The Library of Stephen J. Farber

2 volumes, 8vo (171 x 102 mm). Numerous engravings throughout, with 20 by George Cruikshank (spotting throughout, minor offsetting.) Late 19th century long-grain morocco gilt with floral blind-stamped borders and spine in 4 compartments with 5 raised bands, all edges gilt (minor rubbing).

Mixed set: second English edition of vol.1; FIRST ENGLISH EDITION of vol.2. German Popular Stories or, Kinder- und Hausmärchen as originally published, comprises a collection of fairy tales compiled by brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. The process of collecting these stories began in 1808 at the suggestion of their friend, the poet Clemens Brentano, who intended to have them published. When it became clear that Brentano had lost interest in the project, the brothers decided to publish the stories themselves, believing that the stories were in danger of disappearing entirely otherwise. In the preface to the first edition of their work they wrote, “It was perhaps just the right time to record these tales since those people who should be preserving them are becoming more and more scarce. . . . Wherever the tales still exist, they continue to live in such a way that nobody ponders whether they are good or bad, poetic or crude. People know them and love them because they have simply absorbed them in a habitual way. And they take pleasure in them without having any reason. This is exactly why the custom of storytelling is so marvelous.”