10 Beautiful, Varied Editions of Grimm’s Fairy Tales

A miniature edition, dark green with inlaid morocco design and paint by Philip Smith. Book published 1970, art completed 1978.

In the early 19th-century, two German brothers named Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm put together a collection of Germanic folktales, to preserve and share. In 1812 they released them as a book – Grimm’s Fairy Tales, originally actually titled Children’s and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen). Dark, often harsh and scary, these were a far cry from the nursery rhymes typically aimed at children. It’s been over two centuries since that first volume was published, and many others followed in its footsteps. In that 203 years, the Grimm’s tales have fallen under the pen of many an editor, some more liberal than the last, and many more recent editions will bear little more than a passing resemblance to their original counterparts. Justice is gentler, lessons learned are less bloody, and stories are overall softened little by little.

The collection has had its share of ardent admirers over the years, but also much criticism and detraction, as well. A not-insignificant number of readers found passages in the book to be questionable not only in terms of violence and cruelty, but also anti-Semitism, most notably in the original editions. Again, you’ll find most or all of that sentiment absent from recent editions.

Here are ten very different, very beautiful editions of Grimm’s Fairy Tales from over the years.

UK 1930 Reprint, published by Dent, with 102 B&W drawings by R. Anning Bell, with beautiful decorative cloth covers.

A 1919 edition published by A. &. Black and ullusrated by Charles Folkard. Complete with 8 color plates, including frontis.

1909 First edition illustrated and signed by Arthur Rackham. Limited to 750 copies, edition bound in white vellum and gilt.

UK 1st edition thus published by Cassell in 1916. Decorated cloth over boards, 8 color plates, numerous B&W illustrations.

First American edition, 1900, Published by J.B. Lippincott Co. According to description, this is the original Rackham edition.

An unusual 1920 edition by Raphael House Library from 1920, with 12 full-page color plates, and adorable cover illustrations.

Miniature more modern edition published by Hillside Press in 1963, limited to just 350 numbered copies. 6 cm by 5 cm.

1940 edition by The Children’s Press, UK, with four full-page color illustrations. Uncommon in condition as good as this.

Published by S.W. Partridge & Co. in the UK, this 1910 edition has gorgeous rust-colored decorated cloth over boards.