Various; E. Powys Mathers — Eastern Love

London, John Rodker for Subscribers , 1927-1929. First edition. Cloth. Nine out of the twelve volumes issued for this limited edition "Eastern Love", E. Powys Mather"s illustrated English translations of Oriental folk tales. Limited edition of 1,000 copies on all rag paper, with hand coloured copper plate engravings by Hester Sainsbury. This copy is number 690. Comprising volumes I-VI and volumes X-XII, bound into three. Typically complete in twelve volumes bound into four.  In the publisher"s cloth binding. Volume I illustrated with a hand-coloured portrait frontispiece and eleven hand-coloured plates.Volume II illustrated with a hand-coloured frontispiece, and eleven hand-coloured plates. Volume IV illustrated with a hand-coloured frontispiece, and eleven hand-coloured plates.   Translated here into English for the first time is a delightful anthology of Eastern love poetry, translated from the original Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Turkish. Volumes I & II comprise "The Lessons of a Bawd" and "Harlot"s Breviary"; Volume III comprises "The Book of Women" and "The Education of Wives"; Volume IV comprises "The Young Wives" Tale" and "Tales of Fez"; Volume V comprises "The Loves of Radha" and "Krishna and Amores"; Volume VI comprises "Love Stories and Gallant Tales from the Chinese"; Volume X comprises "Love tales of Cambodia" and "Songs of the Love Nights of Lao"; Volume XI comprises "Anthology of Easern Love I"; and Volume XII comprises "Anthology of Eastern Love II".  Mathers was an English translator and poet, as well as a pioneer of advanced cryptic crosswords. As noted by The New York Times, he "rendered into English poems from almost all the Asiatic languages: from Sanskrit and Chinese, Annamese and Arabic, Hindustani and Afghan."    In the publisher"s cloth binding. Externally, with fading to the spines and damp to the boards. Mild shelf wear. Spotting and marks to the cloth. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are generally bright, with scattered spots throughout. Offsetting to the endpapers. Mild wear to upper front free endpaper to Vol I caused by external damp. Contemporary ownership inscriptions to the front free endpapers. Good . Ill.: Hester Sainsbury. Good .