144 - ANDERSEN (Hans Christian).

ANDERSEN (Hans Christian). Tales. Translated from Danish by D. SOLDI. With a biographical note by X. MARMIER and 40 by BERTALL. Paris, Hachette et Cie, 1856. Small 8vo, midnight blue half-shagreen, spine with gold-threaded raised bands, title in gold (modern imitation binding). Rare first edition of the authentic French translation, containing the following 23 tales: The Brave Tin Soldier (unpublished); The Grand Duke’s New Clothes; The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep (unpublished); The Lighter (unpublished); The Angel; Little Claus and Big Claus (unpublished); The Princess and the Pea; The Garden of Paradise; The Big Needle (unpublished); Little Ida’s Flowers (unpublished); The Traveling Companion (unpublished); The Little Match Girl; The Old House (unpublished); The Shadow (unpublished); The Flying Chest; The Daisy; A Week in the Life of the Little Elf Close-Your-Eyes (unpublished); Thumbelina; The Little Mermaid (unpublished); The Ugly Duckling; The Wild Swans; The Nightingale; The Hemp (unpublished). A few small foxing spots or stains. Narrow margins. Torn pages The first translation of Andersen’s fairy tales was into German, and the first French editions were published based on the German editions (Fairy Tales for Children, trans. Caralp (François Garay), Belin-Leprieur & Morizot, 1848; *Selected Tales by Andersen*, August v. Schröter, 1848; *Danish Tales*, Mame, 1853). The Danish-born translator David Soldin, known as Soldi (to whom we owe, among other works, the 1841 Danish translation of Musset’s *Confessions of a Child of the Century*) thus produced the first true French translation directly from the Danish text, containing several tales previously unpublished in French, including some of the most famous ones. This edition will serve as a reference for subsequent editions in other languages as well, and even for the study of French. (Gumuchian, 6052.)