ochiului de Georges Bataille. Inclusiv prima traducere ceha a lui Justine si Pietro Aretino, marchizul de Sade (ambele ilustrate de Toyen), trei volume au fost de la artistii de avangarda cehi contemporani, iar acestea au fost ilustrate de Štyrský insusi, care a contribuit si el la textul pentru ultimul volum serialul.