How did Harry Clarke see Charles Perrault's Fairy Tales? This is a very special book for at least two reasons. It's a translation of Perrault's Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé (Les Contes de ma Mère l'Oye) or Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals (Tales of Mother Goose). Although it's practically the last of Perrault's projects, written when he was almost 70 years old, signed by his son's name, and written as a sort of parody, it's by far his most important work. He wrote eight fairy tales among which we can see some of the most popular ones ever: Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Puss in Boots. He set the tone of the modern fairy tale as a genre, gave red color to The Riding Hood, and described the slippers of Cinderella (here titled Cinderilla) as made of glass. He added a moral (or sometimes even two of them) to the end of every story, emphasizing the educational potential of fairy tales (even if this was probably not his intention) which were made for grown-ups only in his time. Thanks to this book the fairy tale as a self-standing-genre was born and Charles Perrault is rightfully proclaimed as the father of fairy tales. While none of the plots in this book is original and all stories were printed before his birth, Perrault showed the way to hundreds of writers who started writing, collecting, editing, and publishing fairy tales in the next centuries. Yes, they started and never finished. Fairy tales are still being written after almost the same pattern as he used at the end of the 17th century. The other reason why is this book so special are illustrations by Harry Clarke. His approach to an already classic work of world literature is brave and unexpected, probably not aiming at kids as the default audience at all. Thanks to his skills we can enjoy dramatic black-and-white drawings where the tension between characters is obvious. Each fairy tale is accompanied by a full-page color illustration with strong black linings yet often with colors that are often presented with numerous blending shades. Such an approach gave the illusion of space but not a typical 3-D space (children's illustrations are almost always 2-D). Clarke's color pictures are somehow elusive just like the scene is partly present here, in the real world, partly in some other (fairy-tale?) dimension. There are also many decorative elements, one of the characteristics of the Art Nouveau movement. These are not always pretty as we expect in the majority of cases. They often give a grotesque feel, which reminds us of another genius artist - Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1892). There are in general three or four unique illustrations for each fairy tale with a decorative vignette at the end (at the moral of the story). Sometimes there are two decorations and all of them are repeated several times. Let's take some time to look at fairy tales as they are sequenced in the book with scans of all illustrations: Little Red Riding-Hood This version of Red Riding Hood is slightly different than the version by Brothers Grimm we are mostly used to. At Perrault there is no hunter. The wolf eats the granny, then the girl and it's over. (He asked her whither she was going) The moral is simple: don't trust old guys. They are the ultimate predators! The Fairy You may know this story under a different name: Diamonds and Toads. It's a classic rivalry between sisters. One of them is a victim and is eventually rewarded for her kindness. The other is punished for her vanity. Am I come to serve you with water, pray? One of the girls gets diamonds, the other loads of toads. Author offers two morals in this case:
Blue Beard It's next to impossible to find this fairy tale about a mass murderer in modern collections. It's just too scary. (This man had the misfortune to have the blue beard) (What, is not the key of my closet among the rest?) She betrayed his trust by looking into a forbidden chamber. So she must die. There are two morals again:
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood Everybody knows the story about the princess being cursed and waiting for the prince to wake her up after long long time, right? Wrong. This is an older version, specific to Perrault, which is closer to older variations of the fairy tale, like Sun, Moon, and Talia. (At this very instant the young fairy came out from behinfd the hangings) Apart from some minor differences like the number of the fairies in Perrault's (presented in this book) and Grimms' (most known) versions, there is a whole new world of plotswhen we find out the prince has a secret - his mother is a meneating ogre and his wife should fight for her life. And the life of their kids! (The prince enquires of the aged countryman) In the end, somebody has to die. Which lady will be prince's new favorite? (He saw, upon a bed, the finest site was ever beheld) (I will have it so, replied the Queen, and will eat her with a Sauce Robert) As we can see, Perrault had a great although sometimes very black sense of humor. How about the moral? You may have wait a hundred years for a good husband and yet there will probably be more obstacles to the relationship. The Master Cat or Puss