266
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
No. 9

and is so treated as to reflect the life of primitive shepherd
and fisher communities. The camera work that illustrates it
appears to be brilliantly faithful to its purpose, which is not
exceptional. The book is a work of art and is in no way
indecent.

An Analysis of Human Sexual Response—Edited by Ruth and
Edward Brecher. Andre Deutch Ltd., London. $4.30.

This work is a critical assessment of the work of Masters
and Johnson and others, together with some survey of the
practical application of such research and of its relevance in
our culture. The contributors include well-known experts in
medicine, sociology, psychology, and marriage guidance. It is
an interpretation for the layman of the latest findings from
the physiological laboratory and other sources, and although
largely non-technical in language its tone is scholarly and
scientific, its purpose proper and useful. This analysis more-
over is honest enough to include a very able statement from
a doctor who distrusts the research methods used and there-
fore doubts the conclusions. It is not indecent for anyone
but may be thought inappropriate for children. Any young
person, however, who was interested (and able) to read it
would gain two things from it: straight knowledge imparted
and discussed in a sane and balanced fashion; and some sense
of the dignity and worth of an inquiry which is too often
merely furtive and haphazard. The kind, calibre, and price
of the book together with the normal practice of libraries
and booksellers will ensure its right distribution. We accord-
ingly classify this book as not indecent.

Eros Modern Style—Patrick Waldberg. Bibliotheque Inter-
nationale d’erotologie No. 14. $7.50.

This book is No. 14 in what is described as an international
series on eroticism. Its text is French and it consists of an
elaborate essay reviewing decades (1880–1910) of erotic
publications, world-wide but chiefly European. It is copiously
illustrated with photographic reproductions of photographs,
posters, paintings, etc. Although some of the artists respon-
sible are renowned, many of the illustrations are vulgar and
ugly and, in the sense that they are debasing, we consider
they could have a corrupting influence. The fact that the text
is French will mean that most of those persons in this
country who take up the book will be interested only in the
illustrations. Having regard to these matters, its price, and
its probably very limited circulation, we classify the book as
not indecent in the hands of adults but as indecent in the
hands of persons under 18 years of age.

The Cradle of Erotica—Allen Edwardes and R. E. L. Masters.
Julian Press, New York. $9.50.

This book is described as a companion volume to The
Jewel in the Lotus by Allen Edwardes which has already been
considered by the Tribunal.

It is described as an examination of African and Asian
sexual behaviour. The accounts of such behaviour are in some
instances detailed, decidedly unpleasant, and provide an insight
into sexual practices probably unfamiliar to the Western
world. The study appears to be serious as indicated by its
bibliography and careful index, but occasionally jaunty phrases
are inconsistent. However, we consider its accounts of unusual
sexual practices could be disturbing to juveniles and we
accordingly classify it as not indecent except in the hands of
persons under 18 years of age.

L. G. H. SINCLAIR, Chairman.

19 February 1968.

Decision and Report of Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963 and in
the matter of a reference to the Tribunal under section 12 (1)
of the said Act by the Magistrate’s Court at Dunedin for a
decision and report in terms of the said section in respect of
the following books:

Six Nymphets.
Human Sexual Response.
The Merry Muses.
Stimulants for Love.
Origins of the Sexual Impulse.
Two Serious Ladies.
An Honourable Estate.
The Immoral Tradition.

DECISION AND REPORT

THE above books were seized under a search warrant issued
under section 25 (1) of the Act and Wallace Mann, trading
as Mann’s Newsagency, was summoned before the Magis-
trate’s Court at Dunedin to show cause why the said books
should not be destroyed. The question of their indecency
having arisen in these proceedings the Tribunal is required
to make a decision and report in terms of section 12 (1)
in respect of each of the said books.

At the hearing before the Tribunal the Police were repre-
sented by Mr Savage and Mr Neazor of the Crown Law
Office. In respect of the books Six Nymphets, Human Sexual
Response, Two Serious Ladies, and An Honourable Estate,
Mr Savage made no submissions, but in respect of Stimulants
for Love and Origins of the Sexual Impulse he submitted
that they should be classified as indecent in the hands of
persons under 18 years of age. In respect of The Merry
Muses and The Immoral Tradition, Mr Neazor submitted
that they also should be classified as indecent in the hands
of persons under 18 years of age. No submissions were
received by the Tribunal by or on behalf of Mr Mann.

