The most familiar fairy tales call to mind certain images: Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty. Yet these visions often merely reflect illustrations encountered in classic tellings of the tales. The postcards gathered here by one of the world's foremost scholars of folk and fairy tales tell another story-of the remarkable range of interpretations and reimaginings these tales have inspired, captured, and conveyed picture by picture in this singular form. A pictorial history of fairy-tale postcards from the late nineteenth century to the present, Tales of Wonder presents a fascinating look at how key scenes of fairy tales have been rendered over time, suggesting a rethinking and reliving of the tales through the years.

Drawn from the author's collection of more than three thousand fairy-tale postcards from around the world, these five hundred beautiful illustrations reproduce oil paintings, watercolors, photographs, ink drawings, and silhouettes-all evincing the myriad ways popular artists and their audiences have reimagined these tales. After an introduction and general history of fairy tales in postcards, the book features Jack Zipes's own translations of the most classical fairy tales in Europe and the United States, including versions by Charles Perrault and by Brothers Grimm.

The fairy tale is not just once upon a time: it is, as fairy-tale postcard, a particular if not peculiar expression of a time, created by talented artists and innovative publishing companies. Tales of Wonder tells this intriguing history of the postcards as well as providing new perspectives on familiar stories.

About the Author

Jack Zipes is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. He is an active storyteller in public schools and has worked with children's theaters in Europe and the United States. He is author of more than forty books, including The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World; Breaking the Magic Spell:Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales; and Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry.

Marina Warner writes fiction, criticism, and history. She received the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.

Reviews

"A veritable treasure trove of new imagery."-SurLaLune Fairy Tales Site

"The illustrated cards are stunners, both for their vivid colors and their detail."-Star Tribune

"Highly recommended for fairy tale enthusiasts, this beautifully produced book sheds light on an overlooked vehicle for the dissemination of fairy tales around the world."-Library Journal, starred review

"Zipes is a formidable academic but he also has the populist touch when it comes to communicating the value of these tales and he is responsible for rediscovering and translating global wonder stories that would otherwise be lost to the world."-The LetterPress Project

Book Information
ISBN 9781517902599
Author Jack Zipes
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint University of Minnesota Press
Publisher University of Minnesota Press
Dimensions(mm) 305mm * 305mm * 25mm