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Thousand Nights and a Night

 

Illustrations by Kay Nielsen

 

 

Nielsen prepared these illustrations between 1918 and 1922 for a translation undertaken by the Arabic scholar,

Professor Arthur Christensen.

 

According to Nielsen's own published comments, these illustrations were to be the basis of his return to book

illustrations following a hiatus during World War I and the intention had been to publish the Danish version

in parallel with versions for the English-speaking world (to be published in Great Britain and the United States)

and the French market (to be published in Paris).

 

These came to be known to the world after Hildegarde Flanner - a family friend of Nielsen and his wife, Ulla,

following their emigration to the United States of America - took possession of the original gouaches following

the death of Ulla (Nielsen's widow).

 

According to Flanner, she was first shown the illustrations in the late 1940s. She recalls her first exposure to

the paintings thus:

But there existed something in their house that we had never yet seen. As they, or

rather Ulla, pulled a heavy wooden box out of a closet we had no idea what it

contained. They opened the box, lifting three metal hasps, and with a stir of tissue

paper and other wrappings, revealed its contents. There were nineteen remarkable

gauche illustrations of ample miniature size, thirteen inches square including borders,

for "Thousand Nights and One Night" on which Kay had worked from 1918 to

1922. His designs were made to accompany a translation from the original Arabic

by Professor Arthur Christensen. Intended for Danish publication the printing of

the work in Denmark had been given up because of high costs after the war, and

although simultaneous publications had been arranged for Paris, London and

New York all plans eventually fell through because of difficulties over the

translations.

Flanner notes that, at one point, Life was offered the opportunity to the purchase the paintings - an offer

that was rejected.

 

The suite of illustrations saved by Flanner following Ulla's death contained 20 of the original 21 images -

one painting having been purchased by the Art Institute of Chicago as a prize at the Institute's International

Watercolor Exhibition in 1925.

 

Nielsen's work on this collection of images is outstanding - you will enjoy the opportunity to consider

the genius of Nielsen as it interpreted the fantasy of stories handed down to the Ages by the Arabic

heroine, Scheherazade.

 

 

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Images

 

 

For connoisseurs of Nielsen's work, we have prepared sets of 21 Greeting Cards displaying colour images from his designs for Thousand Nights and a Night and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Code: KN TNN CS(21)
Price: US$105.00

 

Similarly, we have prepared sets of 21 Greeting Cards displaying the major combined colour and monotone images from his designs for Thousand Nights and a Night and on the right, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Code: KN TNN MCS(21)
Price: US$105.00

 

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-on plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted approach

typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century. Each card is hand-finished and

and the images are presented on Ivory card stock (in the case of colour illustrations) or White card stock (in the case of the

combination colour and monotone illustrations) with an accompanying envelope. The rear of each card carries information

about Kay Nielsen, this wonderful suite and the profiled illustration - we have left the interior of the cards blank so that you

may write your own personal message.

 

Should you wish to order a Reproduction Print of one or more of these images, we have provided some options below.

Each of these large format prints is also accompanied by information about Kay Nielsen, this suite and the profiled

illustration.

 

To purchase, simply click on the appropriate "Add to Cart" button and you will be taken through to our Shopping Cart

secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any

destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.

 

Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter through

ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

 

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these wonderful images from Kay Nielsen.

 

 

The full colour illustrations

 

 

Prologue

The Sultan of all India and China returns

from hunting early and discovers his wife

with a black slave. In a rage he has his

wife, the slave and all his harem executed.

He then goes off to roam the world.

Prologue

On his travels the Sultan meets a beautiful

girl who is the captive of a Genie. The Genie

keeps her locked in a box, but around her

neck is a little purse of rings she has been

given by other men despite the Genie's

 precautions.

Prologue

The Sultan returns to his kingdom completely

disillusioned. Having sworn never to trust

another woman, each night he takes a new

bride and each dawn he has her killed.

 

Scheherazade, the daughter of the Vizier,

volunteers to become the next bride. She

has a plan to stop this terrible destruction.