in Boots Another well-known story about the miller's sons who didn't inherit equal parts of father's heirloom. The youngest got just a cat. But the cat was not an ordinary animal. With a pair of boots it transformed into an extremely resourceful helper and made his master a king! Once more two morals of the story are offered: It's great to have a property, but it's even better to know how to act. Youth and good clothes may be enough to win a heart of a princess. Cinderilla; or, The Little Glass Slipper While there are more than one thousand known variations of Cinderella, this one is still best know in the world. It's the first one with glass slippers and with a happy ending where Cinderella (in this translation called Cinderilla) forgives her wicked sisters. (Any one but Cinderilla would have dressed their heads away) (Away she drove, scarce able to contain herself for joy) (She left behind one of her glass slippers, which the Prince took up most carefully) We are already accostumed to two morals:
Riquet with the Tuft This story doesn't belong to the best. It's about an ugly prince who is blessed by a fairy. He is not only extremely witty and likable but can make smart his true love as well. When he meets a beautiful princess who is also very stupid, his mission is about to be completed. Guess what? She was 'blessed' by the same fairy too. The morals:
Little Thumb Little Thumb is a fairy tale very similar to Hansel and Gretel. Instead of a brother and a sister there are seven brothers lost in the wood. The youngest is the smartest. (He brought them home by the very same wy they came) Instead of the witch they find a house with an ogre. He is a maneater too. (Little Thumb was as good as his word, and returned that same night with the news) The second half of the story resembles Jack and the Beanstalk. The moral of the story? Sometimes the least respected member of the family brings the best. The Ridiculous Wishes There was a poor woodcutter, angry for not having a chance to fullfil a single tiniest wish. But he got a chance. He was granted three wishes! (Jupiter appeared before him wielding his mighty thunderbolts) Jupiter is not exactly a fairy tale character. But we can occasionally meet him in fables, for instance. He decided to choose his wishes very carefully. Together with his wife. (A long black pudding came winding and wriggling towards her) Well, their wishes were not so smart after all. (Truth to tell, this new ornament did not set off her beauty) The moral is obvious. If you are stupid, the gifts of the gods won't help you. Donkey-skin This fairy tale is out of fashion for long time now. It belongs to the family of stories related to Cinderella. But there's a twist - instead of the prince her own father is in love with her. (He thought the Princess was his Queen) When the princess realized his intentions, she ran away. (Another gown in the color of the Moon) She disguised herself, she made impossible wishes, ... It was not enough. (Curiosity made him put his eye to the keyhole.) Fortunately, the king found his queen, the princess got her prince and everybody was happy. The moral is a bit different than the morals before: although the plot in unbelievable, it can still entartain some audience. With this we conclude the review of The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, illustrated by Harry Clarke. The book was published by George G. Harrap & Co., London in 1922.
If you enjoyed Harry Clarke's illustrations, we can recommend more of his work here: http://artsandartists.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/06/07/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe http://blackandwhiteandmore.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-6.html
0 Comments
Old Time Stories - A Collection of Classic Fairy Tales This book brings many memories to the older generation and still offers a great opportunity to present a few pieces of not-so-old history to younger generations. It is a collection of eleven fairy tales. Some of them are classic works, representatives of the genre, and well-known all over the world, others are forgotten, but still worth your attention. All these years after their first publishing, they still possess a very specific charm. You are invited to be a part of it. The first eight fairy tales were written by Charles Perrault. You'll probably know most of them. You probably need to live on another planet if you don't want to hear about Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, or Puss in Boots. Perrault wrote only eleven fairy tales in his lifetime yet the majority still circulates around. They are actually among the most popular stories in the world. While the cover and inside title don't give credit to the other two authors, it's only fair to expose them too. The first one is Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, who wrote the most known (not the first) version of The Beauty and The Beast, another all-time classic. The second author (third altogether) is Catherine d'Aulnoy, who is represented by two less-known fairy tales but is officially credited as a mother of the genre. She coined the fraise conte de fee, which means fairy tale. We'll explore all eleven fairy tales with the help of superb illustrations signed by William Heath Robinson (1872-1944). We have already seen a few examples - pen and ink vignettes (black and white pictures are in the majority) and one of a few color pictures (this one, a so-called frontispiece, represents a scene from the story Little Tom Thumb. After the list of fairy tales and the list of illustrations, the book begins with a short preface. Then fairy tales follow one by one. We'll present them in exactly the same order. