1890 Rare illustrated French Book ~ Contes de Perrault - Fairy Tales

 

Author : Perrault, Charles
Title : Les Contes de Perrault précédés d'une préface de J. T. De Saint-Germain
Publisher : Paris, Théodore Lefèvre, no date (circa 1890's). First thus.
Language : Text in French
Size : 9 "X 5.5 "
Pages : 198 pages
Binding : Good gilt illustrated hardcover binding (hinges fine, overall worn and scuffed) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content : Good content (inner hinges partly cracked but still tight, foxing and staining -  as shown)
Illustrations : Complete with all the wonderful full page  illustrations.

Estimate : (USD 200 - USD 250)

The book : Rare illustrated french edition of Perrault's fairy tales. Including : Le Petit Chaperon rouge. Les Souhaits ridicules. Peau d'âne. Le Petit Poucet. Le Chat botté. Cendrillon. La Barbe bleue. Riquet à la houppe. La Belle au bois dormant. L'adroite princesse and Les Fées. ‎

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.