ODALISQUE (L'). Translated from the Turkish. Constantinople [Brussels], Ibrahim Bectas, 1779. Small in-8, lavaliere morocco, triple gilt thread, ornate spine, inner lace, gilt edges (Hardy). Rare first edition. This erotic tale recounting the love affairs of the eunuch Zulphicara and the odalisque Zéni has been attributed to Voltaire (whose name appears on the third edition), but also to Nerciat, the author of Félicia ou mes fredaines, to Pigeon de Saint-Paterne, an obscure librarian at the abbey of Saint-Victor, and to Mayeur de Saint-Paul, an actor and author of numerous plays and scandalous works. The latter attribution is the most plausible. From the Guillaume Hofmann library (2007, no. 318), with bookplate. Minor rubbing to headpieces and spines. Dutel, A-763 - Martin-Mylne-Frautschi, 79.3 - Gay-Lemonnyer, III, 443 - L'Enfer de la BN, n°579 (ed. 1796) - Pia, 999 (ed. 1796).