The Illustrated Kama Sutra
reveals many fascinating, surprising and sometimes even
humorous insights into the sexual mores and customs of
ancient India. Yet, despite its historical and anthropological
significance, the teachings of the illustrated
kama sutra remain timeless and universal, and
are as useful today for understanding and expressing human
sexuality as they were in ancient India. This edition
of the illustrated kama sutra is based on the outstanding
(and heavily annotated) 1883 translation by Sir Richard
F. Burton, the famous British explorer, linguist, ethnologist
and sexologist. Unlike other Victorian-era translators,
who tended to whitewash their translations to conform
with accepted "decency", Burton boldly and literally
translated his many published works as they were actually
written, including his edition of the illustrated kama
sutra. Although our edition has significantly improved
upon Burton's edition (such as fixing numerous textual
errors and reorganizing several chapters for logical consistency),
it is otherwise a complete, faithful, unexpurgated and
high-quality reproduction, completely preserving the overall
flavor of the Burton edition. Additional prefatory and
annotative materials, including a comprehensive mini-biography
of Burton, are provided, as well as twelve delightful
(and sexually explicit) illustrations of erotic art depicting
various illustrated kama sutra themes, all done in an
authentic, traditional Indian art motif.
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