1892 - Indian Fairy Tales
I recently acquired this rare book.
Indian Fairy Tales, selected and edited by Joseph Jacobs and
illustrated by John D Batten.
This is a first edition, printed in 1892 and contains 28 pages of
notes and references, at the end of the book, about the fairy tales.
On the front cover is Buddha, and on the back cover is a little
Ganesh.
Unfortunately, the spine of this book is quite worn and faded,
otherwise, it's a lovely copy :)
The 29 Fairy Tales include: The Lion and the Crane, How the Raja's Son
Won the Princess Laram, The Lambikin, Punchkin, The Broken Pot, The
Magic Fiddle, The Cruel Crane Outwitted, Loving Laili, The Tiger The
Brahman and the Jackal, The Soothsayer's Son, Harisarman, The Charmed
Ring, The Talkative Tortiose, and A Lac of Rupees for a Piece of
Advice, The Gold Giving Servant, The Son of Seven Queens, A Lesson for
Kings, Pride Goeth Before a Fall, Raja Rasalu, The Ass in the Lion's
Skin, The Farmer and the Money Lender, The Bot Who Had a Moon on his
Forehead and a Star on his Chin, The Prince and the Fakir, Why the
Fish Laughed, The Demon with the Matted Hair, The Ivory City and its
Fairy Princess, Sun Moon and Wind go out to Dinner, How the Wicked
Sons Were Duped, The Pigeon and the Crow.
Comments and faves
poppalina, Thomas Walker, Sally Bear, Fragadesenhos, and 18 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Veee Man (58 months ago | reply)
Interesting. Is it essentially Panchatantra?
Johanna Mifsud photography (58 months ago | reply)
What a great find. Lovely to have and to enjoy. Well done and thanks for sharing it.
Celeste33 (58 months ago | reply)
VM - I don't think that these are Panchtantra actually, because they don't have a moral to each story.
It's my understanding that these fairy tales are the Jatakas and from the Bidpai. Are the Jatakas and the Bidpai part of the Panchatantra? I'm not sure. I don't think so anyway ... maybe, who knows ...
Robin - Yes, I first heard about this book in 1999, but it's taken me this long to actually come across a copy for sale in Australia! I got it on eBay :) What a find! :)
justinrossetti (58 months ago | reply)
oh sweeet, I want it
Veee Man (58 months ago | reply)
Tales of Bidpai are Panchatantra.
Jataka is a parallel collection which has to do with reincarnations of Buddha.
Maybe the authors mixed and matched to get a collection they wanted?
Celeste33 (58 months ago | reply)
Oh I see. That's interesting. Thank you for that. :)
Yes, Joseph Jacobs collected the tales from various sources. His selection of stories was based upon suitability for western children, as they were the intended reader. One of the stories comes from Mary Frere's collection/book called Old Deccan Days, which had been published in the 1880s.
simonsterg (42 months ago | reply)
I see the contents can be read here on Google Books, for those of us not lucky enough to have the real thing in front of us!
I've just been looking at it, because I have a picture of a variant of one of the tales, The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal:
There is the example of The Talkative Tortoise which is both a Jataka tale and in the Panchatantra, as well as your book.
I have a beautiful volume, a recent one, of the Bidpai stories, along with the frame story. I think you'd like it. See, on the author's site:
ramsaywood.com/kalila.html
Celeste33 (42 months ago | reply)
Very interesting indeed!
In the book that i pictured, there is also a fascinating illustration of a woman committing sati.
dmdmdskd (13 months ago | reply)
I have the same book, but the cover is red. It has a number (5457) and was published by Knickerbocker Press. I would like to sell it, but have no idea what it's worth.
Celeste33 (13 months ago | reply)
What year was your book published? I think that Knickerbocker Press was based in the USA. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_fairy_ tales_(1892)...
The value of the book will depend on it's condition and also what size book it is (it's measurements) as sometimes deluxe versions were printed which are larger and have more expensive paper etc.
The book that i have was published in London by David Nutt, 270 Strand, London in 1892.
dmdmdskd (6 months ago | reply)
There is no date. It is a former library copy, the cover is red and black and worn, 5 1/2 by 8 inches. It was published in New York.