The Thousand and One Nights, Commonly Called, In England, The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. A New Translation from the Arabic, with Copious Notes

Lane, Edward William (trans.)

Edité par Charles Knight and Co. Ludgate Street, London, 1841

A propos de cet article

First edition of Lane's translation. Illustrations in text after William Harvey; xxxii, 618, [2] pp + 4 pp. ads; xii, 643 [1] pp.; xii, 763, [1] pp. Printed by Whitehead and Co. 3 vols. 8vo. The first English translation of the Arabian Nights directly from the Arabic (previous English versions were essentially adaptations of Galland's French translation). "I assert that Galland has excessively perverted the work. His acquaintance with Arab manners and customs was insufficient to preserve him always from errors of the grossest description" (Lane, cited in Irwin, The Arabian Nights: A Companion, p. 24). Edward William Lane (1801-1876) moved to Egypt in 1825 and lived there for three years. Upon his return to London, he composed a substantial manuscript Description of Egypt, unpublished during his lifetime but from which he extracted An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1836), a landmark work. He also prepared this translation of an extensive selection of the Arabian Nights with his extensive ethnographic and cultural notes. "It reigned as the leading English translation of the Nights for decades, and its copious notes are stimulating micro-essays of enduring value" (ODNB). Its fame was somewhat eclipsed by the notoriety of Burton's edition (1883-6) which is unsurprising given Burton's emphasis on sexual customs and practices. The Lane edition is also noteworthy as the first in which the illustrations were based upon serious research into the scenes and costumes of the middle east, and well as the translator's own direct experience. Lane had a very specific intention of introducing the British reader to the realistic Arab world and, "being himself a trained illustrator, closely supervised William Harvey's work" (Irwin). William Harvey (1796-1866) was a favoured pupil of Bewick. "He did more than 500 illustrations for Lane's translation . and this edition of the Nights is exceptional in its close integration of the unframed images with the text - as it were, visual footnotes to the text . Harvey's illustrations to the Nights were the summit of his artistic achievement, and throughout the nineteenth century his illustrations were the most frequently reproduced" (Irwin, Visions of the Jinn). Later editions, such as those published by John Murray, invariably reduced the scale of the reproductions. Irwin, The Arabian Nights: A Companion, pp. 23-8 et passim; Irwin, Visions of the Jinn, pp. 62-65Photo/Wh Bound in full brown polished calf, red and black leather title labels, a.e.g. by Kaufmann (signed in Volume One and with the label in each volume of Henry Miller, Bookseller & Binder 82 Nassau St., NY on back pastedowns. About Fine Illustrations in text after William Harvey; xxxii, 618, [2] pp + 4 pp. ads; xii, 643 [1] pp.; xii, 763, [1] pp. Printed by Whitehead and Co. 3 vols. 8vo.

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Thousand and One Nights, Commonly Called, In England, The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. A New Translation from the Arabic, with Copious Notes
• Éditeur: Charles Knight and Co. Ludgate Street, London
• Date de parution: 1841
• Édition: First edition of Lane?s translation.
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Literature