Year Published: 1926
Author: Carl Van Vechten
Edition: January 1928, 14th Printing
Publisher: Gross & Dunlap
Condition: Overall condition is very good. The dustcover is mostly intact with some tears and staining from age. There is an inscription written in pencil on the inside first page.
ISBN: None

Controversy: The backdrop of the novel is set in Harlem, New York City's African-American community, and became controversial for its name, and the method of writing, which phonetically spelled out how the author, who was Caucasian, believed that people of color spoke in his day.

The term itself is a 19th century reference to the chuch balconies where African-Americans were segretated.

The obvious controversy is of course the name of the book, which even at the time of publication drew criticism from the public-at-large, Van Vechten's own father, several of his friends, and other noted figures of the time such as W.E.B. Du Bois, the NAACP, and author, Ralph Ellison.

Despite the controversy the novel went on to become a national bestseller.

DISCLAIMER: The Paper Dinosaur understands that the title of this book is a racial epithet and is used here only for the purposes of listing the book's title. We attach no political, ehtical, social, or other definitions to it derogatory or otherwise.  

Year Published: 1966-1971
Author: Ayn Rand
Description: This boxset contains all 69 pamphlets edited by Ayn Rand.
Condition: The pamphlets are in excellent condition, and are housed in a one-of-a-kind box made specifically for them.

Controversy: The philosphies of Ayn Rand became controversial mostly due to rejection of altruism in favor of ethical egoism, which advocated that moral agents ought to act in their own self-interest.

Rand's most successful works, "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" delved deeply into philosophy, which foreshadowed many things that came to be true in later years.

Year Published: 1891 
Author: Oscar Wilde
Edition: 1890s?
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Condition: The front cover of this book is detached. The condition is otherwise if good shape if not fragile due to its age.
ISBN: None

Controversy: The author, perhaps best known for his work, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and his play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," wrote in the style of the Aestheticism movement of the day, which moved art away from teaching lessons and towards it being beautiful.  His controversial life led to a trial and imprisonment for homosexual sodomy.

Year Published: 1940
Author: Oscar Wilde
Edition: 1940
Publisher: Halcyon House
Condition: The spine of this book is missing some pieces and is fragile. Overall the book is in fair shape
ISBN: None

Controversy: The author, perhaps best known for his work, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and his play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," wrote in the style of the Aestheticism movement of the day, which moved art away from teaching lessons and towards it being beautiful.  His controversial life led to a trial and imprisonment for homosexual sodomy.

Year Published: 1888
Author: Anonymous
Edition: 1966
Publisher: The Grove PRess
Condition: This two volume set represents the complete know works and is in excellent condition. The box for the two books has some repaired tears in the covering, but is otherwise solid.
ISBN: None
Special Note: MUST BE 18+ TO BUY THIS BOOK!

Controversy: This highly pornographic accounting of "Walter" and his sexual liaisons was written in the Victorian Era, a time painted by historians as being sexually prudish, which would have explained why the author chose to remain anonymous.

From the time it was first printed it was banned. In 1932 a New York publisher was arrested for publishing the first three volumes, and in 1969 British printer, Arthur Dobson, was sentenced to two years in prison for publishing a reprint. 

Year Published: 1899
Author: Helen Bannerman & Frank Ver Beck
Edition: 1935
Cover: Hardcover
Publisher: The Platt & Munk Co., Inc.
Condition: Very Good
ISBN: NONE

Controversy: The original drawings in the first edition depicted the main character, Sambo, coming from a Timil heritage of Southern India. As the book grew in popularity it was conterfeited with the art in those books depicting Sambo in the stereotypical style of the day that represented Africans. As those stereotypes fell out of favor with the public the depcitions of old were considered controversial.

Neither the original story nor its illustrations held any racist overtones, but later depictions stained the story's integrity, which was about a boy who overcame certain death when he outsmarted four hungry tigers who began to argue over who looked better in Sambo clothes that the boy had removed. The tigers then chased each other around a tree until they all turned into puddle of clarified butter (ghee), that Sambo's father collects and his mother uses to make pancakes.

This particular book uses the aforementioned stereotypical images.