Danish legends, Antique book, Anderson's Fairy Tales, Alta Edition, Leather Bound storybook
Danish legends, Antique book, Anderson's Fairy Tales, Alta Edition, Leather Bound storybook
Translated from the Dutch. With over 200 illustrations throughout! Including these classic stories:
The Emperor's New Clothes, The Golden Swan, The Ice Maiden, Little Ida's Flowers, The Mermaid, Soup from a Sausage Skewer, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling and many more...
"I know what you want," said the sea witch; "it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess. I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to land tomorrow before the sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail will disappear, and shrink up into what mankind call legs; and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you." -The Mermaid, page 31/33 Anderson's Fairy Tales, Alta Edition
352 pages. In Fine condition, especially considering its age! The handwritten, cursive inscription which gifts this book for Christmas says 1890. Pages have yellowed from time. The binding is split on the inside front and back covers, yet remains in tact with careful use (see photos please). This storybook is fully legible with some spotting and shelf wear to the decorative, embossed leather covering in a timeless burgundy hue. Priced to reflect the condition.
Illustrated by Harrison Weir v. Pedersen, M. L. Stone, A. W. Bayes, and others
Philadelphia, Porter & Coates
Alta Edition Leather bound books from the late 1800s are highly collectible. Many of them are popular publications which were printed before copyright laws were formed. Hence the title, "Alta." The enchanting patterns to the binding are interesting in different lights when sitting on the bookshelf. You can find versions of Alta Edition books in a variety of colors from Green to Blue to Red, like this book. I recommend that if you are a begging book collector you check out the different classic title available under this publisher. Many of them are quite affordable (less costly for the titles rarely sought after) for their age and as being first editions, in a sense. It's hard to say for certain the exact ages of these books because they are not dated unless personally inscribed such as this one.
I am fairly inexperienced at collection Fairy Tales, but it is something I am very passionate about. This edition of Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tale collection is a somewhat romanticized version of what I imagine a genuine story book to need. It is leather bound, almost ancient with a tactile detail to the embossed leather design which feels good as I hold it carefully to read to my son. I love the classic tales within it's binding which have a more morose architecture to the story than the Disney versions with which I grew up. However, I also grew up steeling away the hours in Edgar Allen Poe and The Complete Brother's Grimm, so I do have a knack for the arcane. I think anyone with a similar streak for the dismal and dangerous can feel comfortable with the horrors all wrapped up in this one.
5.5" wide x 7.75" tall x 1.25" thick