Description

The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor

Fully illustrated with over 100 watercolors, engravings and line drawings
Artwork from the best artists of the Victorian and Golden ages
Full bibliography listing every edition
See Sindbad like never before

Sindbad has been one of the most popular of the Tales from the Arabian Nights since it was first translated from French into English by W. Edward Lane around 1840. This translation was used, but edited to modernize the text and eliminate any words or expressions the modern reader may find offensive. It is suitable for family reading, and although there are monsters, they are nicely depicted and not too scary.

On Sindbad’s first voyage he nearly drowned after lunching on a whale’s back and washed up on a desert island.

On his second voyage Sindbad falls asleep on an island and is abandoned by his ship. He sees a Roc, a giant bird who can carry an elephant, and ties himself to his leg. He is carried into the bird’s nest in the mountains in a vast field of diamonds. He escapes from giant snakes and returns as a rich man.

On his third voyage, Sindbad’s ship and crew are overrun by dwarfs and are marooned on an island. Here they discover a one-eyed man-eating giant, who devours the crew one by one.

On the fourth voyage, Sindbad is captured by cannibals and escapes, only to be buried alive by his saviors.

On the fifth voyage, Sindbad again encounters the giant Rocs, and is marooned on an island with the Old Man of the Sea.

On the sixth voyage, Sindbad’s ship is smashed to pieces on the rocks, and is stranded again on the beach. He devises a raft and sails into another land where he encounters the King of Serendib. He returns to Bagdad, but at the behest of his Sultan, must return to Serendib for his seventh voyage.

The illustrations for this edition were published between 1800 and 1950 by the most talented artists of the Victorian and Golden ages of illustration. These include-

Edmund Dulac, Gustav Doré, René Bull, Eric Pape, Maxfield Parrish, William Harvey, JB Clark, VF Sterrett, William Strang, Helen Stratton, Milo Winter, JC Pinwell, HJ Ford, JD Batten, Thomas Dalziel, WH Robinson, Louis Rhead and Arthur Rackham.

A two page bibliography in chronological order lists all the editions used for this Arabian Nights series. The reader can easily locate the date, artists and publisher for further research. Many of these early editions are available online and are included in the Public Domain.