Encyclopedia Sexualis Volumes 1 and 2
Encyclopedia Sexualis Volume 1 front cover
by Anonymous
Published in 1970 by Eros Publishing Company
Strictly speaking, Encyclopedia Sexualis is more dictionary than encyclopedia. Volume 1 covers letters A-L and Volume 2 covers letters M-Z. The terms described in each contain a hodge-podge of sexual terms from medicine, psychiatry, antiquity, and various forms of slang such as common, vulgar, military, and so on.
Because of their age, some of the terms mentioned have fallen out of favor or changed meanings. This is the book is at its best: a time capsule from a bygone era. For instance, did you know that an African toothache was any sort of venereal disease? Or that a canoe inspector doesn’t work on the river but instead in a hospital?
While it would have been easy for the book to editorialize or be silly, the compilers resisted these temptations. Definitions are presented in a concise factual manner free of judgment. Unfortunately, many of the definitions are far too concise even for a dictionary. The inclusion of word origins and/or pronunciations for obscure medical terms would make this a better reference. Also mysteriously absent is a key to explain the meaning of abbreviations. (To be fair, I didn’t have to strain too hard to figure out that “Vulg sl” was vulgar slang, but still.) Curiously, despite these omissions, the compiler’s felt it necessary to list a term’s part of speech.
Encyclopedia Sexualis Volume 2 front cover
My copy of Volume 1 has a sticker with a price of $6 which made me wonder if that was the original sales price. Since $6 in 1970 adjusted for inflation amounts to the prohibitive price of $31.18 in 2006 (the latest data available as of this writing1) I have to imagine the sticker was added later by a reseller.
While the book doesn’t shy away from including all sorts of slurs, it also covers terms that sexual subcultures use to describe each other. Equally impressive is the book’s scope as it includes terms that include homosexuals, the transgendered, the kinky, and so on.
With one or two minor exceptions, the editors obviously culled photos from a small group of photo sets and slapped labels to serve as the illustrations. At first, I thought the illustration for “animalism” and “bestiality” had been repeated, but a closer examination revealed the models hands were in slightly different positions. Humorously, the same group of three women is presented as the illustration for “Lesbians” with the dog cropped out of the picture. While the illustrations do little to enhance the book several are quite entertaining in their own right.
Despite the few criticisms, this is a really useful reference book. I’m sure the next time I encounter algolagnia in print, this will be the first reference source I check.
1. See the Bureau of Labor Statistics website at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ if you want to check for yourself.
When I was a kid, about 12 years old, my dad got this set of books. They sat on his nightstand for months. I saw, but didn’t read the label very carefully. It looked like another boring paperback. Not nearly as exciting as his Playboy magazines hidden in his closet. One day, I happened to notice the words “sexualis” and thought, what the heck is that? I opened the book to fan the pages and was stunned by the hundreds of photographs which flashed before me. A woman with huge breasts, a man’s hard penis, a woman with a penis in her mouth!!! I was stunned. I had never seen anything like it. I quickly put the book back and waited until I was alone in the house. Mom had to run to the store, so I had to watch my younger siblings. I grabbed both volumes and locked myself in my parents master bath. Thus began my love affair with pornography. I read both books cover to cover. Then I read them again. I gazed at each page and soaked them in. Blood engorged cocks sliding into vaginas. People with the most interesting expressions on their faces. Was that pain? Or perhaps the most intense pleasure? I was mesmerized, but not sexually aroused. Not yet.
Over the next few years, whenever my parents were out, I would sneak into my parents bedroom and read those two books. Later he added to this collection, including a two volume set called Sex in Marriage. Also profusely illustrated. He kept them on the top shelf in his closet with the spines against the wall. I wondered if he noticed the wear marks on the edges from constant page turning. Eventually, they would look like library copies of Catcher In The Rye.
As I hit puberty and began learning to masturbate, I used the Encyclopedia Sexualis as my favorite stimulus. I loved the women who were fucking. Especially the woman in Vol 2 who is riding a man in what we call “reverse cowgirl”. She isn’t particularly beautiful, but it looks like she’s had her hair done. She has makeup on and might have just been dressed for work. The penis she is on is very hard and when I used to see that, I would shoot my teenage load. After leaving home, I left the books for my younger brothers who I am sure were stroking their dicks just as much as I.
In my late 20’s, I found the books again at local books store. They were sealed in shrink wrap, but I didn’t need to see inside. I quickly bought my second set of Encyclopedia Sexualis. I was married, but I often found the time to pull these books out of a hidden spot in the guest bathroom. Again, I would read the books cover to cover and fantasize about the women in the photos. Sometimes I would even imagine having sex with the men. There were several homosexual shots of men only, and over the years, I have found these to be just as exciting. There is one shot in particular, I believe in Vol. 1. Two men are having anal sex and one is riding the other’s cock. Both men have erections, but the man on top has a huge, blood engorged penis. I believe the definition for this photo was “donkey rigged”. I’ll admit, I have shot my load on this picture as I imagined my penis reaching this enormous size. A few years later, these books were stolen out of my garage. I was very disappointed, but the internet was catching on and porn was taking a big leap in availability. Every fetish you can imagine is on the internet.
Nearly 50 now, I have recently found that Amazon.com has links to booksellers who have this set in stock. In a few days, I will have another set of Encyclopedia Sexualis. You can bet, a short time later, I will be stroking myself to oblivion reliving decades old fantasies.
Thanks for the great comment. I am glad that I am not the only one who enjoyed these books.