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood Perrault's version of this fairy tale begins similarly to the more known variation popularized by the Grimm brothers. The king and the queen can't have children. When they succeed, they throw a huge party. Unfortunately, they forgot to invite one of the fairies who curses the baby. She will die of the spindle. This curse is later softened to the long sleep, but can't be annulled. The king tries to forbid the spindles in the whole kingdom. When an inevitable happens, a dwarf informs the good fairy who comes to the castle with a sleeping beauty and puts everybody else to sleep too. A thick forest protects everybody inside from the inside world. One hundred years later a prince comes and, hearing about the rumors about the sleeping beauty decides to go through the forest. The trees retract from him and he enters without a problem. The guards were sleeping. Everybody was sleeping. The prince finally found the sleeping princess. When he approached her, she woke up. Everybody else wakes up too. But this is not the end of the story as Perrault wrote it. The happy couple marries and has two kids, but the prince doesn't want to introduce his wife to his parents. His mother is an ogress who likes to eat people. But after a while, she finds his secret and tries to eat his wife and kids. In the end, the son confronts his mother. She dies and he lives with his new family happily ever after. Puss in Boots This story starts with the death of the miller who had a mill, a donkey, and a cat. Each one of his three sons got one of these. You can imagine the youngest, who got a cat, wasn't very happy. Yet this was not an ordinary cat. He built a false identity for his master by flattery, cheating, lying, and threatening. When the identity of the so-called Marquis de Carabas needed hard evidence in the form of real estate, the cat even challenged an ogre and managed to steal his possessions. It was obvious this cat was worth much more than a mill. So the miller's son became a king and the cat his most valuable member of the court. This fun and still very popular story raises some questions. Isn't the moral of Puss in Boots at least a bit questionable? An in-depth article about this fairy tale deals exactly with these kinds of questions: https://letterpile.com/books/puss_in_boots Little Tom Thumb This fairy tale is less well-known outside of France. It's actually a French version of Hansel and Gretel with elements of Jack and the Beanstalk. Little Tom Thumb is the youngest of seven boys, all children of a poor woodcutter who decides to leave them in the woods because they gonna die of hunger anyway. Thanks to Tom and white pebbles they safely return home but the second trip didn't pan out so well. Tom got bread crumbs instead of pebbles and boys couldn't find their way home anymore. After long wandering through the forest they came to the house where a man-eating ogre lived. He wasn't at home, his daughters were already sleeping (with little crowns on their heads), but his wife was there and opened the door just to warn them not to come in. They persuaded her to take them in because they would die in the forest just before the ogre returned. He found them and decided to fatten them a bit before eating them. Little Tom Thumb noticed they were all put into the same bed and this bed was in the same room as the bed of seven ogre's daughters. So he waited until the dark and changed the caps of the boys with the crowns of the girls which proved a life-saving trick for him and his brothers. The ogre, who was pretty tipsy, came to the bedroom in the night, and without proper orientation decided to slaughter the kids without crowns - his own daughters. Tom woke up the boys and they ran out of the house while the ogre and his wife slept. In the morning ogre noticed his mistake and started a pursuit with seven-league boots. When he almost caught the boys, they hid under the rock and the ogre sat on the same rock to catch some breath. He fell asleep, so the boys got a chance to escape to their home, but Tom had another idea. He stole the ogre's boots, returned to his house, persuaded his wife to give him all the treasures from the house (he told her the ogre was kidnapped by robbers), and made himself and his family very rich. Tom later used seven-league boots many times. They earned him good money and a lot of favor among the nobility. The Fairies This fairy tale is in English speaking world more known under the Diamonds and Toads title. It tells a story about two girls, sisters with different characters. The nice sister is awarded for her kindness, the rude one is punished. Guess which one got a prince for a husband! Ricky of the Tuft