Sleeping Beauties: Fairy Tales
Selected from the Schmulowitz Collection
of Wit and Humor

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From the Paris salons of the late seventeenth century to modern illustrated retellings, the fairy tale has evolved from sophisticated tales for the literary elite to moral instruction for children to pure pleasure for both children and adults. The French storytellers were the first to coin the expression, “contes de fées”, or “tales of the fairies.”

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Tales of enchantment from all over the world have been drawn from the Library’s Schmulowitz Collection of Wit & Humor. Fairies, elves and giants, beauties and beasts, ugly ducklings, talking cats, little mermaids and ravenous wolves—their colorfully illustrated stories sometimes frighten, but always entertain us. Featured here are tales from The Arabian Nights; the nineteenth century fantasy Alice in Wonderland; and the work of Arthur Rackham, one of the most remarkable children’s illustrators of the twentieth century. Some readers will recognize the great collectors and writers of fairy tales; for others this exhibition will serve as an introduction to the magic of Never Never Land.

Supplemental materials have been drawn from the Fox Collection of Early Children’s Books, the Grabhorn Collection on the History of Printing, and the Magazines & Newspapers Center.

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The Schmulowitz Collection of Wit & Humor (SCOWAH) is a unique resource: this non-circulating research collection focuses on the humorous treatment of all subjects. Presented as a gift to the San Francisco Public Library in 1947 by Nat Schmulowitz —attorney, bibliophile, and humanitarian—the collection has grown to its present state of over 20,000 volumes in 35 languages, covering more than 400 years of wit and humor. SCOWAH is located in the Book Arts & Special Collections Center of the Main Library.

The annual SCOWAH exhibition, which opens every April Fool’s Day, is a tribute to Mr. Schmulowitz’s generosity and lifelong interest in the San Francisco Public Library, and highlights some of the treasures that may be found in the collection.

Exhibition: From April 1 through May 31, 2005
Main Library, Sixth Floor, Skylight Gallery
Related Exhibition: Children’s Fairy Tales
Main Library, Second Floor,
Fisher Children’s Center,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

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Selected Bibliography For Sleeping Beauties

Fairy Tale Web sites -
For Teens and Adults:

• Folklinks: Folk and Fairy-Tale Sites
• L. Frank Baum, American Fairy Tales
• SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages
• Uncle Remus: Social Context and Ramifications
• Tales Collected by the Brothers Grimm
• Tales from the 1001 Nights

For Children:

• Armenian Fairy Tales
• Children’s Books Online: The Rosetta Project
• International Children’s Digital Library
• Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books