Contes des Mille et Une Nuits

Paris: L'Edition d'art H. Piazza et Cie. 4 Rue Jacob, 1907. First trade edition. Contemporary three-quarter red morocco over cockerel boards, rules in gilt. Spine with five raised bands, decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Cockerel endpapers. Original front wrapper printed in gold and blue bound in at front. Fifty full-color plates with captioned tissue guards, mounted on cream-colored stock. Minimal rubbing to joints, otherwise a Near Fine copy.

Originally published as Stories From the Arabian Nights (1907). Here translated into French from the original Arabic by Hadji-Mazem. The Leicester Galleries commissioned from Dulac the fifty water colours, retaining the copyrights, and, with Hodder and Stoughton, brought out the book. It was an overnight sensation that unequivocally established Dulac's reputation.
"The Arabian Nights illustrations caught the attention of all the contemporary reviewers. The October Bookman published Dulac's portrait with the prophetic caption: 'those fifty colour illustrations for The Arabian Nights will soon be the talk of the literary and artistic community'...Recognition also came from Black & White magazine...'A new illustrator has arisen, and of the strength and originality of his work there can be no two opinions'...The London Times followed... : 'Mr. Dulac's distinction is that he is as good on the poetical side as on the grotesque...he has a truly exquisite sense of colour, and of noble design...'" (Hughey).
At the time, Edmond Dulac was only twenty-five years old.