Tales from times past

by Bryan Holme

A collection of fairy tales, fables, and rhymes illustrated by well-known illustrators.

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1977

About the author

Bryan Holme (1913-1990) was an author and publisher of photographic and art books. He came to the United States in 1929 and subsequently founded Studio Publications, which published art and illustated books; he also published The Studio, a London-based art magazine. It was later acquired by Viking Press.

Reviews

[Ken Bickley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryan Holme, an art historian, collected this book of fairy tales primarily as a showcase for the works of various famous illustrators from the "golden age" of children's books (roughly 1855 to 1920). The book succeeds both as a vehicle for the great illustrations, and as a sampling of the fairy tales of our childhood as they were originally written. These tales were, of course, handed down orally from antiquity; they were not published in written form until the late 17th century. The Grimm stories, particularly, were ... well, grim. Very interesting book, though. I really liked it, on all levels.

[Chyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite collections of fairy tales. The stories are not modernized, water-down versions, which is great in my opinion. My favorite feature of this book has to be the illustrations. It includes works by Arthur Rackham, Kate Greenaway and Maxfield Parrish, among others... really lovely!