One friend compared him to the main character in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea,” except instead of fish, Jeffrey Epstein caught women, “blonde, red or brunette.”

Another friend described a demeaning sexual encounter that a woman endured in the back of a car that left Mr. Epstein “howling with laughter.”

“So many girls, so little time,” wrote a third associate of Mr. Epstein.

Such tributes are part of the “birthday book,’’ which was dedicated to Mr. Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003.

The 238-page book, littered with candid photos, drawings and collages, was released on Monday by the House Oversight Committee, which was among the documents turned over by Mr. Epstein’s estate after being subpoenaed by the committee.

It offers a vivid portrait of how Mr. Epstein’s lewd and lecherous behavior with young women was both widely known and widely celebrated by people who described themselves as his closest friends and associates.

Compiled by his then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, the book contained everything from a handwritten letter from Mr. Epstein’s mother, to photos of scantily clad young women, to a cartoon drawing of Mr. Epstein laying in a beach chair getting what appears to be a nude massage from four topless women.