In my opinion, this story is the most boring and predictable of all in this collection. There was a queen who had an extremely ugly son. But he was very smart. He also had a gift to make other people smarter if he wanted. And there was another queen who had two daughters. The older one was the prettiest and dumbest girl in the kingdom. Her younger sister, on the other hand, was very ugly but clever and sensitive. Both sisters attracted men. When the beauty of the first one can't prevail over her stupidity anymore, everybody turns to her sister, who is a brilliant speaker. After a while, Ricky fell in love with the picture of the beautiful sister and when he met her, he promised to make her smarter if she promised to marry him. There was a catch. When she really became smarter, he forgot about her decision from the time of stupidity. She wanted to marry a handsome princess instead of Ricky. Then Ricky told her he would become handsome too if she only used her special power to make somebody beautiful if she loved him, she did exactly that. So two beautiful and smart people marry each other. The only unhappy person in this story is the ugly sister. Cinderella By far the most popular fairy tale in the world is best known in Perrault's version - with a fairy godmother, carriage made of pumpkin, and glass slippers. Cinderella's mother dies, and her father remarries, so she has a stepmother and two step-sisters. Very soon Cinderella fell to the level of the lowest servant. She was forced to sleep in the kitchen. After a while, a prince decided to find a wife. So he throws a great party and invites all the girls. Cinderella's sisters are going too. But Cinderella is not allowed. She doesn't have a proper dress anyway. Then her fairy godmother appears and does all the best tricks. Cinderella did everything to hide her identity. Somehow she lost a slipper. The prince decided to find a lady whose foot would fit this slipper. She will be his wife. He finds the next queen in Cinderella. Perrault's version is different from Grimm's in many ways. If we focus only on the ending, we find out Cinderella is very forgiving. She even arranges to find two noblemen for her step-sisters. Little Red Riding Hood The grandmother is sick and Red Riding Hood needs to bring her some food and wine. She was told not to talk to strangers. When she met the wolf, she forgot about the warnings. While she was picking flowers, the wolf ran to her granny's house and ate her. Then he got in her bed, waiting for some fresh flesh. After the most famous dialogue in fairy tale literature, the wolf eats the girl. There is no hunter or other rescuer in Perrault's Red Riding Hood! Blue Beard A very rich man with a bad reputation marries a young beautiful girl. He is very mysterious. One day he has to leave the castle. He gives his wife the keys. Among these keys, there is one she must not use. Believing he will never find out, she takes the key and opens the forbidden room. Blue Beard returns home, discovers her lack of loyalty, and decides to kill her. But her brothers came to the castle soon enough to kill him and save her.
This is where Perrault's works end. But don't worry. Here are the links to the rest of the book: Beauty and the Beast by Madame Leprince de Beaumont Two fairy tales by Madame d'Aulnoy All three fairy tales were illustrated by William Heath Robinson as well. It's also good to know his brother Charles Robinson illustrated Perrault's fairy tales too. Not just that, he illustrated the very same fairy tales with the very same addition of three more! told by Master Charles Perrault with twelve illustrations by Charles Robinson Tales of past times is a collection of eight fairy tales written by Charles Perrault, first published in the book today known as Tales of Mother Goose, with an addition of three fairy tales by two other popular French writers. One is Mme Le Prince de Beaumont (Beauty and the Beast) and the other Mme. la Comtesse d'Aulnoy (The Benevalent Frog and Princess Rosette). All illustrations were line drawings by Charles Robinson with a colored frontispiece and the title page. The book was published by J. M. Dent & Company in 1900. The frontispiece above is from the Cinderella. Contents Sleeping Beauty in the Wood Little Red Riding-Hood Blue Beard Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots The Fairies Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper Riquet with the Tuft Little Thumbling Beauty and the Beast The Benevalent Frog Princess Rosette The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods She fell into a swoon Little Red Riding-Hood "Grandma, what great ears you have!" Blue Beard "Your tears are useless," said Blue Beard; "You must die." Puss in Boots Puss among the rippers The Fairies She gave it to the woman Cinderella The king's son gave her his hand Riquet with the tuft "Then," said the princess, "I wish you may be the handsomest prince in the world" Little Thumbling The boys followed him Beauty and the Beast Her father was just arriving. The Benevalent Frog When she opened her eyes, she saw, standing beside her, a woman of gigantic size clothed in a lion skin Princess Rosette "Oh, you are jesting," said the king of the peacocks.