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

Six Nymphets—Photographs by David Larcher and Philip O.
Stearns. Edited by Norman Vane. Kings Road Publishers,
London. $10.50.

This elaborately produced and expensive book consists of
140 photographs linked by a pretentious and fatuous string
of brief sentences or phrases. Some of the photographs are
beautiful, more of them are ugly, contrived, suggestive of
either ageing nymphets or over-sophisticated ones. The camera
work of two experts in their craft is technically resourceful,
artistically ambiguous, and emotionally somewhat distasteful.
The book’s safeguards are perhaps the unconscious pathos
of the models, and its price. Although we find much in it
that is unpleasant we are unable to say that it is indecent
within the meaning of the Act and we classify it accordingly.

Human Sexual Response—W. H. Masters and Virginia E.
Johnson. Little Brown and Co., Boston. Hard cover (no
dust jacket). $10.25.

This book is a scientific and scholarly work, the status of
which is sufficiently indicated by the fact that the authors
are Research Director and Research Associate respectively of
the Reproductive Biology Research Foundation of St. Louis,
Missouri, who acknowledge the help of members of three
faculties of the University of Washington. The publishers
are the reputable Little Brown and Co. of Boston. As an
account of laboratory research methods and findings,
objectively presented in technical language and precisely
documented, this work is a contribution to knowledge. It is
not indecent nor do we see fit to restrict its sale, which, with
books of this kind, calibre and price, may well be left to the
discretion of booksellers.

The Merry Muses—A collection of songs and fragments from
the secret collections of Robert Burns, edited by E. L.
Randall. Luxor Press Ltd., London. 95c.

Although claimed to be an entirely new compendium of
Scottish songs it is not entirely new in respect of its contents.
All of it has been published before; only the notes and intro-
duction are new. Burns was a peasant who lived among a
very free-spoken people whose coarse and bawdy idiom was
his own, and whose love of song was his also. He was a
collector and improver of such pieces. It would be regrettable
if anybody who wished to study the life, works, character, and
genius of Burns was precluded from extending his study to
this book by a decision classifying it as indecent.

It does not provide easy reading, and it is to be expected
that the merely casual reader would soon become tired of
the numerous figures in the text alongside obscure Lowland
Scots words and the corresponding footnoted definitions. We
consider the book to be not indecent in terms of the Statute
and classify it accordingly.

Stimulants for Love—Alan Hull Walton. Tandem Books Ltd.,
London.

This is a revised paperback reissue of a book first published
in Great Britain 12 years ago and then, 10 years ago, in the
United States of America. The sub-title, “The Quest for
Virility”, sufficiently explains the author’s purpose: he is
studying the history of aphrodisiacs. (The American title
was Aphrodisiacs: from Legend to Prescription.) In the
course of his review of theories and practices throughout the
ages, in literature as well as in life, it is not surprising to find
that he uncovers and laughs at a good deal of nonsense.
There is a long section on “the cookery of love”, another
on the endocrine system. The work is well documented and
we do not think it could have any harmful effects on persons
old enough to persist with its perusal. We decide that it is not
indecent.

Origins of the Sexual Impulse—Colin Wilson. Panther Books
Ltd., London. 92c.

This is a paperback reprint published by Panther Books:
the original edition was published as a hard cover book by
Arthur Barker Ltd., a reputable publisher. It is a serious
and competent work which adds to the understanding of the
subject matter as expressed in its title by examining the
extent to which modern psychology can throw light on
sexual aberration. This involves a consideration of a number
of celebrated crimes: the author puts forward the suggestion
that his method of examination helps to explain the multi-
plication of sex crimes, especially among the young. We are
disposed to agree, and decide that the book is not indecent
within the meaning of the Indecent Publications Act 1963.

Two Serious Ladies—Jane Bowles. Mayflower Books Ltd.,
London.

The colour photograph on the jacket, though by no means
lurid, suggests a bolder emphasis on sex than the novel
develops. It is in fact a fantastic story about freakish
characters in freakish episodes, relations, and conversations,
leading to a conclusion that some readers will think pointless
but others ironically pathetic. This ironic pathos is matched
by ironic humour and these qualities are blended in the
narrative, the characterisation and the dialogue. There is no
element of indecency in this novel and we decide that it is
not indecent.