"Trollop, slut, floozy, strumpet. These epithets describe a woman who trades on her charms. Missus, girlfriend, beloved, bethrothed. These might also describe a woman who trades on her charms. Many sexual relationships have a transactional element, regardless of whether true feeling is present. Financial support is just one of the needs that can be met in such an exchange. Where does one draw the line between what is criminal and what is celebrated? Why does a contract for permanency elevate the arrangement? The book presents a series of portraits on increasingly shabby walls. reduction prints, sequence and carefully chosen titles point out language's power to confer respectability. Once named, a relationship takes its position on the spectrum of morality. We reject the stigma placed on women outside of marriage who choose their own bodies as currency. We acknowledge the many different circumstances in which one might encounter or offer love for sale" -- Artist's website.
Place of publication from artists' website. Publisher's statement from colophon. "Hand bound and printed with letterpress, monotype, giclée & lino-cut ... Stonehenge paper, Bernhard Modern typeface" -- Colophon. "Giclée prints of eleven original paintings" -- Artist's website. Rare Books copy: no. 12 of 20 copies; signed by both artists on colophon.
Source of Acquisition
Rare Books copy: Purchased from Kelmscott Bookshop Rare Books; 2024. Rare Books copy: Purchased with funds from the Charles Mann Memorial Rare Book Endowment; 2025.
Endowment Note
Charles W. Mann Jr. Memorial Libraries Rare Books Endowment
