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With 25 tipped-in color plates by Kay Nielsen, including frontispiece; black and white illustrations throughout. (4to), finely bound by Morell for Henry Sotheran's in full blue morocco, spines ruled and lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, slipcase. Original endpapers preserved, spine and front cloth bound in at rear. First Nielsen Illustrated Edition, trade issue.

First edition of Kay Nielsen’s most famous and collected book, in a luxurious binding by Morell for Sotheran’s c. 1960. The stories are reprinted from Popular Tales from the Norse (1859), a translation by Sir George Webbe Dasent (1817-1896) of Asbjörnsen and Moe’s Norske Folkeeventyr (1842). Danish artist Kay Nielsen (1886-1957) was the son of the director of the Royal Danish Theater and after art school he was quickly recruited as a book illustrator; his second book East of the Sun and West of the Moon (1914) is one of the best known illustrated books of the century. He then turned to stage design for the Danish State Theater and only illustrated three more books (including this one) before moving to Hollywood where he designed sets for movies and acted in small walk-on parts. He died in California in 1957.