Kay Nielsen. East of the Sun and West of the Moon

This is the finest version of this book that I've ever seen, and I believe I've seen them all, including the first edition with its tipped-in plates. Taschen's edition contains all 25 of the original color illustrations that us Nielsen fans are so familiar with, but thankfully in oversized (7.5" x 10.5") format. Better yet, twelve of these are newly-scanned in high-resolution from the 12 surviving Nielsen original water-colors for this book! These versions are far and away the best reproductions to date of these pieces. The book also features all of the numerous black and white pieces, also oversized. It also features beautiful close-ups from many of the color pieces, which are a revelation in themselves. What a joy to finally see the zoomed-in details of the princess's faces, knights, dragons, etc. The prefaces feature an excellent biography of Nielsen, a thumbnail history of Norway and Norse folk-tale-collecting which creates the perfect atmosphere for reading the stories, and a history of the pre-WW1 British gift-art-book. And best of all, the book not only contains a sampling of paintings from Nielsen's other books, but a couple of pieces from private collections that I've never seen before! I was expecting an updated facsimile of the original 1914 first edition, but this book goes far and above that expectation. This is a beautiful book, worthy of the subject matter and the artist, and deserves a prominent place on the bookshelf of any lover of beautiful books. Thank you, Noel Daniel and Taschen!P.S.- Back in the 1970s, David Larkin and the Peacock Press did a series of pretty decent monographs featuring the work of Nielsen, Rackham, Dulac and many other classic illustrators. These books were as good as it got back then, using affordable '70s technology, though the quality of reproduction in those books was nowhere near the quality in this new Taschen edition. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Taschen and Noel Daniel took the Peacock Press approach light-years further using modern technology and design skills? To have all of Nielsen's paintings, including those done for the unpublished "A Thousand And One Nights", collected into a Taschen volume or two, as well as companion portfolio volumes of the complete works of John Bauer, Edmund Dulac, and others, re-scanned from originals where possible, would be truly mind-boggling! A dream come true! I can dream, can't I??2018/04/03- A dream of mine has come true- I hear that Noel Daniel and Taschen are publishing a very classy (and expensive- $300!), limited-to-5000-numbered-copies, 16" x16" portfolio of all of the illustrations Nielsen did for "A Thousand And One Nights". Apparently it is a boxed set containing all 21 (I think) individual prints taken from the "strikingly beautiful" (as it says in the description) original water colors, as well as black and white drawings, and a sizeable book featuring the illustrations again, close-ups, and background information about the illos and this publishing project. So far it's not offered on Amazon. You can check it out on Taschen's website. It looks to be a beauty. These "Arabian Nights" pieces were never published until David Larkin's "The Unknown Paintings of Kay Nielsen" was published in 1977. I loved that book, and have always hoped to see these pieces presented properly. I have no doubt that Taschen's book is going to be incredible.Addenda- 4/7/2018- The Taschen "A Thousand And One Nights" book and folio arrived this evening. It is beyond my wildest hopes. Measuring 16" x 16", it consists of a portfolio of all 21 illustrations, and a separate book containing the prints, associated essays, info about Nielsen and the Tales, and synopses of the Tales, and close-ups of the illustrations, all contained in a beautiful illustrated box with felt trimmings. I think this is the most beautiful book/folio I've ever seen. I'll write a thorough review at some point, if Amazon offers the book. We'll see.

Pre-ordered this for my wife - of Swedish heritage - for Christmas. It's hard for me to tell if this is strictly Norwegian tales or those from all of Scandinavia, but I would think anyone from that region (or not!) would enjoy it. The book itself is sturdy and well-crafted, and it comes with a cover/sheath as depicted. Nothing to write home about. The illustrations, however, are beautiful. Given past publications of this book, they are the primary allure, and they are indeed worth it. Kay Nielsen brings the tales alive. The style is unique and Renaissance-esk; it is not photorealistic or "clean," while not straying anywhere near cartoony. The images shown by Amazon are true to the quality of the printed page. Cracking open the book for the first time was a joy.If I had one complaint, it would be that drawings are not evenly dispersed throughout the book. For instance, I was hoping for something a little more elaborate for Three Billy Goats Gruff (even if it's only two pages long), particularly given the recurring roll trolls play within Norwegian culture. This is not enough to downgrade my rating, as I certainly would not expect/want drawings on every page, but it is something worth mentioning.Regardless, it is a beautiful book, and I would highly recommend it.PS: Thanks for getting it to me before Christmas!

Quality paper, illustrations and overall book

I collect fairy tale books of specific children's book illustrators including Kay Nielsen and have had various prints of this book over the years, replacing them with better versions when possible. As others helpfully posted, this version seems to have the full complement of black and white drawings and color plates for the stories and the image quality is excellent. The listing has nice image examples and I am including a couple of my own as well.

This edition is amazingly beautiful: the artwork is incredible and very well detailed. Kielsen is an amazing artist and I'm so grateful to have this book in my hands.

The most remarkable thing, to me, about these elegant, evocative illustrations, is that, refined as they are, you can still see the "hand" at work.Kay Nielson had great ability, having designed for the theatre, and was able to draw without using tracings.You have to be good to do that! The design element is very strong in these pictures, playing ornamented passages against open space---clearly the influence of Japanese woodcuts, as well as Persian miniatures. In an age when so much illustration is photo-derived and digital, it is a revelation to see what could be accomplished without any of those aids. This is a beautiful book, one that anyone with a love of fairy tales and fairy tale illustration would want to own. The elongated Art Nouveau forms fell out of fashion for awhile, but now seem fresh and innovative.

This is the best and the most amazing Fairytales book I've ever purchased, a most incredible and exquisitely breathtakingly beautiful illustration by the legendary Kay Nielsen, and it is totally worth the expensive shipping price that I've to pay to have the amazing book delivered all the way from USA to South East Asia Singapore. A very highly recommended Fairytales book of all time, and trust me when I say you won't regret the hefty shipping price because the book is that amazing and just took my breath away by how great and incredible it looks inside out. What are you waiting for? Go ahead, click the button and buy the book ASAP, it's really a purchase that you will not regret ever.

This is an absolutely beautiful book. I'm just not sure if I'd read it to my 6-y.o! I'd forgotten that some fairy tales are for mature audiences. It came shrink wrapped, in perfect condition, and in a timely manner as promised in the description.