1900 Rare Book - Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, Illustrated

Author: Hans Christian Andersen. Translated by Mrs. H. B. Paull.
Title: Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales. A New Translation.
Publisher: London and New York: Frederick Warne and Co., circa 1900.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 x 5.5 inches.
Pages: xi-383 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good, beautiful publisher’s pictorial sky-blue cloth binding, elaborately stamped in dark navy and red, with gilt titles and black-and-red vignette panels on the spine and upper board depicting a forest scene (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Upper edge gilt.  A striking example of late-Victorian decorative book design by Warne & Co.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing, toning or staining - as shown, a presentation label from Inellan Public School, dated 1905, is affixed to the front endpaper - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with the colour frontispiece illustration, the two colour full-page illustrations, and the six full-page black-and-white illustrations.

Estimate: (USD 200– 250).

The book: A lovely turn-of-the-century illustrated edition of Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales in the translation by Mrs. H. B. Paull, published by Frederick Warne & Co., celebrated for their finely produced Victorian and Edwardian gift books. This edition includes many of Andersen’s best-loved tales such as The Wild Swans, The Little Mermaid, The Ice Maiden, and The Elf of the Rose, along with Ole-Luk-Oie the Dream God and What the Moon Saw. The delicate wood-engraved illustrations and vivid chromolithograph plates evoke the nostalgic magic of Andersen’s storytelling and the golden age of children’s literature.

The author: Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875), the Danish master of fairy tales, transformed simple folk motifs into enduring works of art imbued with empathy, wit, and moral imagination. His timeless stories—The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and others—have become foundational texts of world literature, bridging oral tradition and modern fantasy. Translated into over 125 languages, Andersen’s tales continue to enchant readers of all ages, blending wonder and melancholy in a uniquely human way.

The translator: Mrs. H. B. Paull (1828 – 1905) was an English author and translator renowned for her accessible Victorian retellings of classic moral and fairy tales. Her sympathetic translation of Andersen’s works helped introduce them to generations of English-speaking children at the turn of the century.