Jacket Description/Back:

One of the most renowned and best-loved illustrators of his day, English artist Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) brought countless stories and fairy tales to life though his vivid imagination and eye for telling details. Combining a sensitive use of line and subdued watercolors, he skillfully depicted forests of startling trees with claw-like roots, wholesome fairy maidens, monsters, and demons, and backgrounds filled with obscure figures. His inspired illustrations for the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm (1900) brought him his first great success, with a long and distinguished career to follow.
This collection of 55 full-color plates, reproduced from rare early editions, contains a rich selection of Rackham's best fairy tale images: a giant terrorizing the inhabitants of an isolated village in English Fairy Tales, a wicked witch greeting two lost children on her doorstep in Hansel and Gretel, a young maiden beset by snarling wolves in Irish Fairy Tales, and many more, including illustrations from Snowdrop and Other Tales, Little Brother and Little Sister, and The Allies' Fairy Book.

A leading figure in the early 20th century's Golden Age of Illustration, English artist Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) brought countless stories and fairy tales to life through his vivid imagination and eye for telling details. Rackham interpreted scenes from fairy tales, Wagnerian opera, and Shakespearean comedy. His memorable images, which combine whimsy, romance, and sophistication, continue to enchant children and adults alike. Dover cover design artist Jeff A. Menges specializes in fantasy art and has edited books on the art of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and Warwick Goble as well as an anthology of Victorian fairy paintings.

Table of Contents:

List of Plates
LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER AND OTHER TALES BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM
1 "She took off her golden garter and put it round the roe-buck's neck ("Little Brother and Little Sister")"
2 "The end of his beard was caught in a crack in the tree ("Snow-White and Rose-Red)"
3 "The third time she wore the star-dress which sparkled at every step ("The True Sweetheart")"
4 "Suddenly the branches twined round her and turned into two arms ("The Old Woman in the Wood")"
5 "He played until the room was entirely full of gnomes ("The Gnomes")"
6 "What did she find there but real ripe strawberries ("The Three Little Men in the Wood")"
7 "The waiting maid sprang down first and Maid Maleen followed ("Maid Maleen")"
8 "She begged quite prettily to be allowed to spend the night there ("The Hut in the Forest")"
SNOWDROP AND OTHER TALES BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM
9 "The Dwarfs, when they came in the evening, found Snowdrop lying on the ground ("Snowdrop")"
10 "The King could not contain himslef for joy ("Briar Rose")"
11 "The young Prince said, "I am not afraid; I am determined to go and look upon the lovely Briar Rose" ("Briar Rose")"
12 "Ashenputtel goes to the ball ("Ashenputtel")"
13 "The fishes, in their joy, stretched up their head above the water, and promised to reward him ("The White Snake")"
14 "So the four brothers took their sticks in their hands, bade their father good-bye, and passed out of the town gate ("The Four Clever Brothers")"
15 "The King's only daughter had been carried off by a dragon ("The Four Clever Brothers")"
16 "She went away accompanied by the lions ("The Lady and the Lion")"
17 "Alas! Dear Falada, there thou hangest ("The Goosegirl")"
18 "Bow, blow, little breeze, And Conrad's hat seize ("The Goosegirl")"
19 "Good Dwarf, can you not tell me where my brothers are? ("The Water of Life")"
20 "The son made a circle, and his father and he took their places within it, and the little black Manniken appeared ("The King of the Golden Mountain")"
21 "But they said one after another: "Halloa! Who has been eating off my plate? Who has been drinking out of my cup?" ("The Seven Ravens")"
22 "The beggar took her by the hand and led her away ("King Thrushbeard")"
HANSEL AND GRETHEL AND OTHER TALES BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM
23 "All at once the door opened and an old, old woman, supporting herself on a crutch, came hobbling out ("Hansel and Grethel")"
24 "Hansel put out a knuckle-bone, and the old woman, whose eyes were dim, could not see it, and thought it was his finger, and she was much astonished that he did not get fat ("Hansel and Grethel")"
25 "Once there was a poor old woman who lived in a village ("The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean") "
26 "So she seized him with two fingers, and carried him upstairs ("The Frog Prince")"
27 "The cat stole away behind the city walls to the church ("The Cat and Mouse in Partnership")"
28 "The witch climbed up ("Rapunzel")"
29 "When she got to the wood, she met a wolf ("Red Riding Hood")"
30 "O Grandmother, what big ears you have got" she said ("Red Riding Hood")"
31 "The old man had to sit by himself, and ate his food from a wooden bowl ("The Old Man and His Grandson")"
THE ALLIES' FAIRY BOOK
32 "In a twinkling the giant put each garden, and orchard, and castle in the bundle as they were before ("The Battle of the Birds")"
33 "If thou wilt give me this pretty little one," says the king's son. "I will take thee at they word" ('"The Battle of the Birds")"
34 "Now, Guleesh, what good will she be to you when she'll be dumb? It's time for us to go-but you'll remember us, Guleesh")"
35 "The sleeping Princess ("The Sleeping Beauty")"
36 "So valiantly did they grapple with him that they bore him to the ground and slew him ("Cesarino and the Dragon")"
37 "The birds showed the young man the white dove's nest ("What Came of Picking Flowers")"
38 "Art thou warm, maiden? Art thou warm, pretty one? Art thou warm, my darling?" ("Frost")"
39 "Nine peahens flew towards the tree, and eight of them settled on its branches, but the ninth alighted near him and turned instantly into a beautiful girl ("The Golden Apple-Tree and the Nine Peahens")"
40 "The dragon flew out and caught the queen on the road and carried her away ("The Golden Apple Tree and the Nine Peahens")"
ENGLISH FAIRY TALES
41 "Mr. And Mrs. Vinegar at home ("Mr. And Mrs. Vinegar")"
42 "Somebody has been at my porriedge, and has eaten it all up!" ("The Story of the Three Bears")"
43 "The giant Cormoran was the terror of all the country-side ("Jack the Giant-Killer")"
44 "Tree of mine! O tree of mine! Have you seen my naughty little maid?" ("The Two Sisters")"
45 "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman" ("Jack and the Beanstalk")"
46 "She went along, and went along, and went along ("Catskin")"
47 "They thanked her and said good-bye, and she went on her journey ("The Three Heads of the Well")"
48 "Many's the beating he had from the broomstick or the ladle ("Dick Whittington and his Cat")"
49 "When Puss saw the rats and mice she didn't want to be told ("Dick Whittington and his Cat")"
50 "She sat down and plaited herself an overall of rushes and a cap to match ("Caporushes")"
IRISH FAIRY TALES
51 "In a forked glen into which he slipped at night-fall he was surrounded by giant toads ("Becuma of the White Skin")"
52 "My life became a ceaseless scurry and wound and escape, a burden and anguish of watchfullness" ("The Story of Tuan Mac Cairill")"
53 "She looked angry woe at the straining and snarling horde below ("The Wooing of Becfola")"
Headpiece [on title page] By day she made herself into a cat . . .
Tailpiece [following Plate 53] . . . or a screech owl

Target Age: 8-15

Dover Publications

Pub Date: March 13, 2002

0.2" H x 10.92" L x 8.38" W

64 pages

paperback

Rackham's Fairy Tale Illustrations (Dover Fine Art/History of Art)