Edmund Dulac

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Illustration to The Garden of Paradise

Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac 1882-1953), was a book illustrator prominent during the so called "Golden Age of Illustration" (the first quarter or so of the twentieth century). Born in Toulouse, France, he began his career by studying law at the University of Toulouse, but also followed classes in the Ecole des Beaux Arts, switching full time to art after he became bored with law, and also having won prizes at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He spent a very brief period at the Académie Julien in Paris in 1904 before moving to London.

In London, the 22-year old Frenchman was picked up by J.M. Dent and given a commission to illustrate the collected works of the Brontë sisters. He then began an association with the Leicester Gallery and Hodder & Stoughton; the gallery would commission paintings from Dulac and then sell the rights to Hodder & Stoughton, who would publish the books (one book a year over many years) while the gallery would sell the paintings. Books produced under this arrangement by Dulac include The Arabian Nights (1907), an edition of Shakespeare's The Tempest (1908), of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1909), The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales (1910), Stories from Hans Christian Andersen (1911), The Bells and Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe (1912) and Princess Badoura (1913). During World War I he contributed to relief books, including King Albert's Book, Princess Mary's Gift Book, and, unusually, his own Edmund Dulac's Picture Book for the French Red Cross (1915).

After the war, the deluxe edition illustrated book became a rarity and Dulac's career in this field was over. His last such books were Edmund Dulac's Fairy Book (1916), the Tanglewood Tales (1918) and the exquisite The Kingdom of the Pearl (1920). His career continued in other areas however, including newspaper caricatures (especially at The Outlook), portraiture, theatre costume and set design, bookplates, chocolate boxes, medals, and various graphics (especially for The Mercury Theatre). He designed postage stamps for Great Britain. He designed stamps (Marianne de Londres series) and banknotes for Free France during World War II. He also produced illustrations for The American Weekly, a Sunday supplement belonging to the Hearst newspaper chain in America. He continued to produce books for the rest of his life, more so than any of his contemporaries, although these were less frequent and less lavish than during the Golden Age.

Illustration to The Snow Queen	The Garden of Paradise - The Fairy of the Garden's garment	Illustration to The Nightingale	Illustration to The Princess and the Pea
Illustration to The Garden of Paradise	Illustration to The Garden of Paradise