The Arabian Nights Entertainments, in Four Volumes: Containing Sixty-Five Stories Told by Shahrazade the Sultaness to Divert Shahryar the Sultan from the Execution of a Vow He Had Made to Avenge the Disloyalty of His First Sultaness; and Containing a Better Account of the Customs, Manners and Religion of the Eastern Nations Than is to Be Met with in Any Edition Hereto Published; Because the Text is One Which Sir Richard Burton Himself Desired to Own: the Definitive and All-Inclusive Burton Translation with the Addition of the Notes upon the Text Prepared by Those Scholars Who Had Previously Translated the Text into English from the Arabic, Notably Henry Torrens & Edward Lane & John Payne; and It Is Embellished with Miniature Paintings Made

Burton, Sir Richard; Torrens, Henry; Lane, Edward; Payne, John

Published by The Limited Editions Club / W.S. Cowell, Ltd., 1954

About this Item

Limited edition, #1160 of 1500 copies. Small surface tear on base panel of one slipcase. Boards of volume one lightly soiled. Gilt on spine of all volumes lightly rubbed. 1954 Hard Cover. Four volume set in two slipcases: The First Volume; Notes for the First Volume; The Second Volume: Notes for the Second Volume. Sixty-five of the famous stories collectively known as 'The Arabian Nights Entertainments' or 'A Thousand and One Nights'. The Richard Burton translation, with notes by Henry Torrens, Edward Lane, and John Payne, and color illustrations from paintings by Arthur Szyk.  "One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights, from the first English language edition (1706), which rendered the title as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment."  "Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 - 20 October 1890) was an English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages."  "Arthur Szyk (Poland, 1894 - New Canaan, Connecticut, September 13, 1951) was a Polish-born American artist, famous for his anti-Axis political illustrations, caricatures, and cartoons during World War II, as well as his illustrations for magazine and newspaper articles and books; including an illustrated Haggadah of Pesach, the Szyk Hagaddah, cited by The Times as "worthy to be placed among the most beautiful of books that the hand of man has ever produced". His illustrations took the form of medieval miniaturists and illuminated manuscripts, which gave them a very distinctive style. Szyk dedicated his work to democracy and freedom, and end to political injustice and human suffering, saying of his work, "Art is not my aim, it is my means", and "I am but a Jew praying in art.

Seller Inventory # 2328093

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Arabian Nights Entertainments, in Four Volumes: Containing Sixty-Five Stories Told by Shahrazade the Sultaness to Divert Shahryar the Sultan from the Execution of a Vow He Had Made to Avenge the Disloyalty of His First Sultaness; and Containing a Better Account of the Customs, Manners and Religion of the Eastern Nations Than is to Be Met with in Any Edition Hereto Published; Because the Text is One Which Sir Richard Burton Himself Desired to Own: the Definitive and All-Inclusive Burton ...
• Publisher: The Limited Editions Club / W.S. Cowell, Ltd.
• Publication Date: 1954
• Language: English
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket