The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night: Now First Completely Done Into English Prose and Verse, from the Original Arabic; [together with] -- Tales from the Arabic of the Breslau and Calcutta (1814-18) Editions of the Book of the Thousands Nights and One Night not Occurring in the Other Printed Texts of the Work, Now First Done into English.

ARABIAN NIGHTS - PAYNE, John (trans.).

Edité par London: for the Villon Society by private subscription and for private circulation only, 1882-84

First editions, limited issues, number 350 of 500 copies (Night) and 175 of an unstated number (Tales). John Payne (1842-1916) was an English poet and translator best known for his renditions of the poetry of Omar Khayyam and Hafez, Boccaccio's Decameron, and the Arabian Nights. He was also a founding member of the Villon Society; his translation of Villon's poetry was its first publication in 1878. The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night was his second publication with the society and his most famous. He started work on 5 February 1877, "with exhausting sedulity, and [he] expended upon it all the gifts in his power" (Wright, p. 71). When an advertisement for the translation appeared in the Athenaeum on 5 November 1881, Captain Richard Burton took note of the project. The two translators subsequently entered into correspondence. Burton regularly praised Payne's work, which was more polished than his own "sheet or two of notes" (Wright, p. 72) at that stage, and reportedly proof-read the second volume onwards. Payne's nine-volume translation used the four printed versions of the story that existed at the time: Breslau, Bulaq, Calcutta 1814, and Calcutta 1839 (otherwise known as Macnaughton). As not every version contained the same 1001 stories, he published three supplementary volumes of stories found only in the Breslau and Calcutta 1814 editions (Tales). He also produced a further translation, Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp; Zein Ul Asnam and the King of the Jinn: Two Stories Done Into English From the Recently Discovered Arabic Text in 1901, not included in this present set. Thomas Wright, The Life of John Payne, 1919. Two works in 12 vols, octavo. Publisher's vellum, spines lettered in gilt, covers and spines stamped with central repeating tile design in gilt, front covers of Night stamped in gilt with "The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night" in Arabic, top edges gilt, others untrimmed, binder's ticket of "Burn & Co." to vol. I rear pastedown. Bookseller's ticket to front pastedowns of Night vol. V and Tales vol. II, bookseller's stamp to front free endpaper of Night vol. III. Some vols. with vellum soiled, the odd abrasion, spine ends creased and fraying in places, with spine heads of two vols. sometime repaired, a couple of inner hinges and a few small closed tears neatly repaired: despite some faults, a very good set. N° de réf. du vendeur 177096

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : The Book of the Thousand Nights and One ...
Éditeur : London: for the Villon Society by private subscription and for private circulation only, 1882-84
Edition : Edition originale