According to The Guardian, the formerly banned Aristotle's Compleat Master-Piece, which gives ideas on sexual relationships and pregnancy, will be auctioned in Edinburgh Jan. 16.
The manual on sex and conceiving ideas first appeared in 1680 and was banned for more than 200 years in the UK. The ban was lifted in 1961. The book is expected to be auctioned for approximately $650, and the auction will be held at Edinburgh auction house Lyon and Turnbull, reports The Guardian.
"It was very popular. It was probably the most printed text of its kind and it went through a lot of editions," Cathy Marsden, a book specialist at the auctioneers, said. "It's fascinating reading. It tells an amazing story about the changing perspectives on sex.
" The book also explains the consequences which may occur with extramarital sex and serves as guidance for young married couples.
"There's nothing in it that would really be considered dirty in our society now. It's funny more than anything," Marsden said. "There are various things which warn parents about what could happen to their children if they sinned whilst conceiving them, perhaps by having sex outside marriage. It would say that your baby would be born all hairy or it would suggest that conjoined twins were the result of the parents' sins."
Marsden further said that the book contains "interesting bits about the 17th century notion that it was considered beneficial for a woman to enjoy sexual intercourse in order to conceive. It suggests that both men and women should enjoy sex."
"That's interesting because much later on, when they realized that a woman didn't have to climax in order to conceive, the idea of a woman enjoying sex was considered far less important," she said.
Marsden also noted that though the book was credited to Aristotle, it does not include any of his work in the text. She claims the reason for the credit may be to sound better or for its better value.
Marsden said the pictures may have been the cause for the ban of the book.
"To our eyes they're not graphic at all," she said. "There's one image of a baby in a womb and the woman's torso has been 'cut open' to show the baby. There are other images of hairy children or children with their mouths where their navels are. They are very strange images.
Despite the ban on the book, Marsden said it was available in the black market and was legally available in countries like New Zealand.
"Drawing from the works of Nicholas Culpeper and Albertus Magnus, with a good dose of old wives' tale, there were more editions of this work published in the 18th century than any other medical text," Simon Vickers, another book specialist at Lylon and Turnbull said. "However, 'Aristotle's Compleat Master-Piece' slowly began to be considered highly distasteful and even downright lewd and was banned in Britain until 1961."
The edition that will be auctioned at the Edinburgh auction house Lyon and Turnbull, Jan.16, is believed to be printed in the 1760s.
