Stories from the Arabian Nights – Housman – ca.1930 | Dulac Illustrations

Stories from the Arabian Nights, retold by Laurence Housman and illustrated by Edmund Dulac. This Hodder and Stoughton edition contains many well-known Middle Eastern folktales retold for English readers, featuring a series of tipped-in color illustrations by Edmund Dulac.

This volume includes Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, and Sinbad the Sailor, among others. Dulac’s artwork features theatrical design elements influenced by Orientalist themes. The later issue date is indicated by its post-war cloth binding and altered plate presentation compared to earlier versions.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Stories from the Arabian Nights
• Author(s): Laurence Housman
• Illustrator(s): Edmund Dulac
• Publisher: London, Hodder and Stoughton
• Edition: Circa 1930 edition.
• Format: Quarto, single volume
• Binding: Decorative publisher’s cloth, pictorial front cover, gilt spine titles
• Size:  10 x 8 in (25.5 x 20 cm)
• Collation: 319, [1] pp
• Illustrations: 20 tipped-in color plates by Dulac, including frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
  • Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
  • Sinbad the Sailor
• Provenance: Stamp – Ralph Gardner Senior School; Signed – Marjorie Bowman

Condition:

Very Good. Binding remains firm with light rubbing to corners and spine ends. Gilt still bright. Text block clean with only a few scattered foxing spots. Plates complete and securely attached. Spine slightly faded. Hinges strong and intact. Occasion tears at page edges, with no loss of text.

Why Collect This?

• Circa 1930 edition featuring Dulac’s renowned Arabian-themed illustrations

• Includes the most iconic stories from the Nights cycle

• Appealing to collectors of early 20th-century illustrated literature

Item Number: # 28807