209 - RACHEWILTZ (Boris de)

RACHEWILTZ (Boris de) *Black Eros: Sexual Customs in Africa from Prehistory to the Present*. Paris, Éditions de la Jeune Parque, 1965. Large 8vo, paperback, color-illustrated cover, 336 pp., 251 black-and-white and color illustrations, and 4 maps. Bibliography and index. This 1965 edition is cited as the first edition of the French translation. An important ethnological study devoted to sexual rites, practices, and symbolism in African societies, examined from a historical perspective spanning from prehistory to the contemporary era. Boris de Rachewiltz notably compares the practices of sub-Saharan Africa with the traditions of ancient Egypt and examines sacred and profane eros, divine kings, initiation rites, magic, body modifications, tattoos, and scarifications, adornments, and marriage practices. Extensive and remarkable ethnographic illustrations, combining field photographs, ritual objects, and works of African art. Among the reproduced items are a large ithyphallic harp from the Oubangui, photographs of tattoos and scarifications from the Congo, as well as numerous objects related to rituals and beliefs. A sought-after work both for its content on African ethnology and for its extensive photographic documentation. The original first edition is significantly more interesting than the 1993 reprint, which is now very common. Condition: a good copy. The illustrated cover is intact, slightly rubbed at the edges and corners, with some signs of wear. The interior is fresh overall, with a few scattered foxing spots on the first few pages.