To learn more, visit blog about Charles Robinson, illustrator. This post is dedicated to a very special edition of Perrault's fairy tales (Tales of Mother Goose). It's a rare opportunity to see color images signed by Frederic Theodore Lix (1830-1897) in pretty good resolution. There are also numerous black and white drawings, sometimes vignettes, sometimes very complex illustrations that are not signed. We can only tell they were done by Pierre-Gustave-Eugene Staal (1817-1882), Yan' Dargent (1824-1899), Osvaldo Tofani (1849-1915), and 'others'. By others are probably meant apprentices and other workers in Staal' workshop, following orders of the chief engraver who was one of the top masters of his profession in the second half of the 19th century. We could already admire his work on Gustave Dore's take on Mother Goose Tales. Unfortunately, all black and white drawings are scanned in very poor quality and we present them only to show complete project. We have also included decorative capital letters. There may be a bit of confusion looking at the presented material for the first time. It looks fairy tales were illustrated by line drawings at first, printed together with text and leaving empty pages to glue color prints of Lix's paintings later. Such an approach was characteristic in the 19th century although more advanced printers already begun with color printing of complete books at once. But the result in our case is far from being perfect. While all black and white illustrations fit into the accompanying stories, the color ones fail on more than on occasion. Even more: the illustration of the fairy tale The Fairies is placed in the middle of The Little Red Riding Hood without having the text of The Fairies anywhere in the book. Another blunder is the inclusion of The Discreet Princess (The Adventures of the Finette) in the collection. This story was written by Mademoiselle Marie-Jeanne L’Heritier de Villandon (1664-1734). The extenuating circumstances for publishers were the fact Marie-Jeanne was a niece of Perrault, writing and publishing fairy tales at the same time and speculation about his help or at least partial authorship of the tale. So we included this story just like all others. Here are all the titles, pictures and illustrations (with short comments) in the exact order as published by Garnier Brothers in Paris, probably around 1904. Little Red Riding Hood Such decorative capital letters at the beginning of each story were a standard for centuries. The first meeting of the girl with red riding hood and the talking wolf. The famous scene of picking flowers. An illustration from The Fairies, another story by Perrault. While illustration is, the story is not included in this book. This looks like a hunter approaching granny's house. Illustrator may draw it by memory (influenced by other, more popular versions of Little Red Riding Hood). Yet, Perrault's version, included in this book, doesn't have a hunter. Another decorative element in the book - a vignette with elements from the next story. The most thrilling scene of the story about the Bluebeard. Publisher put it right at the beginning of the story, while it should be close to the end. Bluebeard The same decorative capital "I" was used. It's very likely it was used for other books as well. We may never know who created it. Bluebeard's new wife and soon-to-be-a-victim has a sister. They are friends what is not very often in fairy tales. She couldn't resist and opened the door of the forbidden chamber. Bluebeard already knew how to punish his wife for her curiosity. After all, he was married for six times before. Fortunately, her two brothers came to the rescue, they killed Bluebeard and she inherited his fortune. The most famous scene from Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. In Perrault's version there is no kiss. And it's not at the end of the story! Sleeping Beauty in the Wood Well, they apparently had more than one decorative capital letter. The arrival of the wicked fairy. The prophecy is just about to fulfill. Prince Charming is coming to the castle. When he enters, she wakes up. No kissing, please! Happy couple is ready to move. They will live in his castle. His wicked mother plans to kill the son's wife and kids, but he returns home just in time to save his new family and punish his mother. Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty is some kind of link between older versions dealing with jealousy and newer versions ending right after the awakening of the princess. Puss in Boots (The Master Cat) Decorative capital letter "U". This illustration would look better if they placed it right before the end of the story, when the cat arranges the final step for his master's social position. One brother got a mill, the other a donkey. He has just a cat! If anybody asks, all this belongs to the Puss' master. Finally, the cat and his master got a castle and by marriage entered the world of nobility. One of the most recognizable scenes from the fairy tales - the glass slipper should fit. Cinderella Here we go again with the decorative capital letter "I". While everybody else in the house has good time, Cinderella works from early hours till late night. With right outfit Cinderella steals the show at the prince's ball. Nobody recognized her. Yes, the slipper fits her. She will marry the prince. Riquet with the Tuft This decorative capital letter is very similar to one of the already published. The beauty and wit are not given together in this story. At least not from the beginning. He is charmed by her beauty and she likes his wit. But, is this enough? Fortunately, they both poses magical powers to solve the problems. A happy ending is inevitable. A decorative capital letter "I" for one more time. This is not the most shocking, yet by far the most popular scene among the illustrators. Little Thumb, also known as Hop o' My Thumb, will try ogre's boots. The family is so poor they have no food for kids. Father left them in the wood but they won't despair. An ogre is going to eat them! They don't just escape, Little Thumb took his seven-league boots too. Boys safely returned home and Little Thumb got a profitable job at the king thanks to his new magical boots. The Discreet Princess (The Adventures of Finette) Donkey Skin This decorative capital letter should already look familiar. While a donkey means ability to earn in Puss in Boots, it helps the lady in distress in Donkey Skin in a completely new way. The princess has to run away. She disguises herself with a skin of a donkey. She becomes a kitchen helper until a prince blows her cover. Princess gets a husband and her father finds a new wife too. That's all. Did you notice how color pages disappeared in the second half of the book? Many books printed in those times were similarly made. Partly because it was easier to add them when the book was already made, partly because a buyer usually checked only the beginning of the book.
