Page:A Study of Fairy Tales.djvu/216

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192
A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES

This brings the English side of the subject down to the present time. Present editions of fairy tales are given in Chapter VI.

In Germany there were also many translations from the French of Perrault and D'Aulnoy. There were editions in 1764, 1770, etc. Most of those before the Grimms' Tales were not important. One might mention:—

1782. Popular German Stories, by Musäus.

1818. Fables, Stories, and Tales for Children, by Caroline Stahl.

1819. Bohemian Folk-Tales, by Wolfgang Gerle.

1812–1814. Kinder und Haus-Märchen, by Jacob and William Grimm. The second edition was published in 3 volumes in Berlin, by Reiner, in 1822. This latter work formed an era in popular literature and has been adopted as a model by all true collectors since.

Concerning the modern German fairy tale, the Germans have paid such special attention to the selection and grading of children's literature that their library lists are to be recommended. Wolgast, the author of Vom Kinderbuch, is an authority on the child's book. The fairy tale received a high estimate in Germany and no nation has attained a higher achievement in the art of the fairy tale book. The partial list simply indicates the slight knowledge of available material and would suggest an inviting field to librarians. A great stimulus to children's literature would be given by a knowledge of what the Germans have already accomplished in this particular. In Germany a child's