1865 Scarce illustrated French Book ~ Contes des Fees by Charles Perrault - Fairy Tales.
(description)
Author: Perrault, Charles.
Title: Contes des Fees par Charles Perrault.
Publisher: Paris, Paul Bernardin, Libraire-Editeur, no date (circa 1865). First thus.
Language: Text in French.
Size: 6 "X 4 ".
Pages: 184 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good, near fine, original gilt illustrated full-cloth binding (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the 5 very nice full-page black&white illustrations.
The book: Scarce and attractive mid 19th century illustrated french edition of Perrault's fairy tales. Including : Le Petit Chaperon rouge, La Barbe Bleue, Les Fées, La Belle au bois dormant, Le maître chat ou le Chat botté, Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, Riquet à la Houpe, Le petit Poucet, L'Adroite Princesse ou les Aventures de Finette, Peau d'Ane, La Fée Berliquette, Les trois Souhaits, Les souhaits ridicules.
The author: Charles Perrault (12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best-known of his tales include Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Le Chat Botté (Puss in Boots), La Belle au bois dormant (The Sleeping Beauty) and La Barbe bleue (Bluebeard). Some of Perrault's versions of old stories may have influenced the German versions published by the Brothers Grimm 200 years later. The stories continue to be printed and have been adapted to opera, ballet (such as Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty), theatre, and film. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction during the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.