Edward Dalziel (1817–1905)

This version of the Reynard story first saw print in 1851, in a book entitled The Comical Creatures from Wurtemberg: Including the Story of Reynard the Fox, which included six stories inspired by a display of stuffed animals made by the German taxidermist Herrmann Ploucquet for the 1851 London Great Exhibition. The Reynard story was then published on its own in 1852, in an American edition printed in Philadelphia by Willis P. Hazard. In 1861 it was published on its own in England, in this lovely little edition, with six illustrations, done in the style of Wilhelm von Kaulbach, that were initially included in The Comical Creatures from Wurtemberg. Apparently the Dalziel brothers worked on the engraving process of those illustrations, which perhaps accounts for the fact that they are listed as the authors of this 1861 edition in most databases, despite the fact that they do not seem to have had any involvement in the text. They are not listed on the title page, or anywhere else in the book, save for one illustration, which is signed "Dalziel."

Although I do tend, from a personal standpoint, to prefer the simplified, Americanized retelling of this specific Reynard story that Willis P. Hazard did in 1861, the same year that this edition was published - as mentioned above, Hazard also produced a 1852 edition that simply reproduced the original text - this version of the story is still enjoyable. At thirty-six pages, it is a brief retelling, and one intended for children. The artwork is engaging, particularly if one enjoys etching/engraving style illustration as I do. I'm not sure other readers will be as interested in tracing the various editions of this particular Reynard story, and their relationship to one another, but I found the process fun. Then again, I wrote my masters dissertation on three centuries of Reynard retellings for children in the Anglophone world, so I am bound to have been interested. Whatever text the reader might be interested in seeking out - the original story contained within The Comical Creatures of Wurtemberg, the original story as printed in American in 1852 or England in 1861, or the slightly revised American version of 1861 - they are all available online.… (mehr)