Momotaro or The Little Peachling.
Tokyo: Hasegawa Takejiro, nd ca. 1889. The first book from the Japanese Fairy Tale Series published by T. Hasegawa, in German. "Japanische Marchen" (Japanese Fairy Tales) above the title.
Momotaro is a boy who comes to Earth from Heaven, inside of a peach and becomes the son of a childless couple. He befriends a talking dog, monkey, pheasant and with their help fights a band of marauding demons or ogres.
Hasegawa Takejiro was an enterprising publisher who employed talented Japanese artists and translators to adapt Japanese stories to other languages.
Crepe paper, accordion style, covers slt fox spotting and dusty, interior clean and bright. color illustrations, back cover with a 'flock' of folded origami cranes taking flight. Approx. 4 x 6", bound with tan silk thread, slt. undone at top hole, but still firm. Otherwise very good condition. Item #24861
Sold