Tales from the Arabic of the Breslau and Calcutta (1814-18) editions of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night not occurring in the other printed texts of the work, now first done into English by John Payne ( Three Volume set ).
London: Villon Society, 1884. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Large octavos. Three volumes (complete). viii + 304pp & viii + 302pp & viii + 302pp. Original vellum boards with gilt title, etc. to spine, gilt decorative band to front cover, deckled edges, top edge gilt. Copy number 100 of an unspecified limitation (some authorities suggest a total of 750 copies). Printed for the Villon Society by private subscription and for private circulation only. A handsome vellum-bound edition. As the title suggests, these 3 volumes comprise tales from the Arabic of the Breslau and Calcutta editions (1814-18) of "The Thousand Nights and One Night" which were subsequently omitted from other printings of the work. The set was privately printed and published due to the somewhat "racy" (by the standards of the time) nature of the contents: folk tales and stories from the Middle East and South Asia, compiled in Arabic during the Golden Age of Islamic culture. Vellum unevenly darkened (as common) but otherwise in lovely condition with just light bruising to spine ends and corners. First and last leaves a bit browned and foxed, small paper rectangle affixed to lower inner margin of title page of all three volumes (remains of subscriber's slip?), all text pages bright and unmarked. Overall a solid VG set. Uncommon in this attractive binding. Large heavy set, additional shipping, at cost, will apply. Was $120.00. Item #9134
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