Publishing, the Rules of the Trade

Sexus, Livre premier, volume 4-5

Henry Miller, La Terre de Feu, original edition unexpurgated, 1949, Coll. Bfm - Limoges

The publication of the autobiography Sexus was cleverly orchestrated by Girodias. The English edition appeared in 1949 under the imprint Editions de la Terre de Feu, founded for the occasion. In 1950, under the imprint Editions du Chêne, he printed 5000 copies of a expurgated French translation, with all ‘licentious’ material removed, and 500 copies of the original version for the author and his friends. The publisher later confessed that it was the original, unexpurgated edition that was printed in 5,000 copies, and he hoped to sell them at a high price!