Shabby Sunday
I have a bunch of old vintage books and one of my plans when I first started blogging was to do a post every now and then sharing one of my cherished vintage books. Then I thought there might be other book bloggers out there that have some vintage books, heirlooms, or maybe some old books from childhood that they might want to share. I decided to start a meme titled ‘Shabby Sunday’ for those who would like to participate and share some of their old vintage books. Do you have some shabby books you’d like to share? If so, please feel free to participate as anyone can join. Feel free to use the picture I’ve provided if you’d like to. If you decide to do this meme, please consider linking back to me so that I can see the book you’re sharing.
Last time I shared:
Beauty and the Beast by Marianna Mayer – Illustrated by Mercer Mayer – 1978
Today’s Shabby Share is:
Andersen’s Fairy Tales (Illustrated Junior Library)
Illustrations by Arthur Szyk
To me fairy tales are some of the best stories. I grew up reading fairy tales, I still read them to my children, and they’re stories I still enjoy today as an adult.
Thinking back, I can remember some of my favorites when I was four or five years old. I enjoyed listening to tales such as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, The Ugly Duckling, and Little Red Riding Hood on my record player.
What is it that I love about fairy tales? I suppose what attracts me to fairy tales are all the fantasy elements and the adventure, magic, wonder, romance, thrill, beauty, and of course…the escape I get when reading them. It doesn’t matter how far-fetched they are. I reread them over and over again and many take me back to my childhood.
This copy of Andersen’s Fairy Tales is an Illustrated Junior Library edition from 1945. I picked this up at an estate sale many years ago.
This edition has twenty-nine different fairy tales with illustrations by Arthur Szyk.
Most of the tales have at least one illustration–some are even in color, but few and far between.
We’ve read most of the tales. Some of our favorites are: The Roses and the Sparrows, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Fir Tree, The Ugly Duckling, The Nightingale, and The Little Match Girl. We’ve enjoyed most of the tales we’ve read this far.
Our copy is in good condition for its age. The dust cover is still intact with only some minor tears. Most pages in the book are crisp and clean. The illustrations are still bright and colorful.
I’d love to obtain the entire set of these, but many are hard to find. I’d at least like to find a copy of the Grimm’s Fairy Tale version. Just look at all the volumes made for this illustrated set!
You can find this book on Ebay and Etsy. I had a very difficult time finding this edition on Goodreads, but here’s a link to the 1976 version.
- Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap; 1st edition (October 1, 1945)
- Language: English
- Length: 343 pages
- Hardcover
Other blogs who have participated in Shabby Sunday:
Nicky@ An Introverted Bookworm
TheOrangutanLibrarian
Claire@ Brizzle Lass Books
Author Didi Oviatt
Sassy Brit@ Alternative-Read
Brittany @ PerfectlyTolerable
Shari @ Sharisakurai.com
Jennifer @ Jennifertarheelreader.com
Thanks for checking out Shabby Sunday! Do you like fairy tales? Do you have any shabby books to share? Feel free to share your thoughts below.
❤ Mischenko
ReadRantRock&Roll 
Ooh I love this edition!! Gorgeous! 🙂 ❤
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Me too! Thank you. 😉💜
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What a rare find and great share! I think fairy tales often help us relate to happy times in our childhood. Very different to find some illustrations in color that long ago. Awesome post!
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I definitely agree. The illustrations are still so vivid too and it’s in pretty good condition. Happy to have it! Thanks! 💗
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Absolutely! Can’t beat Anderson’s Fairy Tales. They are the best.
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Agree! I love Grimm’s too. ♥️😉
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Lovely 🙂
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😁💜 Thank you
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Oh wow, that’s a really interesting edition! I love it without the dust jacket, does that make me terrible? lol Yay for old books!
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I agree! I definitely don’t think it’s weird. It reminds me of all the old books we had on the shelves when I was a kid. 😍 I like the dust jacket too though. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! ♥️
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That is such a beautiful edition. I don’t remember seeing it before which makes it even nicer. I just adore fairy tales. They always take me back to when I was a child and they were such a comfort to read. Wonderful post as always.
