Books

Paris: L'Edition D'Art. H. Piazza, 1920. First French edition. One of 1,500 copies. Original strong blue color wrappers, embossed and ornamented with sponge-like designs in silver and gilt; small paper label printed with brown lettering and design on front cover. This copy is not numbered but is an "Examplaire Offert par Léonard Rosenthal a M. Poupon".Large quarto (11 7/8 x 9 1/4 inches; 302 x 234 mm.). 139, [1, printer’s imprint] pp. Ten mounted color plates, with descriptive tissue guards.A fine copy. “Au Royaume de la Perle was first published in Paris (by Payot) in 1919 without benefit of the Dulac illustrations which the author Mr. Rosenthal so eagerly sought. But when, in 1920, Dulac found time to produce 10 pictures, Mr. Rosenthal not only purchased the water colours, but had another publisher, Piazza of Paris, publish a 1,500-copy new edition of his Perle book with the Dulac illustrations. Also Dulac reveals in a reply to a Mr. Carroll of Massachusetts who hoped to…

The Kingdom of the Pearl is an illustrated book by Leonard Rosenthal with illustrations by Edmund Dulac.

First editions can be identified by looking for the publisher's name, the date of publication and any distinguishing marks, such as a specific illustrator's signature (Edmund Dulac in this case) or distinct cover art. Additionally, absence of later printing information on the copyright page is often indicative of a first edition.