Many had only one colored page - a frontispiece! Today, of course the price of color printing is not so much more expense, so we can enjoy in full-color printing at most books for kids. But the quality of work of the old masters is still worth checking. I hope you enjoyed and you'll tell your friends about this beautiful collection of Perrault's fairy tales pictured by Theodore Lix and other masters. Perrault's famous collection illustrated by Gustave Dore brings us nine of his eleven fairy tales. There were originally eight fairy tales and three which were published later separately one by one. While the original book came in prose with only ending morals in verse, these three were written in verse from the beginning to end. One of them (Donkey Skin) is included in the collection while the other two - Griselda and Ridiculous Wishes (both mentioned on the popular cover page bellow) are not. Gustave Dore illustrated this book in 1862 and numerous reprints followed. With occasional corrections, this book is still in reprint and is one of the cornerstones of literature for kids and world literature in general. Here are the stories and illustrations by the great master. Little Red Riding Hood A well-known story about the girl who tries to help her grandmom and meets a wolf who has plans on his own. Perrault personified the wolf as much as possible and Dore was very faithful to the author's message. He still draws the wolf as an animal, not anthropomorphized as several artists decided. The scene in the bed is very intriguing, obviously meant for adults and probably still the most popular illustration of this story in the world. Don't forget - The Red Riding Hood by Perrault ends here. There will be no hunter! Hop o' My Thumb Dore apparently loved the tale about the little boy who saves his six brothers and earned a fortune by the way, so he made eleven illustrations for Hop o' My Thumb. This is the scene with white stones, today much more known from the German variant (Hansel and Gretel). The smallest is the most courageous. When they returned they were hungry, of course. So they have left the children in the wood again. This time for good. They saw a light which led them to the cottage where a man-eating ogre lived with is family. Ogre's wife warned them but the boys were willing to take the risk. They were hidden while the ogre ate his dinner. He found them. They will spend the night and he'll eat them later. Thanks to Hop o' My Thumb's wit ogre killed his own daughters instead of the boys. While he tried to catch them with seven-league boots, he felt asleep and Hop o' My Thumb stole his boots. They earned him a fortune, so the family wasn't poor anymore. Sleeping Beauty in the Wood This is another well-known fairy tale about the cursed princess. She pricks her finger with a spindle and falls asleep. The whole court sleeps with her. Then a handsome prince found the castle and decides to enter. The guards were sleeping like everybody else. The unbelievable sleeping scenes were all over the place. Prince had to search for the princess for some time. Then he found her and she awakes. There is no kiss in Perrault's version! Cinderella While Cinderella was already way over one-thousand-years-old story before Perrault's birth, he was the one who included a fairy godmother and a pumpkin-turn-into-coach. The dancing scene by Dore it is especially magical. Trying the shoe is not Perrault's invention, but making them of glass is. Puss in Boots This is probably the most cynical fairy tale among the most popular ones. The cat is lying. The cat is threatening. The cat is killing. His master becomes - a king! Riquet with the Tuft Sometimes titled Ricky of the Tuft is almost forgotten fairy tale today. It's about an ugly prince Ricket (Ricky) who falls in love with a beautiful but slow-witted princess. Fortunately, both had a gift to transform the other's qualities to more desirable if they found true love. Donkey Skin Another inappropriate fairy tale, roughly one of the versions of Cinderella's story. It starts with the death of the queen and her husband's promise he would remarry only if he finds a lady of the same virtues. This wasn't an easy task. The only possibility was the king's daughter! And, of course, she didn't like the idea. She decided to leave her royal life and start as a kitchen helper in another castle. She even masked her identity by a donkey skin. But after a while, a handsome prince discovered her secret and married her. Her father, who was also invited finally found a match for himself as well. The Fairies This is a fairy tale sometimes titled as The Fairy or The Two Fairies but for the most of us is best known as Diamond and Toads. Sometimes there's also a subtitle serving as a message: Humility rewarded and pride punished. It's about good and bad behavior, one earning diamonds for doing good deeds and the other getting toads for being a bad girl. Bluebeard The most gruesome fairy tale despite several others being politically incorrect by today's standards. Bluebeard is a rich man with a dark past. It's being said his previous six wives disappeared in suspicious circumstances. Giving a key to a forbidden chamber to his seventh looks like a test. When his wife and her sister checked everything else, the forbidden room seems like a logical step ahead. But Bluebeard is already back, ready for punishment! Fortunately, there are also two brothers who are willing to rescue his poor wife of cruel death. Bluebeard is finally punished for his sins.
