Arthur Rackham illustrated a collection of fairy tales by Brothers Grimm in 1900 for the first time. In many ways, this book is considered a breakthrough in his career. It was no only a great commercial success, it also paved his way to a celebrity status who never stayed without work right to the end of his life and was rapidly getting better and better (and more profitable) deals at publishers.
This book has a special status from a technical point of view as well:
It showed Rackham's technical skills which were not fully developed yet (many illustrations were replaced in later editions) but were already very characteristic and versatile. Apart from his already superb line drawing, we can also enjoy his love for silhouettes and signature fusions of colors (the first edition has got only a frontispiece in color, but edition from 1909 presented 40 color pictures!).
Numerous revisions and reprints by different publishers offered a lot of possibilities to exploit Mr. Rackham's work in complete editions, selections (like Snow Drop & Other Tales), and different bindings, often causing a hype among collectors, which, by the way still love to collect Rackham's rarities with numbered copies, his signatures and even hand-drawn vignettes in some cases.
In some cases, this book, as complete as it became in 1909, served only as a starting point for other books, where the artist got a chance to fully explore just one of his dominant techniques. Remember: this edition was made right after Rackham's Alice in Wonderland, which, according to many art critics, revolutionized the business of book art
Grimm's Fairy Tales by Arthur Rackham is a kind of textbook for illustrators who want to learn from the master. If they are willing to dig a bit, they'll find out he's essentially a line illustrator, a pen and ink artist who added color (and in many cases very complex layers of colors of different transparencies) only when he was completely satisfied with lines. In a way, this is a color book for grown-ups, done in classic technique of a painter who went through all the necessary schools and learned all the necessary techniques before he got enough courage to express himself, his vision, and his humor.
We'll present only the color pictures from the 1909 edition. All of them, together with black and white drawings, are available here.
All writings, presented under original color illustrations, are presented too. Each title of the story has a standardized KHM notion to avoid confusion with similar titles of different stories or different titles for the same story. Finally, the pictures:
The King could not contain himself for joy.
The illustration from Briar Rose was used as a frontispiece. This is the only color illustration in the first edition and it stayed as it was in 1909.
The Golden Bird (KHM 57)
Away they flew over stock and stone, at such a pace that his liar whistled in the wind.
Hans in Luck (KHM 83)
(no color illustrations)
Jorinda and Joringel (KHM 69)
By day she made herself into a cat.
Or a screech owl.
The Bremen Town Musicians (KHM 27)
(no color illustrations)
Old Sultan (KHM 48)
(no color illustrations)
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean (KHM 18)
Once there was a poor old woman who lived in a village.
Briar Rose (KHM 50)
The young Prince said, 'I am not afraid; I am determined to go and look upon the lovely Briar Rose'.
The Dog and the Sparrow (KHM 58)
(no color illustrations)
The Twelve Dancing Princesses (KHM 133)
(no color illustrations)
The Fisherman and his Wife (KHM 19)
(no color illustrations)
The Wren and the Bear (KHM 102)
At the third sting the Fox screamed, and down went his tail between his legs.
The Frog Prince (KHM 1)
So she seized him with two fingers, and carried him upstairs.
The Cat and Mouse in Partnership (KHM 2)
The Cat stole away behind the city walls to the church.
The Goosegirl (KHM 89)
Alas! Dear Falada, there thou hangest.
Blow, blow, little breeze, and Conrad's hat seize.
The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet (KHM 10)
Now we will go up the hill and have a good feast before the squirrel carries off all the nuts.
Rapunzel (KHM 12)
When he went over the wall he was terrified to see the Witch before him.
The Witch climbed up.
Fundevogel (KHM 51)
(no color illustrations)
The Valiant Tailor (KHM 20)
Pulling the piece of soft cheese out of his pocket, he squeezed it till the moisture ran out.
They worked themselves up into such a rage that they tore up trees by the roots, and hacked at each other till they both fell dead.
Hansel and Grethel (KHM 15)
All at once the door opened and an old, old Woman, supporting herself on a crutch, came hobbling out.
