Banned Books Exhibited

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31704, 13 June 1968, Page 11

Banned Books Exhibited

(N.Z.P.A. Staff Correspondent) LONDON, June 12.

An exhibition of books banned at one time or another is taking place at the headquarters of the National Book League in London.

The books are now mostly available to the public, though several are out of print and quite valuable. The theme of the exhibition is that censorship, which normally falls under three headings—political, religious or moral, has changed little in 400 years. Examples of moral censorship include Hubert Selby’s "Last Exit to Brooklyn,” the publication of which in Britain awaits the outcome of a House of Lords appeal after

an action against the publishers by the AttorneyGeneral; the first edition of "Fanny Hill”; and James Joyce’s “Ulysses.”

Political censorship is represented by the German account of the Moscow trial of the Russian intellectuals, Siniavsky and Daniel, which is banned in Russia.

Mr Ben Weinreb, the organiser of the exhibition, says, penalties for defying religious censorship are not as severe as when James Duckett was executed for possessing a banned treatise on the Roman Catholic faith in 1559.

Rare manuscripts and prints dating from the late fifteenth century and two Hebrew Prayer Books bound in solid silver and published in Venice, are also displayed.