At the hearing before the Tribunal the police were represented by Mr Savage and Mr Neazor of the Crown Law Office, and Mr Campbell, the managing director of the Waverley Publishing Co. Ltd., represented his company.

In respect of each book the Tribunal decides and reports as follows:

A History of Eroticism, in five volumes, published in hard-back at U.S.$6 each, by Brusendorff and Henningsen, Copenhagen, 1963. Lyle Stuart Inc., New York.

The title is pretentious for so slight and stretched-thin a series as this. Each volume has about 90 pages of letterpress and 32 of black-and-white reproductions, some of which, although relevant to the theme, are not mentioned in the text, and would seem to be chosen for their indecency rather than for any support they might give to a social or historical view.

Each volume is mainly a collection of quoted passages from erotic writings of the period; serious works so treated lose proportion by unwarranted emphasis on isolated sections. There is no breadth of treatment, no penetration in the comments, no comparison of period with period. Other deficiencies are equally obvious—the material is limited to Europe; there are no acknowledgments or foreword; titles to illustrations include pseudo-humorous inventions of the authors; and no details of source or present whereabouts of works of art are given.

The style is neither scholarly nor popular, but is a readable compromise. The tone is satirical, light, and, in the main, unexceptionable; adults should be free to spend their money on it if they wish. But even if the theme were of interest to children, its poor quality makes this series unworthy of their attention.

We classify these volumes as indecent in the hands of persons under 18 years of age.

Aphrodisiacs and Love Stimulants, with other chapters on the "Secrets of Venus", by John Davenport, edited by Alan Hull Walton. Hardback, with illustrations; printed in the United States for Luxor Press, of London. U.S.$6.

Written in the early nineteenth century, this book is of academic rather than practical interest. The editor, himself a writer on these subjects, has done something to correct the limited knowledge of earlier times, but it remains essentially a museum piece and, as its publishers claim, is intended only for those with a serious and genuine interest in the subject matter; namely, the history of superstition, knowledge, and practice in the use of stimulants and in the treatment of various sexual phenomena. We do not think the information is reliable enough to be put into the hands of adolescents and accordingly classify it as indecent in the hands of persons under 18 years of age.

Sex, Pornography, and Justice, by Albert B. Gerber. Lyle Stuart Inc., New York. U.S.$10.

The author, a man of law who has closely studied American law, local and state, on pornography and legal actions resulting, has here assembled his evidence and conclusions and produced a valuable study of the subject up to 1965, the year of publication. Necessarily, the book is illustrated with pictures as well as with extracts from works concerned, some of them likely to offend the casual reader; but it is to the student that the book is primarily directed. The Tribunal decides that the book is indecent in the hands of readers under 18 years of age.

Sex and the Single Man, by Dr Albert Ellis. Lyle Stuart Inc., New York. U.S.$4.95.

This book, sent to us in the comparatively rare and expensive hard-cover edition, is a manual of advice on sexual behaviour and is directed particularly to young men. The tone of the writing in this wolves' handbook is satirical and informal. Some of its advice is wise; but much of it gives casual, not to say cynical, sanction to patterns and codes of behaviour not acceptable in our society. The flippant approach of so practised a pleader as Dr Ellis may adversely influence those whose standards are not established, and we therefore think this book should be restricted to those of mature minds. We therefore classify the book as indecent in the hands of persons under 17 years of age.

The Love Elite, by Arthur H. Hirsch, Ph.D. Julian Press, New York. U.S.$5.95.

The so-called research behind this book is based on intimate letters and conversations of various American women. These are quoted in isolation from their subsequent development and from objective comment. There seems little taste and less point in publishing them.

The author is an advocate of greater freedom in sexual matters, and the use of the word "Elite" in the title is intended to signify that women belonging to the upper levels of society, wealth, prestige, and professional eminence are participating in the process of the sexual emancipation of women. This is hardly borne out by the fact that the quoted writings do not reach a very high level of literacy or of good sense. It is impossible to resist the conclusion that Dr Hirsch's chief object has been to embellish his thesis, honest as it may be, with exciting extracts from personal records of erotic experience. The book is a jibe at the value of integrity and as such could be a corrupting influence. We decide that it is indecent in terms of the Act.

The Cult of Desire, by Kanwar Lal. University Books Inc., New York. U.S.$10.

