NIELSEN, Kay (illus.); GRIMM, The Brothers.

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Hansel and Gretel and Other Stories. Signed limited edition, number 434 of 600 copies signed by the illustrator. An advertisement issued by the publishers appeared in the Times Literary Supplement on 3 December 1925, which stated "there is only one edition of Hansel and Gretel, which is limited to 500 copies". Evidently demand increased the limitation but, with no trade edition, this is a scarce book.The publishers noted "the art of Kay Nielsen has never been shown to greater advantage than in these truly wonderful illustrations to Grimm's Fairy Stories. The draughtsmanship, the decorative skill, and the fairy imagination are unique, and place Mr Kay Nielsen as one of the greatest of illustrators and decorative artists. This magnificent volume is also a fine example of the engraver's and bookmaker's art"."Nielsen is a brilliant colourist and a highly decorative illustrator, his works formed into frieze-like patterns, are closest to Persian or Middle-Eastern designs and therefore akin to Leon Bakst or Edmund Dulac" (Houfe, p. 401).

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