Christmas Tales of Flanders (1917)

 

Illustrated by Jean de Bosschère

 

 

On the left, we show Christmas Tales of Flanders (1917) - as illustrated by

de Bosschère and co-published by William Heinemann (London) and

Dodd, Mead & Company (New York). This example retains the

rare original dust jacket.

 

It is noteworthy that printing for both publishing citations was undertaken

at The Complete Press (London).

 

 

 

 

 

To the right, we show the illustrated

Title Page prepared by de Bosschère.

 

 

Christmas Tales of Flanders (1917) carries a collection of traditional Belgian stories, including: "The Rich Woman and the

Poor Woman"; "The Story of Seppy"; "The Enchanted Apple-Tree"; "The Convent Free From Care"; "The Witches' Cellar";

"The Boy Who Always Said The Wrong Thing"; "Hop-O'-My-Thumb"; "The Emperor's Parrot"; "The Little Blacksmith

Verholen"; "Balten and the Wolf"; "The Mermaid"; "The Story of the Little Half-Cock"; "The Dwarf and the Blacksmith";

"Percy the Wizard, Nicknamed Snail"; "Simple John"; "The Two Chickens or the Two Ears"; "The Wonderful Fish";

"The Frying-Pan"; "Farmer Broom, Farmer Leaves, and Farmer Iron"; "Little Lodewyk and Annie the Witch"; "The Giant

of the Causeway"; "The Key-Flower"; and "The Ogre".

 

The Introduction to the tales make for interesting reading:

 

The Christmas Tales of Flanders presented in this volume are popular fables and legends current in

Flanders and Brabant, which have for centuries been told to children throughout Belgium. Their

origin is doubtful as all literature handed down by oral tradition must be. A good many of these

stories are found in a different guise in the legend of other nations. "Seppy" is closely akin to the

rhyme of "The Old Man who lived in the Wood"; and the prototypes of others will be readily

recognized; but all of them have peculiar Flemish traits. They have the picturesque characteristics

of the country which produced such a glorious school of painting, and the freshness of their

presentation is a high tribute to the creative imagination of the Flanders folk. Sometimes they are

primitive to a degree, and in such tales and "Simple John" and "The Boy who always said the Wrong

Thing," the storyteller attributed the most elementary and artless mentality to his heroes, so as to

explain the extravagant adventures he relates. These tales occupy for the Flemish the place nursery

rhymes take in England, and as the nursery rhymes have been collected in England at various times

and in different forms and guises, so the Flemish folk-tales have also been collected in various way

and in various parts of Flanders. Messrs. Demont and Decock produced a book entitled Zoo

Vertellen de Vlamingen, from which collection a good many of these stories are taken. Others

came from the Brabantsch Segenboak, which J. Teiclinck wrote for the Flemish Academy. They

were translated by M. C. O. Morris and are here published for the first time in English.

 

The suite of illustrations prepared by Jean de Bosschère for Christmas Tales of Flanders included 12 lovely colour illustrations,

more than 120 monotone and two colour images (ranging in size from full-page to vignettes).

 

 

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Images

 

 

For connoisseurs of the work of Jean de Bosschère, we have prepared sets of 12 Greeting Cards displaying colour images from his contributions to Christmas Tales of Flanders and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Code: JB CTF CS(12)
Price: US$60.00

 

Similarly, we have prepared sets of 12 Greeting Cards displaying the two-colour images from his contributions to Christmas Tales of Flanders and on the right, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Code: JB CTF TCS(12)
Price: US$60.00

 

Further, we have prepared sets of 15 Greeting Cards displaying the major monotone images from his contributions to Christmas Tales of Flanders and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Code: JB CTF MS(15)
Price: US$75.00

 

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-in plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted

approach typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century. Each card is

hand-finished and the images are presented on Ivory card stock (in the case of colour and duotone images) and White

card stock (in the case of monotone images) with an accompanying envelope. The rear of each card carries information

about Jean de Bosschère, this wonderful suite and the profiled illustration - we have left the interior of the cards blank

so that you may write your own personal message.

 

Should you wish to order a Reproduction Print of one or more of these images, we have provided some options below.

Each of these large format prints is also accompanied by information about Jean de Bosschère, this suite and the profiled

illustration.

