A collection of interwoven tales of Satanism, eroticism, sadism, cannibalism, necrophilia, death.
THE AUTHOR: Schmidtz ( 1873-1931) was German writer and dandy whose book Hashish helped inaugurate the German decadent/fantastical tradition. Brother-in-law of Alfred Kubin, lover of Baroness Elsa von Freytag Loringhoven, friend of Stefan Zweig. No other books in English.
THE BOOK: a classic of German Decadant literature, Your basic Decadence. Includes reproductions of the cover and the 12 drawings by Alfred Kubin from the second German edition of 1913.
QUOTE: 'Polite writers are often chaste in life. Every perversity has one seductive basic idea. Each is a symbol of this idea. From cunnilingus to coprophagy: it's the idea of indulging oneself completely.''Oscar A. H. Schmitz
By Oscar A.H. Schmitz. Translation and introduction by W.C. Bamberger. Illustrations by Alfred Kubin. Afterword by James J. Conway.
First published in German in 1902, Hashish is a collection of decadent, interwoven tales of Satanism, eroticism, sadism, cannibalism, necrophilia and death.
Encountering the enigmatic dandy Count Vittorio Alta-Carrara in a Parisian eatery, the narrator finds himself invited to a “Hashish Club,” where in the dim light of red-filtered candles, a roomful of “recumbent wanderers” explores the abyss of the unconscious. The narrator and the count don a variety of identities as they in turn enter the narratives, sometimes participating in them, other times merely observing them from the vantage point of a shifting divan. Engaging in romantic liaisons with masks and cadavers, taking part in Satanic orgies and carnivals, plotting blasphemy and riding carriages through cityscapes where time loses its bearings, the protagonists draw the reader into their narrative and psychological unmooring.
A forgotten yet important chapter in the lineage of German fantastic and decadent literature, this translation of Hashish is illustrated throughout with drawings by the author’s brother-in-law, Alfred Kubin, from the book’s second, 1913 German edition.
Oscar A.H. Schmitz (1873–1931) lived the life of a literary dandy. Although best remembered in Germany for his second book, Hashish, and the decadent lineage it helped inaugurate in German letters, his output was wide-ranging, from Romantic verse to plays and travel books, to a series of popular nonfiction works on politics, yoga, astrology, etiquette and Jungian psychology.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Counterpunch
Martin Billheimer
A latecomer to Satan’s library, Oscar Schmitz’s 1902 Hashishhas been pretty much buried for over a century, but now it returns as part of Wakefield Press’ ongoing project to unearth weird ore from the depths of the fin de siècle.
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FORMAT: Pbk, 4.5 x 7 in. / 184 pgs / 13 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $15.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $22.5 GBP £13.99 ISBN: 9781939663313 PUBLISHER: Wakefield Press AVAILABLE: 4/24/2018 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: WORLD
First published in German in 1902, Hashish is a collection of decadent, interwoven tales of Satanism, eroticism, sadism, cannibalism, necrophilia and death.
Published by Wakefield Press. By Oscar A.H. Schmitz. Translation and introduction by W.C. Bamberger. Illustrations by Alfred Kubin. Afterword by James J. Conway.
Encountering the enigmatic dandy Count Vittorio Alta-Carrara in a Parisian eatery, the narrator finds himself invited to a “Hashish Club,” where in the dim light of red-filtered candles, a roomful of “recumbent wanderers” explores the abyss of the unconscious. The narrator and the count don a variety of identities as they in turn enter the narratives, sometimes participating in them, other times merely observing them from the vantage point of a shifting divan. Engaging in romantic liaisons with masks and cadavers, taking part in Satanic orgies and carnivals, plotting blasphemy and riding carriages through cityscapes where time loses its bearings, the protagonists draw the reader into their narrative and psychological unmooring.
A forgotten yet important chapter in the lineage of German fantastic and decadent literature, this translation of Hashish is illustrated throughout with drawings by the author’s brother-in-law, Alfred Kubin, from the book’s second, 1913 German edition.
Oscar A.H. Schmitz (1873–1931) lived the life of a literary dandy. Although best remembered in Germany for his second book, Hashish, and the decadent lineage it helped inaugurate in German letters, his output was wide-ranging, from Romantic verse to plays and travel books, to a series of popular nonfiction works on politics, yoga, astrology, etiquette and Jungian psychology.
