Temptation was one of the 70 books for which Edward Mishkin was prosecuted, and which were detailed in the case against him which went to the Supreme Court. Justin Kent was the author, whose pseudonym will be revealed in Times Square Smut. Eugene Bilbrew, the African-American artist who overdosed on 42nd Street did the cover. As you can see, the suggested retail price was more than ten times the going rate for a paperback book at the time. Criminal! It took until 1965 for the Supreme Court to rule on Eddie's case. Very few copies exist today...while it is unknown exactly how long the books were available on 42nd Street before being confiscated, this could be one of a dozen copies remaining.
A characteristic work by the artist, as it not only has his familiar "troubled man" figure, Bilbrew's use of ethnic types often distinguishes his work. He receives no credit on the cover...probably lost in trimming.
