Mythology, Fairy Tales, And Folk Tales

What are some good or great fine press editions of mythology, fairy tales, or folk tales?

>1 Shotcaller: XXI Welsh Gypsy Folk-Tales (Gregynog Press, 1933). Or for something more budget-friendly large chunks of the Tern Press back catalogue might fit the bill; especially in their earlier decades. Checklist here

http://www.ternpress.co.uk

>2 duncjl: My financial advisor recommends I don't thank you, but I can't help myself.

>1 Shotcaller: You might want to check out this (ancient) thread if you didn‘t yet: https://www.librarything.com/topic/346709

>4 SebRinelli: You know, I searched but didn’t see this. This is exactly what I’d hoped to find. Thanks!

Stuff of a more fairy-/folk-tale orientation that I didn't post in the other thread.

Fairy Tale Trilogy (No Reply Press)
The Journey of Thomas the Rhymer (Old Stile Press)
The Sea-Crossing of Saint Brendan (Birch Brook Press)
A Whole Nother Kettle of Fish (Convivio Bookworks)
Juno Plots Her Revenge: Act One of Hercules Furens (Aralia Press)
A Selection of Aesop's Fables (Shandy Press)
Aesop Fables (Prelo Prints)
Aesop's Fable of The Miller, His Son and Their Ass (Incline Press)
Danger & Destiny in the Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm (Incline Press)
Fables for a Despot (Old School Press)
Peau-d'Ane (Thornwillow)
Rhymes and Fables (Inkwell Press)
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (editions by Chamberlain Press, Corvus Works, Old Stile Press, likely others)

>5 Shotcaller: My pleasure.

I‘ll need to update that thread when I find the time.

>6 Shadekeep: It's a good time to be collecting editions of Aesop as the market is currently awash with items from the collection of Eric Sweet. Apart from all his other distinctions he was a noted bookbinder and the items are rebound, or in custom boxes, portfolios etc. I've a couple and they really are suitably enhanced.

I have a large selection of Chinese Herb stories/fables from the noteworthy Dr Wu of Steely Dan fame. I had always meant to do a few of them as a companion piece to My 'Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic,' a book I printed as a Toi Shan fellow at Wu's Green Cross Clinic in Washington DC in the 90's. I should pull those out again. . . .

>9 SuttonHooPress: Yes, you should! Definitely. Absolutely.

Just do it!

>9 SuttonHooPress: Mythology and Steely Dan: two great tastes that taste great together. The Story of Deacon Blues. Deacon Blues And The Magical Saxophone...

Folio is not fine press (not letterpress), but their collection of myths and legends is superb. You can start here, although this thread has not been updated in years --
https://www.librarything.com/topic/35059

>11 Shotcaller: Just to be sure every Dan fan has seen this: https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477324998/

OT, not fine press, but can't recommend it enough. A hoot.

>11 Shotcaller: Our Dr Wu was the one sung about in the song "Katy Lied." He was a lot of things, including an acupuncturist who had developed a number of drug detox protocols and had much of the inner beltway elite from DC on his client list along with some rock band folks trying to get clean.

>14 SuttonHooPress: Great stuff.

If you chop off the mythology part (looks like it's been covered elsewhere) in this thread title and focus it down to folk and fairy tales I'd be quite interested in the results. I collect letterpress folk/fairy tales. Some pop up now and again by obscure presses. A letterpress fairy tale I found the other day for a few pounds was The Fair-Haired Eckbert by Ludwig Tieck - translated by Thomas Carlyle, Langtry Press. Important in the German Romantic movement.

Another one was The Woe Shirt: Caribbean Folk Tales Penmaen Press,1980.

>16 LT79-1: The Tieck is an excellent little book and I'm chuffed to see the seldom mentioned Langtry Press getting some love. One of my favourite books is also from the press and I'm guessing the story is familiar to you: Peter Schlemihl by Adalbert von Chamisso. This comes with illustrations by George Cruikshank and is superbly printed.

>17 duncjl: I do have the Peter Schlemihl book. The printing on that is much better than the earlier books. It has a nice bite and is much more consistent across the entire book, nice title page and decorative initial caps and of course the illustrations by George Cruikshank make it a great little book. I think I paid about £10 for it in a charity shop. Great little bargains if you look around for the obscure presses. Fine press doesn't need to be expensive with these charming little books.

Do you by any chance have their Bièvre River book by Huysmans? I'd love a copy of that in fine press more to have an English translation.

>18 LT79-1: The Bievre River is on my want list, but is by far the most expensive book from the press when copies do come on the market. Their only other books I have are The Son of Liszt and a very minor piece called Night Ferry.

