DANISH FAIRY LEGENDS AND TALES de Andersen, Hans Christian - 1846

London: William Pickering, 1846. Very good.. First edition of one of the earliest collections of Andersen's fairy tales translated into English. About a decade after Andersen's first children's stories in Danish, the English-speaking world was finally introduced to them via five different collections published in 1846: WONDERFUL STORIES FOR CHILDREN (February), A DANISH STORY-BOOK (February), this collection (May), THE NIGHTINGALE (June), and THE SHOES OF FORTUNE (December). Included here are the first appearances in English of "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Nightingale," "The Wild Swans," and more, translated by Caroline Peachey, whose work proved the most popular of the three Andersen translators from 1846. Historian Jack Zipes suggests the translations of Andersen's stories were a turning point for the English fairy tale; they "guaranteed the legitimacy of the literary fairy tale for middle-class audiences. From this point on, the fairy tale flowered in many different forms and colors and expanded its social discourse." An important collection in the history of the fairy tale in English. 6.25'' x 4''. Contemporary half brown calf, marbled paper boards, brown goatskin spine label. Red-speckled edges. Translated by Caroline Peachey. [4], 197, [1] pages. Library withdrawal stamp on front pastedown, faint shelf number at base of spine. Rubbing to corners, some wear to spine, hinges cracked; endpapers foxed but interior otherwise quite clean.