"The Arabian Nights: Their Best-Known Tales", edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, published by Charles Scribner, MCMXVI (1916) is imprinted on the title page, "Copyright 1909" and Scribner's colophon on the copyright page without any other printings listed. (1916' printing of the first edition which was first issued in 1909)

CONTENTS:

The Talking Bird, the Singing Tree and the Golden Water
The Story of the Fisherman and the Genie
The History of the Young King of the Black Isles
The Story of Gulnare of the Sea
The Story of Aladdin; or, the Wonderful Lamp
The Story of Prince Agib
The Story of the City of Brass
The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
The History of Codadad and His Brothers
The Story of Sinbad the Voyager

Maxfield Parrish [also Frederick] was born in Philadelphia in 1870. His artistic talents were encouraged by his parents and though it was initially architecture that beckoned him, it was quite obvious that he would be an artist. His college work was remarkably sophisticated. In 1893 he approached Howard Pyle in hopes of getting instruction, but he was told that Pyle had nothing to teach him. Parrish audited a few of Pyle's classes at the Drexel Institute and came to the same conclusion. It was time to start a long and respected career.

Parrish is best known for his color (people speak of "Parrish blue"), but his earliest work was b&w. In 1897, he illustrated Kenneth Grahame's "The Walls Were As of Jasper". He would revisit Grahame's work in two books, "Dream Days" and "The Golden Age" in 1899 & 1900. Though both of these and his other 19th century books, "Mother Goose in Prose" and "Knickerbocker's History of New York", were b&w, they all displayed the attention to detail, composition and texture that would make his color work so instantly recognizable.

There were earlier color Parrish illustrations, but most were black & white drawings with color oil glazes added to prints of the originals. What Parrish (alone!) did was a result of the printers' methods and was directly responsible for the unique 'feel' and luminosity of his art. By 1900, Parrish was an established, successful artist with membership in the Society of American Artists, a new wife, a custom-built studio on the New Hampshire/Vermont border. His art was in magazines, books and was receiving recognition in the exhibits and expositions when he submitted to them. Most significantly, the public was enamored with his images. A trip to Arizona in early 1902 resulted in a suite of seven color plates that seem to have been crafted with the earliest versions of the new "varnish" technique above and capture the colors and light of the desert.
Book illustrations were equally in demand. His post-1900 color output included: "Italian Villas and Their Gardens" and "Poems of Childhood" (1904), "The Arabian Nights" (1909), "A Wonder Book" and "Tanglewood Tales" (1910) and "The Knave of Hearts" (1925). He lived his entire life at his New Hampshire home/studio at The Oaks.

US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ---------- $16.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-6 weeks) ---- $27.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ----- $37.50

Hard boards, original publisher’s black-brownish cloth with paste-down illustration on the front board [some wear: see photos]; 7.1/2" x 9.3/4"; illustrated endpapers, handwritten inscription dated 1919 on the first blank page; 339 pages and complete all 9 listed color plates with beautiful artwork of Maxfield Parrish, a little soiling and wear, very good condition.