[Dulac, Edmund illus.]; [Arabian Nights; Arab Literature]. STORIES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS, Retold by Laurence Housman. London & New York Hodder and Stoughton and Charles Scribner's Sons 1907, 1907.

Price: US$654.50 + shipping

Description: First edition, with the title-page imprint added for America but with the same sheets that were printed in England by Butler and Tanner and used for the first English issue. With 50 fine tipped-in colour plates by Edmund Dulac. The plates tipped to heavy green-gray stock, each with a captioned tissue-guard. 4to, original rust-colored cloth lettered and pictorially decorated in gilt and black on the spine and upper cover in Arabian motif. 133 pp. text + 50 tipped in plates on heavy mounting paper. A good and honest copy, the plates are all pristine and very fine, though a few of the mounting pages have a small bump at the edge, the text is quite clean, the text-block is solid though slightly shaken, the binding is still quite attractive though with a bit of age and some light edge wear on occasion, still handsome and well preserved and a very decent copy of this fine book, beautifully illustrated. BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED BY EDMUND DULAC. Here we find a collection of stories from the ARABIAN NIGHTS superbly illustrated by Edmund Dulac. The original Persian fairy tales of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," "The Fisherman and the Genie," and several others are colorfully rendered on tipped-in plates. Dulac’s affinity for oriental design becomes apparent in these exquisite, almost jewel-like images. We find the profound influence of oriental art and especially Persian miniatures in this group of exotic paintings. Intricate colors and patterns are juxtaposed to create lyrical scenes and bring the characters such as Morgiana and the Queen of the Ebony Isles to life on the page. The artist achieved intense effects in shading and atmosphere in his nocturne scenes such as "The Lady Advanced to Meet Him." As we turn the pages, we feel drawn into a mysterious world of exotic moods and clandestine encounters. "The Arabian Nights gave Dulac an opportunity to indulge in his nocturnes; the the softness of the gleam of moonlight on stone, or on shadowy figures, and his use of ultramarine, indigo and Prussian blue, mingled with purples and violets, brought to the illustrations the calm and mystery of Eastern nights."-Colin White "Leicester Galleries displayed the Dulac watercolors for THE ARABIAN NIGHTS in the autumn of 1907, at the same time the book was (originally) released. With unanimous praise the book was received by the critics and every picture sold even before the exhibition was opened to the general public. In light of this overwhelming success, Leicester Galleries promptly signed a contract with Dulac for one book a year, the subject to be chosen jointly between them and in consultation with Hodder & Stoughton."-Susan Meyer. The modern reader can only be grateful that such an arrangement was made, as we shall always have the body of extraordinary illustrations that ensued.

Seller: Buddenbrooks, Inc., Newburyport, MA, U.S.A.