In 1968–69 the specialist publisher Merlin Verlag in Hamburg commissioned a series of portfolios of erotic prints from selected German artists – the first of these, Merlin-Mappe No. 1, was a series of six Niederstrasser etchings featuring literary lovers, hence the title Paar-odien (Parodies of Couples). The pairs included are Lolita und Humbert Humbert, Kitten und Jimmiboy, Lola und Professor Raat, Ysa and the Duke of Centigloria, Dulcinea and Don Quixote, and Lady Chatterley and the Gamekeeper. A complementary text was included by the Austrian poet Hans Carl Artmann.

Following the success of Paarodien, Merlin went on to commission three artists – Johannes Vennekamp, Arwed Gorella and Uwe Bremer – to produce portfolios of etchings inspired by selected works of the Marquis de Sade, all of which you can see by looking at the relevant artist’s entries elsewhere on the website.

Paarodien was produced in a limited numbered edition of 100 copies.