{"product_id":"1885-rare-first-edition-edouard-laboulayes-last-fairy-tales-illustrated-1","title":"1885 Rare First Edition - Edouard Laboulaye's Last Fairy Tales, Illustrated","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn attractive 1885 First American Edition of Édouard Laboulaye’s final collection of fairy tales, in its striking original pictorial binding and profusely illustrated throughout.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Édouard Laboulaye. Authorized translation by Mary L. Booth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitle:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eLaboulaye’s Last Fairy Tales.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e New York, Harper \u0026amp; Brothers, Franklin Square, 1885.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e First American Edition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/strong\u003e English.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e xviii, 382 pages, plus publisher’s catalogue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7.5 x 5 inches.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e Very good original publisher’s decorative cloth binding in brown and deep green, elaborately blocked and lettered in gilt, with a large stylized fairy design to the front board and matching decoration and gilt lettering to the spine. Light rubbing and wear to extremities, as shown, but the binding remains sound, bright, and particularly attractive. Protected in a removable mylar cover. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContent:\u003c\/strong\u003e Very good. Tight and generally clean throughout with the expected light age toning and occasional minor marks. Name of a previous owner, dated 1894, on the first blank page, as shown.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrations:\u003c\/strong\u003e Profusely illustrated in black and white with engraved plates and numerous illustrations throughout, including a portrait frontispiece of Édouard Laboulaye.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEstimate: \u003c\/strong\u003eUSD 300–350.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe book:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePublished shortly after Laboulaye’s death, \u003cem\u003eLast Fairy Tales\u003c\/em\u003e gathers a wonderfully imaginative group of stories in the tradition that had made him one of the nineteenth century’s most admired French writers for younger readers. The tales combine witches, giants, enchanted creatures, transformations, supernatural happenings, and moral allegory, while retaining the wit and philosophical undertones characteristic of Laboulaye’s writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis American edition was translated by Mary L. Booth and handsomely produced by Harper \u0026amp; Brothers, with extensive engraved illustration and a particularly successful publisher’s binding. The large green fairy silhouetted against the stylized leaf on the upper board makes this an especially appealing example of late nineteenth-century decorative book design and an attractive addition to a collection of fairy tales or illustrated Victorian books.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe author and translator:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eÉdouard René Lefèbvre de Laboulaye (1811–1883) was a French jurist, historian, author, and political thinker whose writings championed liberty and democratic ideals. Beyond his scholarly and political work, he became widely known for his collections of fairy tales, in which fantasy and folklore frequently serve as vehicles for wit, morality, and social observation. He is also remembered for proposing the idea of a monumental gift from France to the United States that ultimately became the Statue of Liberty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMary Louise Booth (1831–1889) was an American author, translator, historian, and one of the most important women editors of the nineteenth century. She served as the first editor of \u003cem\u003eHarper’s Bazaar\u003c\/em\u003e and translated numerous French works into English, including several of Laboulaye’s books. Her fluent and lively translations helped introduce his literary and political writings to a broad American readership.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MFLIBRA - Antique Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49058862596345,"sku":null,"price":250.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0953\/3348\/files\/20260913lastfairy_01.jpg?v=1789329816","url":"https:\/\/mflibra.com\/products\/1885-rare-first-edition-edouard-laboulayes-last-fairy-tales-illustrated-1","provider":"MFLIBRA - Antique Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}