We know nothing at all about the artist who created these ten explicit engravings, but whoever made them knew both their etching skills and their intended audience, creating an intriguing portfolio of sexual practices which were very edgy in the 1930s.

Volets clos (Closed Shutters) was produced in a limited numbered edition of just ninety copies, and published in Marseilles by Édition des Accoules. The church of Nôtre-Dame-des-Accoules, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a famous landmark in Marseilles, and the ‘Accoules’ of the publisher’s name may well be an indicator of the ‘sinful nature’ of the portfolio’s contents.

We are very grateful to our friend Guglielmo for introducing us to this portfolio from his collection.