Evergreen Series Tales; Or Tales for the Ageless. Dick Whittington and His Cat; Saint George & the Dragon; Beauty and the Beast 3 Volumes
New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1949. Hardcover. This handsome and rather uncommon set of fairy tales was published as a limited edition of 2500 copies. However, these three volumes are identified by a blind stamp on the colophon stating that they are "One of 15 copies for presentation out of series." Each of the volumes has the initials JH as the copy number, and the bookplate of Jean Hersholt is present in each volume. Dick Whittington is also signed by Hersholt and its illustrator Robert Lawson. Hersholt, perhaps best known for his role as Shirley Temple’s grandfather in Heidi (1937), appeared in over one hundred films, directed several films, won a Golden Globe Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He was also an eminent collector of books by Hans Christian Andersen and translated many of Andersen’s fairy tales into English. Each volume is hardbound in cloth with a decorative ornament and title on the cover and title to spine. Beauty is bound in blue, Dick Whittington in orange, and Saint George in pale blue-gray. The volumes are in near fine condition save for a very light musty smell and a small stain to the margin along last page of text in Beauty. They have the original glassine jackets with minor chipping and wrinkling. The books are housed in a red paper covered slipcase. The slipcase is a bit rubbed, and has a faded half-inch streak along the front edge. Jackets and slipcase are in very good condition. Books measure 8 x 12 inches. Beauty: 45 pages; Dick Whittington: 37 pages; Saint George: 76 pages. CHILD/103023. Near Fine. More