This is a second edition of Kanwar Lal's essay on the erotic element in Indian religious art, exhibited in statuary decoration of Hindu temples. Comparatively few of these remain after destructive invasions and the dilapidations of time, but enough to illustrate the author's theses in photographs by Darshan Lal and the Department of Archaeology of the Government of India. These illustrate the author's historical account of the change in which India abandoned the early asceticism of Buddhism and, indeed, reversed its teaching which had rejected desire and women. This swing from one excess to the other is interpreted in the author's essay, not everywhere quite coherent, and exhibited in the plates. Those that belong to the late orgiastic period are often indecent; but as a whole they have a value and sometimes a beauty that compensate for the indecency. The publishers expressly restrict the sale of the book to "members of the medical and legal professions, and to scholars and research students of Indology, psychology, and social sciences". The Tribunal decides it is not indecent except in the hands of persons under 18 years of age, unless they are certified students of art, archaeology, philosophy, or religion.

The Anatomy of Dirty Words, by Edward Sagarin. Lyle Stuart, New York. U.S.$4.95.

This is a series of short essays, ethical, social, and semantic, on so-called dirty words. The key to them lies in a sentence from Professor Allan Walker Read's introduction "Obscenity emerges out of unhealthy attitudes towards sex and the bodily functions. Not only are 'dirty words' a symptom of these attitudes but they serve to perpetuate the attitudes". Mr Sagarin's essays range widely, he treats his various subjects slightly but with an ironic and stimulating thoughtfulness, and his theme is a proper one for inquiry. The Tribunal decides that this book is not indecent within the meaning of the Act.

Bizarre, compiled by Barry Humphries. Elek Books Ltd., London. U.K. 63s.

This is a collection of articles, poems, and illustrations dealing with the grotesque in body, thought, art, and customs. The editor says it is intended as a "relief from the newspapers", as "essentially a family book" and "full of merry japes". Somewhat inconsistently, he further claims it is "addressed frankly to the jaded palate, to those who find a literary diet of steak and eggs insufficient, and the works of great painters necessary but savourless roughage". There seems very little point in this book: the illustrations are in many cases monstrous, the text is perverse, and the humour is sick. We see nothing of value to offset this general decadence and accordingly judge the book to be indecent within the definition contained in section 2 of the Act.

The Secret, by Karl Saller. Lyle Stuart Inc., New York. U.S.$10.

This book, subtitled The Miracle of Procreation, gives a comprehensive and clear account of all the processes leading to the normal birth of a human being. The treatment of the subject is matter of fact, but is not confined to its purely biological aspects; it is detailed, and assisted by diagrammatic drawings and photographs, including some of positions (not acts) of intercourse. These photographs are rendered inoffensive by a sand-graining technique which gives a blurred, impressionistic effect; they are intended to explain, not excite.

The author, in his preface, says the book is not intended only for medical specialists, and that "it belongs on the bookshelves of every young woman who wants to become a mother and of every young man who hopes to become a father". The elegant format of the book lends added dignity to its theme. Its language is not geared to the very young, but it could be valuable as an aid to teaching such persons. Accordingly the Tribunal classifies this book as not indecent except in the hands of persons under 16 years unless such persons are being instructed by a parent or other proper adviser.

Ecce Homo, by George Grosz, with foreword by Henry Miller. Grove Press Inc., New York. $16.

This book reproduces the collection of Grosz's drawings originally published in Berlin in 1923. They record and foreshadow the sordid and fearful aspects of life in Berlin and the provincial cities of the Kaiser's Germany and after. The manner is suitably ugly, the tone satirical, and the intention is to expose greed, hate, and exploitation in something approaching the tradition of Hogarth and Goya. The book may be shocking, as indeed it is intended to be, but it is not indecent, and the Tribunal so decides. The Tribunal is assisted in coming to this decision by the fact that the price of the book will impose some limitation on its circulation.

Shunga (erotic elements in Japanese art), Charles Grosbois (former Director of the French-Japanese Institute in Kyoto). $38.

Kama Kala (philosophical basis of Hindu erotic sculpture), Mulk Raj Anand (Indian art historian and critic). $20.40.

Eros Kalos (erotic elements in Greek art), Jean Marcade (Professor of Archaeology, University of Bordeaux). $26.

Roma Amor (erotic elements in Roman and Etruscan art), Jean Marcade (Professor of Archaeology, University of Bordeaux). $26.

Saru e Naz (love and the representation of erotic themes in ancient Iran), Robert Sarieu. $38.

Checan (erotic elements in Peruvian art), Rafael Larco Hoyle (Director of Museum of Lima). $38.