The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales From the Old French, Retold by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, Illustrated by Edmund Dulac, circa 1910

Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur T., The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales From The Old French. New York: George H. Doran Company, [c.1910]. Illustrated by Edmund Dulac. In original polished red cloth boards with an elaborate gilt stamp of Sleeping Beauty to the front panel, and gilt titles to the front and spine. With 16 tipped-in full color plate illustrations. New joints and linings. Presented with a new archival cloth slipcase. 

Offered is The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales From the Old French, as retold by Sir Arthur T. Quiller-Couch. This beautiful American edition dates to circa 1910, published in New York by George H. Doran Company. The compilation includes four cherished children’s stories, The Sleeping Beauty, Blue Beard, Cinderella, and The Beauty and the Beast. It is illustrated with 16 tipped-in, full color plates by the famed illustrator Edmund Dulac. The book is presented in its original polished red cloth boards with an elaborate gilt stamp of Sleeping Beauty on the front, gilt titles to the front and spine, and decorative red and white cherub endpaper. It is presented with a new archival cloth slipcase. 

The Sleeping Beauty is a tale that has been told and retold over centuries. The story dates back to as early as the 14th century, and has been adapted for film, ballet, and literature. Some of the first to pen the tale include famed folklorists Charles Perrault and Madame D’Aulnoy. Similarly, the French tales of Bluebeard and Cinderella were originally penned by Charles Perrault in his 1697 Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé. Beauty and the Beast is a fairy-tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, first published in 1740 in La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins. This retelling of The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales From the Old French was written by Sir Arthur T. Quiller-Couch (1863-1944). Quiller-Couch, a Cornish novelist and literary critic, is best known for his monumental publication The Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900.

This edition is accompanied by dazzling tipped-in illustrations by Edmund Dulac (1882 – 1953). Each of the stories had four illustrations, with the frontispiece illustrating a scene from The Sleeping Beauty.  Dulac was a French artist, working as a magazine illustrator, book illustrator, and stamp designer during the early 20th century. While in London, Dulac was commissioned by publishers Hodder and Stoughton to produce illustrations for their illustrated gift books, which they published once per year. Dulac illustrated tales such as Stories from the Arabian Nights, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and this version of French fairy tales. "Dulac remained true to the medium of watercolor, and the critics were unanimous in their praise. He was recognized as an illustrator of first rank, a master of the fantastic and exotic and a dreamer of extraordinary dreams" (Dalby, 82-83).

CONDITION:

Good condition. In original polished red cloth boards with an elaborate gilt stamp of Sleeping Beauty to the front panel, and gilt titles to the front and spine. New joints and linings. Light bumping to spine and boards. Illustrated cream and red bordered cherub endpapers. Front free endpaper with inked past ownership "Sara E. Baird" at top. With 16(including frontispiece) tipped-in, full color plate illustrations by Dulac, 4 for each story. Very clean pages, all illustrations intact, embellished with small border decorations. Presented with a new archival cloth slipcase. 

Book Dimensions: 9 1/4"H x 6 1/2"W x 1 1/2"D. Slipcase Dimensions: 9 3/4"H x 6 5/8"W x 1 7/8"D.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.