The Book Of The Thousand Nights and One Night: Bassorah Edition

1901: The Book Of The Thousand Nights and One Night, Bassorah Edition in 15 Volumes. Bassorah Limited Edition, translated by John Payne. Numbered 123 of 500 total printed. Burgundy linen cloth with tan paper spine labels with brown and red lettering. Gilt page edges on top; other edges deckled; full-page plates with tissue guards. No publisher listed; reads "London: Printed for Subscribers Only."

"The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night: Now first completely done into English prose and verse, from the original Arabic, by John Payne (author of 'The Masque of Shadows,' 'Intaglios,' 'Songs of Life and Death,' 'Lautrec,' ...."

A historical set, richly illustrated; printed as a bespoke collection in 1901; and now a rare investor-grade omnibus. Finest 1001 Nights collection of any set we've seen on any antiquarian site

Condition: Very Good overall. All plates and tissue guards present and clean. Light edge wear to tops and bases of spines, and scattered scuffs to cover boards (less) and spines (a bit more). Otherwise boards are clean and sharp. Some wear to title labels. Bindings of all volume are solid; a couple with brittle hinges. Interiors are clean and bright throughout. allows 12 photos, which do not do justice to this beautiful collection.

Set includes

1: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume I

2: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II

3: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume III

4: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume IV

5: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume V

6: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume VI

7: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume VII

8: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume VIII

9: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume IX

10: Tales from the Arabic, Volume I

11: Tales from the Arabic, Volume II

12: Tales from the Arabic, Volume III

13: Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp and Other Stories

14: Persian Letters

15: A Thousand and One Quarters of an Hour: Tartarian Tales

· About the Book: "One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern 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 (c. 1706–1721), which rendered the title as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment. The work was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars across West, Central and South Asia, and North Africa. Some tales trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Arabic, Egyptian, Indian, Persian, and Mesopotamian folklore and literature... The thing common to all the editions of the Nights is the initial frame story of the ruler Shahryār and his wife Scheherazade and the framing device incorporated throughout the tales themselves...

· Unabridged and unexpurgated translations were made, first by John Payne, under the title The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, and then by Sir Richard Francis Burton... the latter was, according to some assessments, partially based on the former, leading to charges of plagiarism." (from Wikipedia)

· About the Translator: "John Payne (23 August 1842 – 11 February 1916) was an English poet and translator. Initially he pursued a legal career and had associated with Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Later he became involved with limited edition publishing and the Villon Society. He is now best known for his translations of Boccaccio's Decameron,[2] The Arabian Nights and the Diwan Hafez." (from Wikipedia)

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Who are we: This is another listings from "Nana's Top Shelf," a collection of first editions and other fine volumes collected over a lifetime from estate sales and booksellers across the East Coast and Europe. The collection specializes in late 19th and early 20th century illustrated children's books, fairy tales and folklore.