1890 Scarce COLOR illustrated French Book ~ Les Contes des Fées by Perrault - Fairy Tales
Author : Perrault, Charles
Title : Les Contes de Fées
Publisher : Paris Théodore Lefèvre éditeur, (circa 1890's). First thus.
Language : Text in French
Size : 10.5 "X 7 " (Uncommon large format for Lefevre)
Pages : Unpaginated.
Binding : Very good and very attractive gilt illustrated full cloth binding (hinges fine, slightly worn and scuffed) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content : Very good content (bright, some light foxing and staining, one crease on inner lower part of "Petit Poucet" page - repaired by a previous owner - as shown, gift note from Eugenie Lefevre (publisher's relatives??) on first endpaper)
Illustrations : Complete with all the full page color and intext illustrations.
Estimate : (USD 250 - USD 300)
The book : Scarce color illustrated french edition of Perrault's fairy tales published by Lefevre (uncommon format for this color edition). 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.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.