One of the earliest editions for young readers

[Alf layla wa-layla - French]. Henri, Auguste (ed.). Choix des plus jolis Contes Arabes tirés des Mille et Une Nuits.

Leipzig, Karl Cnobloch, 1810.

Small 8vo. 2 vols. VIII, 320 pp. 406, (2) pp. With 2 engraved frontispieces. Somewhat later brown cloth with giltstamped spine titles. Edges sprinkled.

 2,500.00

First edition; very rare. This is the earliest "édition pour la jeunesse" cited by Chauvin, containing such popular episodes as "Haroun al Raschid" and "Ali Baba". The editor chose not to tamper with Galland's century-old text, since modernisations would have compromised the "naïveté de narration". Contemporary reviewers, however, were quick to point out that any parts unfit for juvenile consumption had been omitted, while difficult passages referring to oriental customs were elucidated by editor's notes. A second edition (enlarged by a glossary) was published in 1825; a German translation would appear in 1828.

Bindings slightly rubbed. Interior evenly browned with light spotting. From the library of the Bohmian lawyer and amateur naturalist Ludwig Grasse of Reichenbach, with his repeated ownership stamps (ca. 1900). Rare; OCLC lists only three copies in libraries internationally (Cleveland; Weimar; Erlangen-Nuremberg).

References

Chauvin IV, 76. OCLC 4433944.

Stock Code: BN#56151 Tags: ,