 

To purchase, simply click on the appropriate "Add to Cart" button and you will be taken through to our Shopping Cart

secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any

destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.

 

Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter through

ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

 

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these images from Jean de Bosschère.

 

 

The colour illustrations

 

The Wonderful Fish

 

The Sea-Monsters and the Fisherman

 

(Frontispiece)

 

The Rich Woman and

the Poor Woman

 

The Rich Woman and the Poor Woman:

The two Farms at Christmas Eve

 

 

The Enchanted Apple-Tree

 

The Enchanted Apple-Tree

The Witch's Cellar

 

The Witches' Cellar

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C1 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C2 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C3 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C4 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Hop-O'-My-Thumb

 

Hop-o'-my-Thumb and the Robbers

 

 

The Little Blacksmith Verholen

 

The Devil beaten Three Times

 

 

The Little Blacksmith Verholen

 

The Procession

The Mermaid

 

The Mermaid, the Mother,

and her Daughter

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C5 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C6 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C7 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C8 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

The Dwarf and the Blacksmith

 

The Dwarf's Feast

 

 

Simple John

 

Simple John, the Horse,

the Cow, and the Pig

 

 

Farmer Broom, Farmer Leaves,

and Farmer Iron

 

The Three Farmers and their Horses

 

 

The Giant of the Causeway

 

The Giant, his Daughter,

and the Knight

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C9 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C10 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C11 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF C12 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two-colour illustrations

 

The Rich Woman and

the Poor Woman

 

Try as she would, she was obliged

to go on cutting

 

 

The Story of Seppy Who Wished

to Manage his Own House

 

She gradually slipped to the edge

of the sloping roof

Hop-O'-My'Thumb

 

(1) The keg moved as if it had legs

(2) He carried it home

(3) Mother and son enjoyed themselves

(4) Swallowed the little fellow

(5) Stuck the point into the soldier's leg

(6) Was pushed through the ventilator

 

 

The Emperor's Parrot

 

A peasant was fortunate enough

to catch it

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC1 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC2 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC3 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC4 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

The Little Blacksmith Verholen

 

Climbed up the tree like a cat

 

 

The Little Blacksmith Verholen

 

He was dressed in deep black

 

Balten and the Wolf

 

"Balten, pour! Balten, pour!"

 

The Mermaid

 

Every morning the Mermaid looked

in at the window

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC5 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC6 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC7 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC8 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

The Story of the Little Half-Cock

 

The water joined the other lodgers

 

 

Simple John

 

The exchanges of Simple John

The Wonderful Fish

 

Bemoaning her Faith and reproaching

the Almighty

The Wonderful Fish

 

He soon caught the fish

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC9 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC10 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC11 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF TC12 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The major monotone illustrations

 

The Rich Woman and

the Poor Woman

 

The neighbours came to say good

day, but the cloth blocked up

the door

 

 

The Enchanted Apple-Tree

 

The village urchins came and stole

them off the tree

 

The Witch's Cellar

 

Drew the peak of his cap over his eyes,

in order to see what took place

The Boy Who Always Said the

Wrong Thing

 

The story of the boy who always

said the wrong thing

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M1 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M2 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M3 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M4 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

The Little Blacksmith Verholen

 

The little blacksmith was seated

on a low stool

 

 

The Dwarf and the Blacksmith

 

They wanted to find out how

it was done

Percy the Wizard Nicknamed Snail

 

The necessary ingredients for a

nice hotchpotch

 

 

Percy the Wizard Nicknamed Snail

 

Threw it to some geese and turkeys

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M5 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M6 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M7 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M8 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

The Two Chickens or the Two Ears

 

The first thing he did was to

take up his knife

 

 

The Frying-Pan

 

Neither of them wanted to return

the frying-pan

Farmer Broom, Farmer Leaves,

and Farmer Iron

 

Farmer Broom and Farmer Leaves

came out alive

 

 

Little Lodewyk and

Annie the Witch

 

Annie the Witch always came to

blow them down

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M9 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M10 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M11 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M12 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 
 

The Giant of the Causeway

 

He never left his castle except to

inflict punishment on the wicked

 

 

Farmer Broom, Farmer Leaves,

and Farmer Iron

 

Led by two Pages

The Key-Flower

 

He let fall the bunch of keys

  

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M13 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M14 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JB CTF M15 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00