Or, Secrets of a Lady's Toilet 
 
Madame Lola Montez. 
 
Dick & Fitzgerald: 1858. First edition. Hardcover. Sextodecimo. Faded green boards with gilt lettering. Spine leaned but binding is strong. Previous owner's signature and writing on the second end paper. Internal contents foxed. 132 pages, plus a few advertisments in the back. Good. 
 
The famous dancer, lecturer, and mistress of kings catalogues the secrets of beauty in each aspect of feminine body and bearing - from skin to bosom to voice. It's not just curiosities but recipes (mixtures of chemicals and folk medicines) to hypnotize men without breaking the budget. Also check out the satirical chapter "Hints to Gentlemen on the Art of Fascinating," revealing how men vainly jostle for position to impress the female sex. 
 
"There is no such thing as making female beauty play a less part than it already does, in the admiration of man and in the ambition of women. With great propriety, if it did not spoil the poetry, might we alter Mr. Pope's famous line on happiness, so as to make it read - 
                                'O beauty! our being's end and aim.' 
My design in this volume is to discuss the various Arts employed by my sex in the pursuit of this paramount object of woman's life. I have aimed to make it useful as well as an entertaining and amusing book."