Today, I was reading “The Golden Asse of Apuleius” published in 1931 by Rarity Press. I have a bunch of Rarity Press books, that are illustrated by famous artists of the time.
It is highly desired to have the books in their dust jackets. I have nineteen such tomes in the library, all dressed in their covers. Rarity Press was printed by William Godwin, Inc, and there were some titles also printed under that name. I have more dust jacket clad books listed under Godwin Press. Some are from the 1930’s with illustrations, and others from the 1940’s with the illustrations only being on the dust jackets.
Many of the illustrators for these books were considered famous for their erotic content. The quality of paper, and printing of illustrations was much more apparent under the Godwin name than the Rarity Press name. This is one from Jean De Bosschere from “The Golden Asse”.
The story of “the Golden Asse” (also called “the Metamorphoses”) was about a man named Lucius who was turned into an Ass by accident when he was playing with magic. It was written around year 150 A.D. by Apuleius. There are the adventures of Lucius, ending with him turned back into a human.
After I trotted through that book, I visited to “Aesop’s Fables” this edition printed in 1968. There were many ‘Ass” stories to relate. One interesting one that I would like to paraphrase is “The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass”. The Miller and son were driving their Ass to neighboring town to sell it.
A group of women saw them and laughed. “Did you ever see such fellows, to be trudging along when they might ride?” one said. The Miller quickly had his son jump on the Ass, and continued to walk along side. They then came upon some men who said “What respect is shown to old age, when a boy rides and his father has to walk.” So the Miller made his son dismount, and he rode the Ass.
The met another group of people who said “Why you lazy man. How can you ride on the beast, when your son cannot hardly keep up with you?” The Miller took up his son to sit behind him. Then right before the town, they saw another person. He said “Is that your Ass? Look at how you load it, both of you on its back. Why you two fellows are better able to carry it than he you.”
“Anything to please you.” said the miller. “We can but try.” He and his son jumped off of the Ass. They tied the legs of the Ass together, and with the help of a long pole, tried to carry the Ass over a bridge into the town. The townspeople all laughed at the Miller, until the Ass tried to break away. It tumbled into the river and was lost. The Miller and his son had to walk home, thinking “by endeavoring to please everybody, he had pleased nobody, and lost his Ass in the bargain.”
I have one more “Ass” book to discuss today. It is “Diseases of the Stomach, Intestines and Pancreas” by Robert Coleman Kemp, published in 1917.
In discussing the ass (or anus), a doctor could use several tools for inspecting the ass: the speculum, the proctoscope, and the proctosigmoidscope. (The colonoscopy program with much longer “tubes” and cameras is a pretty recent program.) I have shown some illustrations. You can note in the comments that “if the region is sensitive, a few drops of cocain (sic) solution can be injected inside and along the sphincters.”
I ended (!?) with this book because in about a half hour, I will begin taking my prep medicine of Sodium, Potassium, and Magnesium Sulfates, along with a lot of water, for a mid-morning Colonoscopy tomorrow.
I could let the stories in “Diseases, of the Stomach, Intestines and Pancreas” worry me tonight, but as I have gone through this “necessary evil” ordeal before, I don’t think I will. Rather, I will reflect on Aesop’s fable “the Ass and the Lapdog”
The story goes like this: The Ass is jealous of the lapdog because the dog doesn’t have to work – just jumps around the master, licking his face, and is given treats. “Why him and not me?” asked the Ass. So the Ass tried to lick the master’s face, and gets beaten with a stick. He finally learned to be happy with what he has.
I am content to be an Ass. And if that means I have to have my colon cleansed and inspected, so be it. I just hope my doctor was well rectal-mended. I will tell you how this ends…
(The butt-ler did it.)
Librarytomes 