“NIELSEN’S MOST SPECTACULAR AND CELEBRATED BOOK”: EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON, SIGNED LIMITED EDITION

NIELSEN, Kay. East of the Sun and West of the Moon. (London): Hodder and Stoughton, (1914). Quarto, original gilt-decorated vellum, pictorial endpapers, uncut. Housed in a custom clamshell box.    $22,000.

Signed limited first edition, 61 of only 500 copies, of this classic collection of Norwegian folk tales, illustrated with 25 superb mounted color plates and decorative in-text line cuts by famed artist Kay Nielsen and signed by him. A scarce and magnificent masterpiece.

“Nielsen’s place in history has become universally acknowledged and his name is invariably invoked as one of the deities of the golden age of illustration, alongside such immortals as Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane and Edmund Dulac” (Silvey, 488). “By general consent, Nielsen’s most spectacular and celebrated book is East of the Sun and West of the Moon, old tales from the North, translated from the Norwegian of Peter C. Asbjörnsen and Jörgen Moe (devoted collectors of Scandinavian folk tales in the mid-19th century)… Nielsen’s unique style and talent for combining the eerie and fantastic with beautiful decorative effect was at its peak with this set of illustrations” (Dalby, 90). “The illustrations are pensive, filled with dramatic space and strong lines creating a terrific sense of movement. The deep Northern skies he depicts give his work a celestial scale that imparts a mythic impact to his heroes and heroines. The delicacy and elegance of the illustrations completely disregard the rough, folksy quality of the tales, leaving each to be enjoyed separately” (Silvey, 489). Nielsen illustrated three other deluxe volumes of fairy tales during his career, securing his reputation as a master of the fantastic and wonderful in art. He also designed the “Night on Bald Mountain” portion of Walt Disney’s animated classic Fantasia. Without fragile silk ties. See Cotsen 591.

Text and plates fine, light soiling and a few minor spots to original vellum binding, gilt bright. A near-fine signed copy of a lovely volume.