Retold by Laurence Housman
fanciful imagination, humour, and sheer beauty
Stories From the Arabian Nights Retold by Laurence Housman
Hodder and Stoughton, 1907.
First Dulac edition, Edition de Luxe. Number 188 of 350 deluxe copies signed by Edmund Dulac. 4to. Full white vellum with gilt lettering and vignettes in blue and gold. Top edge gilt and others untrimmed. Printed on hand made paper. Colour frontis and 49 other colour plates all mounted onto grey art paper and protected by captioned tissue guards. A near fine, bright copy of Dulac's first major gift book. Vellum uncommonly clean, occasional spots of foxing to the tissue guards and a slight crease to the vellum on the spine.
This book is Dulac's first major commission. It is an impressive volume, including stories from the Arabian Nights, such as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and The King of the Ebony Isles. The publishers commissioned Dulac with the aim of competing for market share with the books illustrated by Arthur Rackham. This deluxe version of the Christmas Gift Book showed what a good choice they made. Dulac's colour palette of deep blue shades is a triumph, transporting the reader to the sultry evenings of the Middle East.
A contemporary review praised this work, writing that 'fanciful imagination, humour, and sheer beauty... with excellencies of design and colour will make the book one of the most prized.' (The Outlook) So popular was the book that for a time Dulac was referred to as "The Arabian Nights Man".
Stock ID: 39778
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