Eastern Fairy Legends — 1876 Antique Gilt-Decorated Fairy Tale Book

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First collected in the early 1860s by Mary Frere from stories told to her by her Indian ayah, Anna Liberata … Read more First collected in the early 1860s by Mary Frere from stories told to her by her Indian ayah, Anna Liberata da Souza, these tales were among the earliest field-recorded collections of Indian folklore published in English. Frere's father, Sir Bartle Frere, then Governor of Bombay, contributed the introduction and notes that accompany the stories here. Originally published in London in 1868 as Old Deccan Days, the collection was reissued in America by J. B. Lippincott & Co. of Philadelphia under the title Eastern Fairy Legends, bound as part of Lippincott's "Enchanting Fairy Library" series of decorative gift books. This copy is dated 1876 on the title page.

The publisher's original red cloth binding is stamped in black and gilt with an Aesthetic Movement-style geometric design, centered on the front board by a gilt roundel reading "Enchanting Fairy Library" above a striking gilt vignette of a crowned fairy queen bearing a starred wand and standing astride a coiled serpent and dragon-headed boat. The spine, also gilt-decorated with floral tooling, reads "Eastern Fairy Legends" and carries the publisher's initials, J.B.L. & Co., at the foot. Inside, an engraved frontispiece titled "Chundun-Ranee" faces the title page, which bears a period ink ownership inscription.

A handsome shelf piece and a genuine landmark of English-language Indian folklore, suited to a collector of Victorian gift bindings or 19th-century fairy tale literature. See less