Olympia Press & The Traveller’s Companion Series

Olympia Press was founded in Paris in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a continuation of his father’s Obelisk Press. Known for publishing erotic and avant‑garde fiction that English‑speaking countries would not touch at the time, Olympia Press became infamous for issuing landmark titles such as Nabokov’s Lolita. Throughout the 1950s the press relied on France’s permissive climate to release sexually explicit and experimental works, until increasing censorship and book seizures curtailed its output.
Its most recognisable line was the Traveller’s Companion Series — 94 numbered paperbacks with minimalist text‑only covers, now highly collectible. These books defined Olympia’s reputation for boundary‑pushing fiction and fetish‑oriented themes.
Following Olympia’s collapse and later revival, the catalogue was modernised as the New Traveller’s Companion Series, expanding into a wider range of explicit and fetish‑driven titles.
Most editions easily obtainable today are from this later New Traveller’s Companion Series, produced in the 1990s and early 2000s, making them the most accessible entry point for collectors and readers exploring Olympia’s legacy.