The used graphics were from 1862 and 1867 editions by J. Hetzel (You'll find his initials on the book used a vignette for the inside title page.) Peau d'Ane & La Belle au Bois Dormant (Donkey Skin & The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods) is today almost forgotten book illustrated by Malo-Renault and published by Larousse, Paris in 1922. It's one of rare examples of the book with Donkey Skin which is today totally out of fashion and Perrault's version of The Sleeping Beauty, where the wicked mother of the prince tries to eat hr daughter in law, her two grandchildren (most readers don't even know The Sleeping Beauty became a wife and a mother of two). Even more - it's the only version with the illustration of the punishment of the evil mother of the prince I am familiar with. And I have seen a lot! This book features only two stories, so it's hard to be called a collection. The first one is Donkey Skin, one of Perrault's almost forgotten fairy tales. Donkey Skin The girl on the so-called frontispiece above is a princess. She is in big trouble. She lost her mother when she was still a little kid and her father promised his wife he'll remarry only if he finds a women of the same qualities. Well, he couldn't find one. Until his own daughter grown up... A donkey in this story carries several symbolic meanings. It's stubborn, as the king. It's hard working, as the princess. Ad it's loyal, like a prince who will eventually marry her. When the king decided to take his own daughter for wife, she tried to delay the event by demanding ridiculously expensive gifts. Bu for the man in true love nothing is too much. So she had to run away. While her wedding gown was almost ready, she disguised herself, and, covered by a donkey skin, found a job in another castle - as a kitchen helper. Her beauty couldn't stay hidden for long. The prince became interested in her and discovered her secret. She was a princess! The prince proposed her and her father was invited too. For a true happy ending her father finally found a match for himself too. The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods Another frontispiece to the story portraying the title character. Seven fairies brought great gift to the newborn, yet there was also the eighth fairy, the wicked one, who cursed the little girl. She pricked her finger and felt asleep. Everybody in the castle felt asleep. And they sleep for a hundred years. Then a prince came to the rescue. She heard about the castle and a beautiful princess inside, so he wanted to help. Nobody tried to stop him. The guards were sleeping too, after all. There the part most of people today is not aware of, comes. The prince marries the girl but his mother is not happy with that. She is a cannibal and she plans to eat her and her kids (yes, after the marriage two kids were born). Her plan is broken just in time. She is punished ruthlessly but right righteously.
If you are surpriesd by the presence of the cannibalistic theme, you should maybe check this article about cannibalism in fairy tales. It's not so rare as you might belive. L. Martinet published this edition of Perrault's Fairy Tales in 1930 in the collection Collection Bibliothèque de la Jeunesse et de l'Enfance Nouvelle. It's an edition with almost 30 full-color pictures signed by Henri Thiriet (1873-1946). There are seven of eight Perrault's fairy tales originally published in his Contes de ma mère l’oye, in English speaking world more known as Tales of Mother Goose. Here they are with a short summary: Cinderella There was a pretty girl who lost her mother when she was very young. Her father later remarried a woman who had two daughters from her previous marriage. They soon started bossing around their step-sister who had to work hardest and was nick-named Cinderella. When the king threw a party with a dance where he intended to find a wife for his son, all girls from the kingdom visited the castle. All except Cinderella. But Cinderella got an unexpected visit - a fairy godmother who transformed a pumpkin into a luxurious carriage, got Cinderella a precious dress and several servants to impress the prince. At the dance, she was the light of the party. The prince had immediately fallen in love with Cinderella. But she went home before she asked her for her name. Fortunately for him, she lost one of her glass slippers and the next day all the girls in the kingdom had to try it. No foot fit into the glass slipper. Until the Cinderella tried it! They married and she even managed to find fine husbands for her wicked step-sisters who were truly sorry for their behavior. All lived happily ever after. Donkeyskin There was a king who promised his dying wife he will remarry only if he meets a woman who is equally gracious as she. But the only one who met the high standard became his daughter when she grew up. He started to court her and she was terrified, demanding more and more precious gifts, including a donkey who was coughing the sequins, just to stop him. Then she saw it's impossible to convince him about his mistake. So she decided to run away from home, covered with a donkey skin. she found a job in the kitchen of a castle still hiding her identity. Then a young prince from the castle discovered there's actually a