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Thanks, Vanessa. I totally agree! They take me back as well. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of reading them either.
I really enjoyed the Beauty retelling by the way! You’ll have to let me know if you have any more recs. Loved the children’s version too. 😘♥️
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I will, for sure!
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This is so beautiful, favorite M! It reminds me of the fairy tale book my grandparents had…One of the only children’s books they had in the house, so I read it over and over. It was probably about the same age because it would have been my mother’s. Thanks for bringing back that wonderful memory. Lovely share! ♥️
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How sweet, Jen! Do you remember what yours was called? That is so neat! I’m fascinated with old books. 😁 Thanks for sharing your story! ♥️ Have a great week!
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I can’t, unfortunately. I guess it’s been twenty years or more since I saw it? It had an off white background cover with colored illustrations all over it from the fairy tales. It was well worn and well loved! I wish I had been able to keep it! The house ended up having some water damage, and it may have been thrown away, but I will ask my mom just in case. ♥️
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Aww…well you never know, it may just show up one day! I hope you come across it again. You never know what you can find at old book sales, right? 😉❤
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Ah, this is brilliant. Lovely and colorful (still!) drawings and binding. Of course, it’s the stories that count the most and I think it’s wonderful that Andersen didn’t talk down to his audience. Wherever that ridiculous notion came from, I’m glad it’s mostly gone. Thanks for posting!
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It’s still in great shape! I hope we can keep it that way for years to come.
Thanks for your thoughts, David! 😉
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I have missed reading your posts on your childhood books. I’m so glad you’re sharing these again. Fairy Tales are still the most popular children’s stories. I read a gazillion 🙂 books to children, and fairy tales are always a winner. This particular book of yours is a treasure. I must read some of the lesser known stories again. Thank you, Mischenko!
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Thanks, Jennie! They do seem to be the most popular among my kids too which is wonderful. I still enjoy reading them and I’m sure you do too. ♥️
I hope to get back to posting on Sundays more regularly. I appreciate your positive comment. You made my day. 😊 Have a great week!
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You are very welcome, and I sincerely look forward to your childhood book posts. I definitely enjoy reading fairy tales, and telling the stories aloud to children. Have a great week, Mischenko.
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You too, Jennie! 😊
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This is such a gorgeous edition. Love the overall look, and those color illustrations are so unique. And the dust jacket is in great shape for a children’s book! Fairy tales, for me, feel better when they’re read out of an older volume, and this one looks magical.
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Thanks! Me too. My only complaint is that I wish there were more color illustrations because there aren’t that many. I agree with you! 😁 I love that we have the Andersen’s volume, buy really hope to find the Grimm’s book in this set as well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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This is absolutely gorgeous! Oh I really want one of my own. 😍
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Thank you! Glad you like it too. I believe there are copies on Ebay and Etsy that you can find. You’ll have to let me know if you end up getting one. ♥️
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Those illustrations are amazing. Great share Jen.
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Thanks, Carla! ❤
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I love Shabby Sunday!! Vintage items are so cool & absolutely beautiful to me. I wish I had some to share! I used to have a big fairytale book that I wish I would’ve kept forever. This one is just gorgeous!!
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Thanks, Hunida! I’m glad you like vintage stuff too. That’s something we have in common. 😉 There are so many books I wish I still had too. 💜 Hope you’re having a great weekend!
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The illustrations and fonts in these older books are 100% the best. My most cherished book is an old, shabby copy of Little Women, that is a different copy of the same version my grandmother gifted me when I was a kid (it was used and rather shabby even then!). It was lost in a move about 30 years ago, but several years back, I found an identical copy on Ebay, and it is the one book I would carry with me in a post-apocalyptic world. 😉
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How amazing! I’m so glad you were able to find an identical copy. What would we do without Ebay? 😂 We really are lucky to be able to bring back some of our most cherished items from our past. I haven’t read that book forever, but I bought a Puffin Classic version for my daughter and she enjoyed it. Maybe time for a reread! ❤
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