At bedtime she starts to tell a tale cleverly

weaving the beginning of a second into

the end so that she must continue the next

evening. In this way she is reprieved for a

thousand and one nights and wins the

Sultan's heart.

 

 

The Tale of the little Hunchback

The Tailor, the Physician, the Steward and

the Merchant each think they are responsible

for the death of the little Hunchback, but

each is saved from hanging by the confession

of the next. Just as the Caliph is about to

pass sentence the little Hunchback sits up

very much alive and says, 'I only had a

fishbone stuck in my throat!'.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C1 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C2 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C3 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C4 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Tailor's Tale of the lame young Man

and the Barber from the Tale of the

little Hunchback

While taking a walk a young man sees a

beautiful young woman at a window

watering some flowers and he immediately

falls in love with her.

The Barber's Tale of his second Brother

from the Tale of the little Hunchback

 Ali Haddar is tricked by the Merchant's wife

with whom he is infatuated. She paints his

face and undresses him, the runs away. He

chases after her only to find himself naked

in the marketplace. His right ear is cut off

for exposing himself in this way.

 

 

The Physician's Tale of a young Man loved by

two Sisters from the Tale of the little Hunchback

While he sleeps with one sister the other slips

into the bedroom and kills her sister, hiding

the wound with a necklace of large pearls.

The Merchant's Tale of the young Thief

from the Tale of the little Hunchback

A young man in love with a beautiful woman

steals to buy her luxuries, he is caught and his

right hand is cut off. To conceal this from her

he must take the cup of wine she offers with

his left hand.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C5 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C6 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C7 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C8 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Steward's Tale of the Sultan's Wife's

Favorite from the Tale of the little

Hunchback

 The Favorite falls in love with a young man

and so that she can smuggle him into the

harem she hides him in a box among some

presents for the Sultan's wife.

The Tale of King Yunan and Duban the

Doctor from the Tale of the Fisherman

and the Genie

 Duban cures the King of leprosy, but the

ungrateful King has him beheaded. Before

he dies he tells the King to place his head

over a special book and he will then be

able to answer all the King's questions.

This the King does, but when he licks his

fingers to turn the pages, which have been

poisoned, he dies.

The Tale of King Sindbad and the Falcon

from the Tale of the Fisherman and the

Genie

While out hunting the King being thirst

attempts to drink from a stream running

down a tree. Each time he tries to drink his

falcon knocks the cup from his hand. After

the third time the King cuts off the falcon's

wing, only then he discovers that the stream

comes from the mouth of a poisonous

snake. The King carries the falcon home

where it dies in honour.

 

 

The Tale of the Enchanted King of the

Black Islands from the Tale of the

Fisherman and the Genie

 The young king loves his wife but she is a

wicked sorceress in love with a black slave.

He discovers them and wounds the slave.

She turns the king into stone from the waste

down and beats him nightly to punish him

before going to visit her lover.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C9 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C10 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C11 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C12 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Tale of the first Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

 The Dervish's cousin is in love with his sister.

They have been forbidden to meet. He takes

her to a graveyard where he has built a

vault where they can be together. He asks

his cousin to close the hidden entrance

after them.

The Tale of the first Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

 The Dervish's cousin and his sister hidden in

their vault under the earth perish in the fire

of the Almighty's anger.

The Tale of the second Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of

Baghdad

 A Genie steals the daughter of the King of

the Ebony Isles on her wedding night.

The Tale of the third Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

 This Dervish is told to sew himself into a

sheepskin so that the Roc will mistake him

for a sheep and carry him away. Then, when

over a certain high rock to cut himself out

of the bag and frighten the Roc away. And

from there he will be able to see the castle

whither he is to go.

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C13 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C14 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C15 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C16 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Tale of the third Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

Arriving at the Castle he lives happily with the

forty young women he finds there, until one

day when they must leave him. they give him

the keys, forbidding him only one room. He

eventually yields to temptation and enters the

room. He finds a magnificent black horse, he

mounts it and it carries him away from the

castle back to the brass tower from which

he started.

