In 1806, the brothers Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), known as the Brothers Grimm, who came from Hanau, Germany, began collecting and writing down folk tales that had previously only been passed down orally. Wilhelm's adaptation invented the style of fairy tales that still characterises the way they are told today.
In 1812 the first volume of Grimms' Fairy Tales (originally known as Children's and Household Tales) was published with 86 fairy tales, including Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Snow White. The second volume followed in 1815 with 70 more, including The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Clever Little Tailor, and The Star Money. The first edition is said to have been produced in 700 copies, of which only a few have survived.
See also: From Neo-Gothic to Knightly Romanticism: Medieval Revival in the 19th Century
After their publication, sales of the fairy tale volumes were slow. Nevertheless, further editions appeared, which served as the basis for the translation of the fairy tales into 160 languages. The cultural and historical significance of the volumes has long been recognised. Many of the fairy tales are known worldwide and were adapted most famously into Disney movies.
See also: Gingerbread Cottages: Designing an American Victorian Fairytale
It is therefore not surprising that a rare copy of the first edition in good condition, which was auctioned last week at the Cologne auction house Venator & Hanstein, attracted great interest from both home and abroad. The estimated price was €120,000 for the two volumes from 1812 and 1815.
The hammer finally fell at €170,000, and including the buyer's premium, the final result came to €215,000 (about £184,600), which means a new world record for a first edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales.
Want more articles like this straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our free newsletter!
In June 2011, two volumes of the first edition were auctioned at Sotheby's for $206,500. In 2022, a copy of the first 'Small Edition' with 50 fairy tales, which was published in ten editions from 1825, fetched $138,600 at Christie's. The latter copy included a dedication from the Brothers Grimm to Amalie Hassenpflug, who helped contribute multiple fairy tales to the volumes.
