Delectus Books

Our entire archive has now gone to the @BishopsgateInst Institute We will still post things of a book nature here occasionally. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Thankfully Archivists know the value of everything.

Look what’s here!

Happy Birthday to American novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne! Born July 4, 1804. Although his most famous works focus on history, morality, and religion, he also wrote many short Ghost Stories and Weird Tales.

A pleasure to reconnect with Len Goss. After listening to his fascinating stories about the family, it turns out my Late uncle had his Tigon Film Production office in the same building in Wardour Street, Soho where I have worked for #Amathus #TigonFilms suzymandel.blogspot.com/2013/07/rip-st…

Sunday’ shelfie. If you had to pick one book, which one would that be?

Fr John Murphy, a leader of the United Irishmen in Wexford was brutally executed by the British #OnThisDay in 1798. He was tortured, hanged and decapitated. His body was burned in a barrel of tar and his head placed on a spike

Given the state of everything we would not be surprised if you have all taken to the hills or headed down to your book bunkers If however hope trumps reason in your hearts, we are open from 11:30 until 6:30 today.

#OTD 1818 Godwin tells Mary Shelley about the review of Frankenstein in the Quarterly Review: "They say that the gentleman who has written the book is a man of talents, but that he employs his powers in a way disagreeable to them"

Arthur Cravan was a provocateur and sometime poet, who lived on his wits and his belligerence. “Chew, never speak, always look busy,” he told his followers, “and above all else, crown yourself with arrogance.” There’s much more about him in my book – troubador.co.uk/bookshop/histo…

‘The House of Oscar Wilde (as imagined by Arthur Cravan)’ art project has just been launched at the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing in Dublin. This piece is a mise en scène based on Cravan’s meticulous description of Wilde's House. Read more tcd.ie/news_events/ev…

In the world of legendary heavyweight boxing, a historic match took place on April 23, 1916, in Barcelona. The renowned champion Jack Johnson, known for his exceptional skills and dominance in the ring, faced off against Arthur Cravan, who happened to be the nephew of the famous writer and playwright Oscar Wilde. Despite being touted as a "European champion," Cravan's fight against Johnson would be his only recorded boxing match. The bout between Jack Johnson and Arthur Cravan lasted for several rounds, with Johnson eventually delivering a powerful blow that knocked Cravan out in the sixth round. Although Cravan's boxing career was short-lived, his encounter with Johnson created quite a buzz at the time, given the lineage he came from and the anticipation surrounding his abilities. However, after his defeat to Johnson, Arthur Cravan mysteriously vanished in 1918 and was never seen again. His disappearance added an enigmatic twist to his story, leaving behind unanswered questions about his fate and the circumstances surrounding his life. Cravan's fleeting boxing career and subsequent disappearance have contributed to the intriguing lore and mystique surrounding his name in the annals of boxing history.

#OTD 1819 Byron is finding his lover's husband rather disconcerting "I can't make him out at all — he visits me frequently, and takes me out in a coach and six horses. The fact appears to be, that he is completely governed by her— for that matter, so am I"

Doc Johnson’s Love Shop, Brewer Street, corner of Walkers Court, 1970s. I worked here when it was part of the Holloway family’s Soho porn operation, they ran it all from here.

This weekend’s #Punk #Bowie #Soho tours Friday, 23rd June, 2.30pm, The Original Soho Punk Tour Saturday, 24th June, 11am, The Bowie’s Soho Tour Book at flipsidelondontours.com read our ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews at tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Rev… @NewWaveAndPunk @PunKandStuff @PunkRockStory

Allow me to introduce you to Victoria Woodhull, an extraordinary woman whose life story deserves recognition. Born in 1838 in a humble rural town in Ohio, Woodhull endured a childhood marred by poverty and an oppressive household. Tragically, at the tender age of 15, she was coerced into a marriage with an alcoholic and promiscuous man. This ill-fated union resulted in two children, one of whom faced the challenges of intellectual disability. To make ends meet, Woodhull often had to seek employment outside of her home. Enduring years of mistreatment and unfaithfulness at the hands of her first husband, Woodhull displayed remarkable resilience and eventually obtained a divorce. It was during this transformative period that she began advocating for the concept of free love. In a seminal moment in 1871, Woodhull delivered a powerful speech at Steinway Hall in New York City, passionately espousing her belief in the principles of free love. "To woman, by nature, belongs the right of sexual determination. When the instinct is aroused in her, then and then only should commerce follow. When woman rises from sexual slavery to sexual freedom, into the ownership and control of her sexual organs, and man is obliged to respect this freedom, then will this instinct become pure and holy; then will woman be raised from the iniquity and morbidness in which she now wallows for existence, and the intensity and glory of her creative functions be increased a hundred-fold..” In the early 1870s, Victoria Woodhull made history by becoming the first female stockbroker and establishing her own brokerage firm on Wall Street. Through her astute financial advice, she amassed a considerable fortune and gained prominent clients, including the Vanderbilt family. Utilizing the profits from her brokerage, Woodhull embarked on a new venture by establishing her own newspaper, which attained a peak national circulation of 20,000. However, her newspaper sparked controversy due to its advocacy for various progressive causes, such as women's suffrage, sex education, birth control, licensed prostitution, vegetarianism, and the acceptance of short skirts. In a remarkable feat, Woodhull announced her candidacy for the President of the United States in 1872, defying the prevailing norms of a time when women were denied the right to vote. Notably, she selected Frederick Douglass as her running mate, further challenging societal expectations. However, her political aspirations were short-lived, as she spent Election Day of that same year incarcerated in Ludlow Street Jail, situated in Manhattan, New York. Woodhull's arrest was a result of publishing a newspaper deemed obscene, leading to her imprisonment for a month. Ultimately, Ulysses S. Grant emerged victorious in the presidential election.

Act up! Fight back! I can't believe we have to fight the whole censorship battle again. We won before and we can win again. Act up! Fight back. We won't go back. No banning/burning books and movies.

Is there room for Outsiders in our post-everything world? gary-lachman.com/post/the-outsi…

Today's picture: a walking stick with a metal band engraved: "George Gordon Lord Byron Newstead 1808". The mermaid is from the Byron family crest @Newstead_Abbey

Arthur Koestler. One of the greatest minds of the C.20th. Just how great is becoming more apparent with time. Everyone knows Ghost in the Machine. He wrote a lot. Non-fiction disguised as fiction plus several other genres/areas of thought. Darkness At Noon scarily a propos to now

Farewell Anger, a Panic Demon who initiated me into the great Pleasure Dome of cinema. I knew this day was coming, but the death of a terrible god still shakes the earth. His magic lantern slides will flicker forever on the inside of my eyelids. “Every man and woman is a star.”

Why not spend this @GothDayOfficial and visit the home of Gothic and explore the origins of the gothic movement through a Guided Tour @strawbhillhouse #tonight 7pm ow.ly/qyPn50Ousan #DYK In 1764 Horace Walpole, Strawberry Hill's creator, wrote 'The Castle of Otranto'