1898 Rare Book - Grimm’s Fairy Tales Illustrated in color by Ada Dennis

Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Translated by L. L. Weedon. Illustrated by Ada Dennis, E. Stuart Hardy, and others.
Title: Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
Publisher: London and New York, Ernest Nister & E. P. Dutton & Co., 1898. Printed in Bavaria.First thus.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 9.5 x 7 inches.
Pages: 208 pages.
Binding: Very good original publisher’s decorative cloth binding in a soft lavender-grey tone, richly stamped in gilt, black, green, and white on the front cover and spine. The striking cover design depicts a large bird carrying away a gnome-like figure against a twilight skyline (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges tinted red.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown). A beautifully preserved example of this charming late Victorian fairy tale edition.
Illustrations: Profusely illustrated throughout with numerous black and white illustrations by E. Stuart Hardy and others, together with ten beautiful full-page colour plates by Ada Dennis. The illustrations are richly atmospheric and highly representative of the decorative gift-book tradition associated with Ernest Nister productions. Complete.

Estimate: (USD 275–350).

The book: This beautifully produced Victorian edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales was issued by the celebrated publisher Ernest Nister, whose finely illustrated children’s books remain among the most beloved productions of the late nineteenth century. Printed in Bavaria and distributed in both London and New York, the volume combines elegant typography, decorative line drawings, and luminous chromolithographic plates that bring the classic German folk tales vividly to life. Stories such as Little Snow-White, Rapunzel, The Fisherman and His Wife, and Brother and Sister appear here in a charming English translation by L. L. Weedon. The enchanting cover design and delicate internal artwork make this an especially desirable example of the golden age of illustrated fairy tale books.

The authors: Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), collectively known as the Brothers Grimm, were German scholars, folklorists, and linguists whose collections of traditional European folk tales became foundational works of world literature. Their fairy tales have influenced generations of writers, illustrators, and storytellers, and remain central to the Western fairy tale tradition.

The illustrator: Ada Dennis was an illustrator associated with richly coloured late Victorian and Edwardian children’s gift books, contributing delicate and highly decorative colour plates to fairy tale literature. E. Stuart Hardy was a British artist and illustrator known for his lively black and white drawings and genre scenes, whose work appeared in illustrated books and periodicals of the late nineteenth century.