Hansel put out a knuckle-bone, and the old Woman, whose eyes were dim, could not see, and thought it was his finger, and she was much astonished that he did not get fat.
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage (KHM 23)
(no color illustrations)
Mother Hulda (KHM 24)
(no color illustrations)
Red Riding Hood (KHM 26)
When she got to the wood, she met a Wolf.
'O Grandmother, what big ears you have got,' she said.
The Robber Bridegroom (KHM 40)
At last she reached the cellar, and there she found an old, old worn with a shaking head.
Tom Thumb (KHM 37)
When Tom had said good-bye to his Father they went away with him.
Rumpelstiltskin (KHM 55)
(no color illustrations) Clever Grethel (KHM 77)
Then he ran after him, still holding the carving-knife, and cried, 'Only one, only one!'
The Old Man and His Grandson (KHM 78)
(no color illustrations)
The Little Peasant (KHM 61)
The Old Man had to sit by himself, and ate his food from a wooden bowl.
Fred and Kate (KHM 59)
(no color illustrations)
Sweetheart Roland (KHM 56)
The quicker he played, the higher she had to jump.
Snowdrop (KHM 53)
The Dwarfs, when they came in the evening, found Snowdrop lying or the ground.
The Pink (KHM 76)
(no color illustrations)
Clever Elsa (KHM 34)
(no color illustrations)
The Jew Among the Thorns (KHM 110)
(no color illustrations)
Ashenputtel (KHM 21)
Ashenputtel goes to the ball.
The White Snake (KHM 17)
The Fishes, in their joy, stretched up their heads above the water, and promised to reward him.
The Wolf and the Seven Kids (KHM 5)
The Seven Kids and their mother capered and danced round the spring in their joy.
The Queen Bee (KHM 62)
The Ducks which he had once saved, dived and brought up the key from the depths.
The Elves and the Shoemaker (KHM 39)
(no color illustrations)
The Wolf and the Man (KHM 75)
(no color illustrations)
The Turnip (KHM 146)
(no color illustrations)
Clever Hans (KHM 32)
(no color illustrations)
The Three Languages (KHM 33)
(no color illustrations)
The Fox and the Cat (KHM 75)
(no color illustrations)
The Four Clever Brothers (KHM 129)
So the four Brothers took their sticks in their hands, bade their Father good-bye, and passed out of the town gate.
The King's only daughter had been carried off by a Dragon.
The Lady and the Lion (KHM 88)
She went away accompanied by the Lions.
The Fox and the Horse (KHM 132)
(no color illustrations)
The Blue Light (KHM 116)
(no color illustrations)
The Raven (KHM 93)
(no color illustrations)
The Golden Goose (KHM 64)
(no color illustrations)
The Water of Life (KHM 97)
'Good Dwarf, can you not tell me where my brothers are.'
The Twelve Huntsmen (KHM 67)
(no color illustrations)
The King of the Golden Mountain (KHM 92)
The Son made a circle, and his Father and he took their places within it, and the little black Mannikin appeared.
Doctor Know-All (KHM 98)
Once upon a time a poor Peasant, named Crabb, was taking a load of wood drawn by two oxen to the town for sale.
The Seven Ravens (KHM 25)
The good little Sister cut off her own tiny finger, fitted it into the lock, and succeeded in opening it.
But they said one after another; 'Halloa! Who has been eating off my plate? Who has been drinking out of my cup?'
The Marriage of Mrs. Reynard (KHM 38)
(no color illustrations)
The Salad (KHM 122)
(no color illustrations)
The Youth Who Could not Shudder (KHM 4)
Then the Youth took the axe and split the anvil with one blow, catching in the Old Man's beard at the same time.
King Thrushbeard (KHM 52)
The Beggar took her by the hand and led her away.
Iron Hans (KHM 136)
(no color illustrations)
This is the last fairy tale in the book, published by Constable & Company Ltd., London, in 1919. The edition was limited to 750 copies and available for sale in Great Britain and Ireland. All copies were signed by Arthur Rackham.