The earliest English translations of the classic Arabian Nights collection of Middle Eastern literature were scholarly but prudish, in keeping with18th century British mores that edited out erotic art work and content. However, Richard Burton changed this by not only adding this literary content back in, but also exaggerating it, as he produced extensive notes on such matters as homosexuality, bestiality and castration.
The first edition of Burton's translation was published for subscribers only so as to lessen the danger of being prosecuted for obscenity, and it had no pictures. But soon after his death in 1890, a young friend and admirer of Burton, Albert Letchford, produced 70 paintings that served as the basis for illustrations in a new edition that was published in 1897. These illustrations frequently featured nudes, as well as weird demons and temples.