 

 

The Tale of the first Girl from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

 The girl is shipwrecked on an island where

she enters a castle to discover that the Queen

and all her court have been turned to stone

for falling from the true faith - except for one

young man she finds reading the Koran. They

fall in love and sail away.

The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan

 Noureddin Ali and his older brother

Shemseddin Mohammed, both Viziers to the

Sultan of Egypt sit down one evening to plan

their future. They agree to marry two sisters

from a good family and that their wives shall

conceive and bear children on the same day,

a son for one, a daughter for the other, but

very soon they argue over the size of the

dowry and marriage portion.

The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan

 

The Genie turns himself into a water buffalo

to frighten the hunchback bridegroom and

keep him away from the bridal chamber so

that Bedreddin Hassan can spend the night

with his cousin, Shemreddin's daughter.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C17 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C18 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C19 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C20 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 
     

The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan

 Bedreddin Hassan enters the bridal chamber

of his cousin, undresses and tells her that he

is really her bridegroom and the hunchback

had been a joke played by the Sultan on her

father. Outside the Genie and the Fairy listen

and wait to steal him away and carry him off

to Damascus.

 

 

      

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN C21 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

The mixed colour and monotone illustrations

 

Prologue

Detail of the Sultan of India and China hunting.

 

 

Prologue

Detail of the beautiful girl with her purse of rings.

Prologue

Detail of Scheherazade telling her tale.

The Tale of the little Hunchback

Detail from The Tale of the little Hunchback.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM1 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM2 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM3 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM4 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Tailor's Tale of the lame young Man

and the Barber from the Tale of the

little Hunchback

Detail from The Tailor's Tale of the lame

young Man and the Barber from the Tale of

the little Hunchback.

 

 

The Barber's Tale of his second Brother

from the Tale of the little Hunchback

Detail from The Barber's Tale of his second

Brother from the Tale of the little

Hunchback.

The Physician's Tale of a young Man loved by

two Sisters from the Tale of the little Hunchback

Detail from The Physician's Tale of a young Man

loved by two Sisters from the Tale of the

little Hunchback.

The Merchant's Tale of the young Thief

from the Tale of the little Hunchback

Detail from The Merchant's Tale of the young

Thief from the Tale of the little Hunchback.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM5 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM6 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM7 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM8 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Steward's Tale of the Sultan's Wife's

Favorite from the Tale of the little

Hunchback

Detail from The Steward's Tale of the Sultan's Wife's

Favorite from the Tale of the little Hunchback.

The Tale of King Yunan and Duban the

Doctor from the Tale of the Fisherman

and the Genie

Detail from The Tale of King Yunan and Duban the

Doctor from the Tale of the Fisherman and

the Genie.

 

 

The Tale of King Sindbad and the Falcon

from the Tale of the Fisherman and the

Genie

Detail from The King Sindbad and the Falcon from

the Tale of the Fisherman and the Genie.

The Tale of the Enchanted King of the

Black Islands from the Tale of the

Fisherman and the Genie

Detail from The Tale of the Enchanted King of the

Black Islands from the Tale of the Fisherman

and the Genie.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM9 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM10 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM11 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM12 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Tale of the first Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

Detail from The Tale of the first Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of Baghdad.

 

 

The Tale of the first Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

Detail from The Tale of the first Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of Baghdad.

The Tale of the second Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of

Baghdad

Detail from The Tale of the second Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of Baghdad.

The Tale of the third Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

Detail from The Tale of the third Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of Baghdad.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM13 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM14 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM15 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM16 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Tale of the third Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

Detail from The Tale of the third Dervish from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of Baghdad.

The Tale of the first Girl from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls

of Baghdad

Detail from The Tale of the first Girl from the

Tale of the Porter and the three Girls of Baghdad.

 

 

The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan

Detail from The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan.

The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan

Detail from The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan.

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM17 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM18 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM19 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM20 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 
     

The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan

Detail from The History of Noureddin Ali and

Bedreddin Hassan.

 

 

      

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: KN TNN CM21 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

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