A classic children’s book, Fairy Tale Pictures, has been republished by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, with funding from the Museum Store. It is the tenth, and last, in a series of classic reproductions from the collections of the state’s history agency.
This book includes four fairy tales, “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Little Snow White,” and “The Frog Prince,” with paper dolls and story scenes to match each story. The original images were perforated for easy removal by delighted youngsters; this reproduction does not include the perforations, encouraging users to leave this historic book intact. However, the reproduced book, which measures 8 x 5 3/8 inches, includes an extra set of these character pages on card stock for use as paper dolls. The Saalfield Publishing Company of Akron, Ohio, originally published this book in the early 20th century. In business from 1900 to 1977, the Saalfield Company was one of the largest publishers of children’s materials in the world. It issued books by authors such as Louisa May Alcott, Horatio Alger, Herman Melville, Dr. Seuss, Shirley Temple, and Mark Twain.
The original book will be on display in the lobby of the North Dakota Heritage Center from Monday, April 16 to Friday, June 1. Visitors will be able to compare the original with a copy of the republished book displayed beside it. The Heritage Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The republished book was donated by M. Victor Johnson of Grano, North Dakota. “One of our most important mandates as the state’s history agency is to share our collections with the people of North Dakota, and this an excellent way of doing that,” said Mark J. Halvorson, curator of collections research for the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Previous classic reprints by the SHSND have included a 1901 version of Father Christmas Stories (2010), 1946 version of The Sleepy Time Picture Book (2009), 1953 version of The Big Book of Mother Goose (2008), 1946 version of Cinderella (2007), a 1904 version of The Night Before Christmas (2006), an 1897 version of Beauty and the Beast (2005), a 1942 Three Little Kittens book (2004), an 1888 version of Red Riding Hood (2003), and an 1896 edition of The Night Before Christmas (2002). The first two reprints, Red Riding Hood and the 1896 edition of The Night Before Christmas, are no longer available for sale. The other six reprints are still available for purchase in our museum stores.
Only $12.95, this limited-edition reproduction is available at the North Dakota Heritage Center Museum Store in Bismarck, the Pembina State Museum in Pembina, the Chateau de Mores Interpretive Center in Medora, and the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston, as well as select bookstores statewide. For more information or to order copies, email [email protected] or call Museum Stores Manager Rhonda Brown at 701.328.2822.
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