Sex and ye olde city... book banned for two centuries goes up for grabs

Aristotle’s Compleat Master-Piece first appeared around 1680 and sets out various ideas on sexual relationships and how to conceive.

It was banned in the mid-18th century and remained a forbidden text until the prohibition was lifted in the 1960s.

An edition printed in the 1760s is expected to fetch up to £400 when it goes on sale at Edinburgh auction house Lyon and Turnbull next Wednesday.

Cathy Marsden, a book specialist at the auctioneers, said: “It was very popular. It was probably the most printed text of its kind.

“It’s fascinating reading. It tells an amazing story about the changing perspectives on sex.”

The book is thought to have served as a reference guide for amateur midwives and young married couples and includes dire warnings about the possible consequences of extra-marital sex.

“There’s nothing in it that would really be considered dirty in our society now. It’s funny more than anything,” Ms 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 Siamese twins were the result of the parents’ sins.

“There are also 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 realised that a woman didn’t have to climax in order to conceive, the idea of a woman enjoying sex was considered far less important.”

The book was attributed to Aristotle but there is little, if any, of his work in the text. Nothing is known of the actual author of the piece.

Ms Marsden said: “We don’t really know why it was attributed to Aristotle but one possibility is that they were just trying to make it sound better or more worthy than it might have been.”