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D H Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Florence: Privately printed by the Tipografia Giuntina, 1928, first edition

[4] + 365, [3 blank] pages; original publisher's mulberry paper-covered boards, with Lawrence's phoenix motif stamped in black on the front board, printed paper label on spine, leaves untrimmed, without dust jacket
9 x 6.75 x 1 in (23 x 17.2 x 3 cm)

Signed and limited, first edition, number 117 of 1000 copies. Signed by the Author on the colophon page.

The book caused controversy due to its explicit sexual content and frank exploration of issues such as class, gender, and sexuality for which it was initially banned in many countries, including the UK and the US., and Lawrence faced legal and social persecution as a result of its publication. For the same Lawrence and his publisher, Giuseppe Orioli, commissioned the Tipografia Guintina in Florence, under the direction of L Franceschini to print Lady Chatterley's Lover in the spring of 1928 at his own expense after it was rejected by several English publishers.

Order forms were sent to friends in America and Europe who acted as agents in distributing copies. By December 1928, he had sold nearly all thousand copies, despite the fact that the novel was about to be suppressed in London and banned from the United States. The book was not published in the UK until 1960, after a landmark obscenity trial.

The book tells the story of Constance Chatterley, a young woman who is married to Sir Clifford Chatterley, a wealthy and aristocratic landowner. After Sir Clifford is paralyzed in the First World War, Constance begins an affair with Oliver Mellors, the estate's gamekeeper.

The book explores themes of love, desire, class, societal norms and remains an important work of 20th century literature, also widely recognized as a pioneering exploration of human sexuality and desire. Today, Lady Chatterley's Lover is considered a classic of English literature and has been the subject of numerous adaptations and interpretations.

The fact that the book was privately printed and Lawrence died in 1930, signed copies are relatively rare and also adds to its rarity and value.