Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales

There is a new volume of Brothers Grimm fairy tales published by Taschen. It only contains 27 of the most beloved stories but what sets it apart is the artwork, collected from illustrators from various countries working between the 1820s and the 1950s.  I’m likely not to get it because when I do obtain a volume of Brothers Grimm tales its going to be COMPLETE and it’s going to be as close to the original as possible. But then again, this would be such an aesthetic collectors item.

However, this particular volume caught my eye because of the illustrations. When we were children in Germany, my sisters and I received a gigantic tome of Grimm tales in German. I’m not sure who it was given to directly nor of whom it was given. However, I know we read it over and over and over again. And yes, the stories were not quite what Disney was portraying.

I remember liking the illustrations. Right now though, the only illustration that i can conjure is one associated with the story of Frau Holle depicting her daughter being covered with black tar instead of the gold she expected. She has her skirt lifted up in anticipation to catch it all.

Who knows what happened to that book. It’s probably in a large box in Ghana. But this Taschen version is really making me nostalgic. Nothing like great illustrations in a children’s novel. In fact when I was in primary school, I wanted to be an author and illustrate my own novels. Not too late for that, I say.