I think I need to visit your charity shop! The only press book I've ever bought from Oxfam, though it was a very fine one, is the Pear Tree Press's Homage to Edward Thomas.

>19 duncjl: I have Son of Liszt too. A cracking little short story based on Lisztomania. I'm sure Huneker is using Lisztian musical ideas to structure the story too like Thematic Transformation, and Lisztian themes like water represented in Les Jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este. There are no good reviews of that story online so I might do one at some point. I'll have to search out more of James Huneker's short fiction as he was a musician himself.

Folk tales, eh?

LEC:
Russian Folk Tales. NY: 1970. 16 full-page water color paintings and 22 line integrated monochrome drawings by Teje Etchemendy who signed the book. Selected and introduced by Albert B. Lord. Designed by Adrian Wilson. Ornamental two-color snowflake page borders, running heads with a narrow diamond border. Printed at The Connecticut Printers, Hartford. Glassine dust-jacket. Bound in dark red linen cloth with gilt stamped and printed title and decorations on spine, wrap around vertical band of white linen embroidered in a Russian peasant-inspired pattern of red and purple on covers. Dark red slipcase with cream paper title label on edge. xx+196pp. 1500 copies. Nice edition of these tales for under $100.

Irish Folk Tales, sel. W. B. Yeats. Avon, CT, 1973. Twelve tipped-in full-page color illustrations and 17 part-page lined drawings by Rowel Friers. Signed by the designer of the book Ted Gensamer. Edited by William Butler Yeats. Printed by The Connecticut Printers. Bound in green buckram cloth with gilt title and decorations on spine, gilt picture on bottom right corner of cover. Green slipcase with gilt printed paper title label on edge. ixx+409pp. 25.4x16.6cm. 2000 copies. I know, this is from the Avon era and not high on most folks' lists, but it is a nice collection of Irish folk and fairy tales and can be had for under $100.

>1 Shotcaller: THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT. A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments

New York: Limited Editions Club (1934). Hardcover. Six octavo volumes (5-3/4" x 9-1/4") bound in half natural cowhide leather and printed paper sides designed by Valenti Angelo. The unabridged translation complete with notes and index by Sir Richard Burton. Illustrated with 1001 drawings by Valenti Angelo. 1500 copies SIGNED by the illustrator on the colophon page. Designed by George Macy. The text was printed on paper from Whitehead and Alliger at the Printing House of William Edwin Rudge.

Note that on many copies the leather binding has not worn well over time.

The Twelve Ravens: A Lithuanian Fairy Tale, 1949 letterpress, hand set, woodcuts by Vaclovas Ratas.

Here’s a couple:

Aesop’s Fables by A. Colish (1988) is nice and great value at ~$50 imo. 20+ woodcuts. Attractive cloth but doesn’t photograph well. Jerry Kelly said it’s one of his favorites.

The Phoenix, Old School Press (1995)

Thomas Bewick & The Fables of Aesop, Book Club of California (1983)

King Harald and the Icelanders, Penmaen Press (1979)

The Battle of the Frogs and Mice, Libanus Press (1988)

The Labors of Hercules, Imprint Society (1973)

Faithful John (Grimm), Old Stile Press (1998)

>18 LT79-1: I now see there is a copy of The Bievre River for sale on ABE. It hadn't come up on a search as the publisher is shown just as Langtry (correctly so according to Copac) so a search on "Langtry Press" wouldn't produce a result due to the redundant word.

>25 duncjl: Thanks, I was aware of that one. It's been on there a while. I never purchased as I think the price is too high compared to what I've paid for the other Langtry books I own.

The LEC American Indian Legends (1968) might also belong to the same theme suggested in >21 Glacierman:

LEC also has the 15-vol. (sets of 3) Evergreen Tales 1948-52, Aesop's Fables 1933, 2-vol. Fables of Jean de la Fontaine 1930, Alhambra 1969, Age of Fable 1958

The Heritage Press exclusive A Wonder Book & Tanglewood Tales 2001

The Folio Society Myths and Legends series suggested in >12 astropi: can be viewed in detail here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBrs_TbHGRw

The above reviewer has also reviewed the FS Andrew Lang Rainbow Fairy Tales series here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8aXJq5kbTE

..and the FS Classic Fairy Tales featuring the Golden Age illustrators here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFHBmjfgM3A

If you don't mind my posting my own books re Mythology - Fine letterpress printing, Ed. 40, over 100 drawings, 2 award winning books: "The Golden Hair of Medusa" and "A Golden Thread: The Minotaur" from Intima Press Editions: https://intimapress.com/category/fine-editions/artists-books/

You may view them in person in NYC this Saturday, May 2nd, at the Manhattan Fine Press Fair.

>28 intimapresseditions: Wonderful! Thank you for sharing the link.