The Kingdom of the Pearl (1920)

Illustrated by Edmund Dulac

On the left we show a rare copy of The Kingdom of the Pearl as illustrated by Dulac and published in 1920 by Nisbet and Co. (London).   This example retains the original decoratively silver-stamped Edmund Dulac cover.               To the right, we shown the Title Page.

The literary work of Parisian jeweler, Léonard Rosenthal, The Kingdom of the Pearl in its illustrated form first appeared in

1920 after the author commissioned Edmund Dulac to undertake illustration and design work for the book.

A total of 1,550 copies of The Kingdom of the Pearl were produced for the English-speaking world - 775 each for the

British market (by Nisbet and Co.) and the later edition for the United States of America (Brentano's).

The Kingdom of the Pearl is considered Dulac's illustrated book masterpiece, displaying a style matured fully following

development through previous titles including Tanglewood Tales. It is a style that draws on influences including those of

Persian miniatures, but one that Dulac made his own entirely.

A review appearing in The New York Times (4 December, 1921) provides the following critique of the later Bretano's edition

(which utilised unused plates from the English edition from Nisbet & Co.):

On a par with ... [Rackham's Comus] is "The Kingdom of the Pearl," by Leonard Rosenthal ... with

superb color plates by Edmund Dulac. Each one of these plates is a work of art, and the matter of

the book itself is an engrossing history of pearls, their culture, their treatment, their myths and

legends, and the narratives of famous stones. The book combines romance and instruction.

As noted previously, Dulac's images for The Kingdom of the Pearl included techniques borrowed from Persian miniatures,

including overwashing the watercolours with silver and gold. Those approaches produced stunning results and while they

made mass-publication difficult, they contribute to the gem-like quality of those exquisite illustrations.

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Prints

For connoisseurs of Dulac's work, we have prepared sets of 10 Greeting Cards displaying each of his colour images for The Kingdom of the Pearl and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.             Code: ED KP CS(10) Price: US$50.00

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-in 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 with an accompanying envelope. The rear of each

card carries information about Edmund Dulac, 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 Edmund Dulac, 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 Edmund Dulac.

The colour illustrations

The Birth of the Pearl	The Pearl of the Elephant	The Pearl of the Fish	The Pearl of the Boar
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 1 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 2 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 3 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 4 (12x18) Price: US$60.00
The Pearl of the Bamboo	The Pearl of the Serpent	The Pearl of the Cloud	The Pearl of Love
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 5 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 6 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 7 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 8 (12x18) Price: US$60.00
The Talisman Pearl	The Pearl of the Warrior
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 9 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED KP 10 (12x18) Price: US$60.00