Polly Borland: Bunny

Private Collections is a beautiful book if you like erotic pinups circa Victorian era thru the 1920's-It's missing 2 pages though-the one I received- those may have been the 1940's pinups. I collect pinup books and so I find it to be a really good one with regards to pure images. It does not have any text, but for me it is not a problem somehow as the photographs are sensational.However the book arrived with a couple of pages torn out and that bummed me out as I paid good money for it plus the shipping. Amazon is great though, because they offered to replace it with a new one at their cost including their paying for the shipping, which I find very nice and very professional.

There really is something for everyone.

This collection of photographs was a fascinating look into erotica photo musings from 1850-1940. Some photographs were tough to figure out (What WAS that, anyway?!?!) while others were incredibly disturbing - specifically one where a woman is strangled during copulation.Several photos seemed to be of the same thing. I was disappointed that the photographs did not include specific dates or information about where they appeared, where they were found, etc. That would have given the book more depth. As it is, it is just a collection of vintage photographs with no context.

Several things to note. As others have said, this book has NO text about the photos, so don't expect any. Even the intro is rather nonsensical and avant-garde, so it's of little value. However, this book is HUGE in size, which is abnormal for books dealing with vintage erotica and it's printed in England (not China) on superb paper and the over all quality of this book is quite impressive.Furthermore, this isn't your standard collection of nudie victorian French postcards, (although there are some of those) this is actual Victorian era hardcore porn, which I really wasn't expecting. This book surprised me with how graphic the vintage photos were, and yet again proved to me there's nothing new out there that hasn't been done before - literally. Name a kink or a fetish and there's a photo of it in here - VERY surprised at that.The photos are well reproduced, done in very large formats, and the layout is quite excellent. A good 80% of the photos look to be from the 1870's through the WWI era, with a few 1940's fetish shots thrown in for good measure and a few older photos primarily of nudes in studio settings.While this book is cumbersome to handle due to its size, it is thoroughly entertaining in a very naughty sort of way. Books like this always end up being worth a small fortune on the secondary market, and I'd wager this one will be VERY sought after in the years to come. Also, I noticed mine had a $100 retail price bar-code sticker on the back cover when it arrived (peeled off easily leaving no mark), so I suspect very few of these were printed and they simply didn't sell well for that high price due to the downright lewd nature of many of these photographs.This one is worth getting while it's available, but be warned, it's gonna' cause a lot of raised eyebrows and shocked faces if you leave if on the coffee table when relatives come to visit!

Had some good pictures & it was the right size book & not a mini size which usually happens with this type of book it had quite a variety of antique pictures.

The photographs are excellent, but as another reviewer comments the book lacks context. The introductory essay is interesting and way too short. It is also presented in a way that defies all logic. Certain words have been blacked out and are visible only if you have a magnifying glass to hand or your eyesight is very good! I understand this sort of gimmickry up to a point, but it is unnecessary and distracting.The absence of dates and captions combined with a lack of anaylsis or commentary about the photographs is very frustrating. Nothing about provenance or the collection owner either. What you have is a fascinating collection of images with no information that places them in a historical or social context.However, the photographs do speak for themselves despite the lack of information. They show the real bodies of real people. No botox or liposuction in evidence here! They reflect their times and in some cases the background details help you identify the era. There is some unintentional humour as well. When you look at the expressions on some of the faces of those supposedly in the throes of sexual ecstasy it looks as exciting as eating lemons!The photographs are exceptional. Some are quite beautiful. It is an interesting mix of pornographic and what I would describe aserotic studio poses.A must for those interested in vintage erotica, but not strong on historical analysis or background information.