Contes et Légendes des Nations Alliées [SIGNED]

Paris: L'Édition D'Art H. Piazza, 1917. Hardcover. Near fine. First French edition (published in English in 1916). Number 793 of 1000 copies signed by Dulac on the limitation page. Bound in cream cloth with an unidentified monogram on the front board, top edge gilt, original front wrapper and spine bound in at the rear. 11.75" x 9", pp iv, 149, with fifteen mounted color plated with captioned tissue guards, as well as decorative initials, bands, and tailpieces by Dulac. A lovely copy, with some very minor soiling to front board and spine. This selection of tales representing the Allied nations fighting in World War I--including Great Britain, France, (truncated) Russia, Italy, Belgium, Serbia, Japan, and China--were adapted by Dulac, "clearly with an eye for describing settings and details that he would highlight in his illustrations. The tipped-in color plates...demonstrate through the different styles he employs his keen interest in the folklore and folk art of each country. For example, his illustration to the Chinese tale "The Story of the Bird Feng" takes the form of a Chinese fan. The Japanese tale "Urashima Taro" is represented by a subtle watercolor clearly influenced by Ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Perhaps most spectacular of all are the illustrations for the Russian tales "Ivan and the Chestnut Horse" and "The Fire Bird," both of which owe a debt to Leon Bakst's opulent stage designs for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes productions" (Minneapolis College of Art & Design Special Collections). (Inventory #: 23308)