Thursday, February 13, 2014

Russian Fairytales online

When I was researching Russian Fairytales, I kept coming across the most beautiful illustrations. They all came from the same book. It's called, The Russian Storybook. I started looking for the book online, and it is not in print. It was written almost 100 years ago. I was so sad not to be able to see the book for myself, but got so excited when I found a link to be able to read the book, for free online!!! The site is called archive.org, and the link to the book is HERE. The thing that is so great about the site, is they scan old books, and let anyone who visits their site, read them! Squeal!!! This one was donated by the New York public library, and is not under copyright. So, I am able to share pictures! I read through a bunch of the stories, and these are a few of my favorites.

WHIRLWIND THE WHISTLER
page 197 

Whirlwind the Whistler carried away the beautiful princess, and imprisons her high in the mountains. Her sons go to look for her. Her youngest son finds her, and rescues her. They come down the mountain by tying sheets together, and sliding down them. All go down except the youngest. At that point, the older brothers pull the sheet rope down, and leave the youngest stranded on the mountain top.


The youngest is left to figure out how to get home on his own. He gets magical powers, and helps a cobbler make shoes for his mother at night. When the shoes are presented to her, she knows that they were made by her son, because they are in the style of the clothing on the mountaintop where she was held captive. Ahh, so sweet. Aren't these pictures gorgeous?!?



PEERLESS BEAUTY THE CAKEBAKER
page 291

A baby who doesn't like to sleep at night is promised by his father The Czar, that if he will behave, he will marry Peerless Beauty, the most beautiful in all the land.


These stories are fun, and the pictures are gorgeous! Visit the site, and read them for yourself.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

2 comments:

Teri said...

I'm a sucker for old books and especially those with gorgeous illustrations! Thanks for sharing Risa!

Hykel said...

You probably know this already, but the artist for this book was Frank C. Papé. I'm a huge fan of the Art Nouveau style that he uses for these illustrations. I'm SO glad you posted this! It's just the kind of beauty I needed today.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...