 |
Fairy Tale Collection
Description
Consists of books of fairy tales from the seventeenth century to the present.
Status
Mostly cataloged.
Size
Over 100 titles.
Access
Via Chinook, the bibliography of the Creamer Collection of Children's Books, the bibliography of the Donald Beaty Bloch Children's Literature Collection (currently undergoing cataloging), this bibliography created to accompany a past display, and the department card catalog.
Searches can be limited to Special Collections materials in the advanced search in Chinook by selecting "Special Collections" in the "Location" drop-down box.
Provenance
The Fairy Tales Collection includes books donated by Emily Wood Epsteen, Donald Beaty Bloch, George L. Creamer, other donors, and department purchases.
Fairy Tales at CU-Boulder
Landscape and Geography in Fairy Tales
The next exhibit in the series Landscape/Geography in Literature is available for viewing in the Earth Sciences and Map Library lobby. It features maps and images evoking aspects of fairy tales, excerpts from traditional tales, fairy tales by modern authors, and poetic responses to fairy tale themes.
Fairy tales are infrequently set in a specific geographic place that we recognize. However, there are geospatial themes that recur, and some of these are highlighted in this exhibit: a bird (often a swallow) migrating from a cold northern country to a warm southern country (in the case of Oscar Wilde's tale, the country is Egypt); the "underground", as in mines and caverns appears in stories such as Snow White and Rose Red, who tussle with an evil dwarf, or Thumbelina, who is coerced into marrying a mole and living her life in the dark (but narrowly escapes on the back of a bird who flies her south to sunny lands); and, a tower in which a maiden is imprisoned, isolated in a barren landscape.
A few modern authors feature in this exhibit. E.E. Cummings' Fairy Tales describe fanciful, delightful settings. Their qualities include tip-tops of hills, long curving roads, "the farthest star", and the "green, green world". Cummings wrote the tales for his daughter Nancy when she was a very little girl. Oscar Wilde's fairy tales were likewise based on stories he told his own children, although Wilde's tales are darker and often heartbreaking.
Two tales in this exhibit reference real places. One is Faldum Alp, the setting of a tale by Hermann Hesse, and another is Piazza Del Granduca in Florence, which is the setting for Hans Christian Andersen's tale "The Bronze Pig" (the pig is still there today, and the plaza is now called Piazza della Signoria). In addition, there is a map of Shöneberg from a Baedeker's travel guide of 1870 that shows the final resting place of the Brothers Grimm.
Also featured in this exhibit are two artworks that imagine a geographic setting for familiar stories. Bernard Sleigh's Ancient Mappe of FairyLand, and Land of Many Tales by Alison Murray Whittington (Chief Mapmaker of The Interimaginational Institute for Fantastical Exploration & Cartography) assemble characters and features of fairy tales into new realms.
The Map Library is in the Benson Earth Sciences building. Enter the Earth Sciences Library on the first floor on the southwest side. Take the elevator or stairs to the lower level. Their hours are listed here.
Collection Spotlight: Fairy Tales at the University of Colorado, Boulder
Find out more about how Special Collections' holdings of fairy tale books enhance university classes in this article.
Once Upon A Time: Early and Illustrated Fairy Tales
This exhibit, created in honor of Professor Emeritus Jacques Barchilon, founder of the scholarly journal Merveilles & Contes (later Marvels and Tales), featured highlights of the department's collection. The associated webpage provides the captions from the display.
Blogging Once Upon A Time
An interactive blog created to accompany the 2009 exhibit, with resources and discussion areas, available here.
Once Upon a Time: Spreading the Magic of Fairytales throughout Colorado
In Fall 2010, University of Colorado faculty explored the library's unique collection of rare European and American fairytales. Watch recordings of their talks here.
Fairy Tales in the CU Digital Library
We are in the process of digitizing selected fairy tale books. See them in the Digital Library here. (Please note that you must disable your pop-up blocker to view the contents of the Digital Library.) They are in the "CU and Auraria Collections" section of the "Choose a Collection" drop-down box, under the title "Once Upon a Time: Early and Illustrated Fairy Tales."
