The Berlin Beauties; oder, Du Hast Ja Keine Ahnung Wie Schön du Bist by Iannone, Dorothy

Unpag. (70 pp.) artist's book from the Berlin-based American visual artist, featuring a striking combination of erotic drawings and photomontages, together with a few photographs by Mary Harding, to whom the book is dedicated, which combine to form a description of a fictional ideal lover as well as a declaration of love to the city of Berlin. Square 4to. Original illustrated cardstock wrpps. Very slight abrasions to spine and extremely minor edgewear, otherwise very fine. Berlin (The Mary Dorothy Verlag/The Passion Press) 1978. Hand-numbered limited edition of 500 copies. Dorothy Iannone was born in the United States but has spent most of her career working in Berlin. She is particularly known for her often colorful and whimsical autobiographical texts, films, and paintings that overtly depict female sexuality, erotic love, and "ecstatic unity". She draws inspiration from Japanese woodcuts, Eastern religious traditions, African tribal statues, and Greek vases. She was frequently censored due to the explicit nature of her work. A scarce and beautiful work; as of April 2020, WorldCat locates five holdings in North American libraries.