(Denver: Privately printed for the Burton Club, [circa 1920]).

SCARCE AND LIMITED PRIVATELY PRINTED BURTON CLUB EDITION. A very handsome edition, which includes the great profusion of illustrated full page plates executed by Letchford and others for the first illustrated editions.
Richard Burton was one of the foremost linguists of his time, an explorer, poet, translator, ethnologist, and archaeologist, among other things.  The Thousand Nights and a Night is probably the most famous of all his many works. This translation reflected his encyclopedic knowledge of Arabic language, sexual practices and life:  it reveals a profound acquaintance with the vocabulary and customs of the Muslims, with their classical idiom, [Ency Britt] as well as colloquialisms, philosophy, modes of thought and intimate details. In contrast to Victorian mores, Burton was driven to explore what would now be called by literary critics the uncanny/Unheimliche or the unresolvable tensions of human beings. Accordingly, he recorded details of daily life and practices that were considered vulgar at the time.
Burton s intellectual influence is far-reaching. His amazing grasp of languages and culture anticipates the globalism of the future. His geographical discoveries not only make him an interesting historical figure but also allowed for future exploration. The detail with which he wrote and his willingness to examine intimate aspects of daily life were precursors to modern ethnography. And his understanding and willingness to immerse himself in cultures that are still little understood by those in Western nation-states is. Item #23252

17 volumes including the  Supplemental Nights . The Illustrated Benares edition, issued by the Burton Club, for private circulation among its members, and strictly limited to 1000 sets only. Profusely illustrated with over 100 fine plates from the original decorations created by Letchford and others. Tall 8vo, publisher s original brick-red cloth covered boards, the spines with printed paper labels. A nice reading set being internally still very fresh and clean, the cloth however is somewhat worn and aged and there is chipping to the paper labels, some board edges are rubbed.