beautiful girl under the skin of the donkey. He wanted to marry her, no matter her social origin. She accepted his proposal and a huge wedding was thrown. Her father also came. They finally found an appropriate new wife for him! The Puss in Boots A miller died and his three sons inherited a mill, a donkey and a cat. The oldest who got the mill and the middle with the donkey could live with their property but the youngest had no idea what to do with the cat. Fortunately, the cat proved to be very handful. He just wanted a pair of boots and started earning a reputation for his young master. He befriended a king (with stolen goods, claiming they came from his young master) and when the king wanted to introduce his daughter to the miller's boy, arranged they met at the river. The cat lied his master was just robbed, so the king gave him good clothes. The princess liked the young boy. In the meantime, the cat ran to another castle where a shapeshifting ogre lived. The cat tricked him to turn into a mouse and ate him. So the castle was vacant and the poor miller's boy could present it as his home. A splendid wedding followed. The miller's son got a princess for wife and half of her father's kingdom. The cat became a minister and never again had to catch a mouse for food. Little Red Riding Hood Once upon a time, there was a little girl who always wore a red riding hood so everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood. When her granny fell sick, she went to the forest where she met a wolf. When Little Red Riding Hood reached the house of her granny she found a wolf in disguise in her bed. She was fooled again by the beast ... ... and the wolf ate her too! Please note: Perrault's version of Little Red Riding Hood ends with wolf's meal. There is no hunter in this story. Hop-o'-My-Thumb A poor woodcutter had seven sons. The youngest, smallest and smartest of all was called Hop-o'-My-Thumb. One day parents decide to leave their kids in the woods. Hop-o'-My-Thumb climbs to the top of the tree and sees a light not too far away. The boys go there and find an ogre. An ogre let the boys sleepover and gives them bonnets. Hop-o'-My-Thumb noticed ogre's daughter wear crowns. When everybody falls asleep Hop-o'-My-Thumb changed the bonnets with crowns. The ogre who planned to kill the boys kill his daughters instead. The boys run away. In the morning the ogre notices his mistake and tries to catch the kids with the help of his seven-league boots. Then the ogre decides to take a nap. Hop-o'-My-Thumb steals his magic boots which soon became a great source of income for the whole family. Bluebeard A mysterious man with a blue beard came into the country. There were rumors about him being married several times but nobody knows what happened to his wives. In spite of that, a lovely girl from the neighborhood married him. After a while, Bluebeard had to leave the castle. He gave all his keys to his wife and specifically forbade her opening one of the rooms in the castle. But she couldn't resist and open the door of the room where she found the bodies of Bluebeard's ex-wives. He immediately returned and said she can only say her prayers before her punishment - death. Bluebeard's wife calls her sister for help. The sister sent brothers of Bluebeard's wife to rescue her and kill the murderer. This fairy tale is almost forgotten today. It's hard to imagine to include it in a modern collection of fairy tales yet it was very popular in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century right to the beginning of World War 2. It was often even published in stand-alone picture books like Edmund Evans' History of Bluebeard Sleeping Beauty in the Wood A king got a daughter and invited the fairies from the kingdom. All but one came and gave her precious gifts. But the uninvited one came too and cursed the girl. When she will turn 16 years, she'll prick her finger and die. Fortunately one of the fairies had enough magic to change the curse from death into one hundred years of sleep. Together with the princess, all the kingdom will fall asleep. The king's attempts to prevent the accident were futile. The girl pricked her finger and everybody falls asleep. Eventually, a handsome prince enters the castle and finds the sleeping beauty. She wakes up and we have a great wedding and a happy ending. Remember, this is Perrault's version where the prince doesn't kiss the girl - she simply wakes up when he appears at her bed.
The other major difference from today's most known version is the continuation. The marriage between the prince and the princess is just an introduction to another, much more dramatic conflict - between his wife and his mother. Most illustrators avoided that and even the publishers of later editions tend to skip this annoying part. A few words about the illustrator Henri Thiriet was a very prolific designer and illustrator mostly known by poster creation. Very little is known about his private life. We know he married Catherine Laxenaire in 1903 and they had at least one daughter during their marriage. Among the books he illustrated works by Georges Simenon (signed by one of numerous Simenon's pen names: Christian Brulls) are most known. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2024
Categories |