First published 1812

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales is the collection of German folk tales gathered by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, first published as Kinder- und Hausmärchen by the Realschulbuchhandlung in Berlin, with volume one in 1812 and volume two in 1815. The brothers revised it through seven editions up to 1857.

Editions tracked: 4
First edition: Realschulbuchhandlung, 1812
First published: Realschulbuchhandlung, Berlin, 1812

The first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm was published in Berlin by Realschulbuchhandlung in 1812. We track 4 editions.

Editions

Which edition do you have?

First edition

1st Realschulbuchhandlung1812 Other I own Grimm's Fairy Tales, Realschulbuchhandlung 1812 Log in to want this

Later and other editions

We have not yet researched the issue points for this book. If you know how to tell the first from later printings, tell us and we will credit you once it is checked against a second source.

About the book

Awards, adaptations and setting

Adaptations

The tale of Gockel, Hinkel and Gackeliah adaptation, 1827
Household stories from the collection of the Bros Grimm adaptation, 1882
Grimm Tales Made Gay adaptation, 1902
Little Brother and Little Sister adaptation, 1917
The woman without a shadow adaptation, 1919
Household stories from the collection of the Bros Grimm adaptation, 1920
Hansel and Gretel and other stories adaptation, 1921
An allem ist Hütchen schuld! musical, 2000
The Grimm Variations adaptation

In print

Editions recorded: 218 on Open Library, 132 in English
Wikipedia: Articles in 43 languages
Free to read: Project Gutenberg (out of copyright in the US)

From Wikidata and Open Library, both CC0. A prize or a new adaptation often lifts demand for the first printing.

From Wikimedia Commons

Pictures of the book

Freely licensed pictures of the work. They are not necessarily the edition you hold: check the points on each edition's page.

Same author

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Collecting guides

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All guides

7 min read

How to Identify a First Edition

To identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …

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Book Condition Grading: Fine to Poor Explained

Book condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …

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Dust Jackets Explained: Why the Jacket Drives a Book's Value

For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …

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Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

Who published the first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales?

The first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm was published in Berlin by Realschulbuchhandlung in 1812.

How many editions of Grimm's Fairy Tales are there?

We track 4 editions of Grimm's Fairy Tales, including 1 first edition. Each has its own page with how to identify it.

Has Grimm's Fairy Tales been adapted?

Yes, including The Grimm Variations (adaptation), An allem ist Hütchen schuld! (musical, 2000), Hansel and Gretel and other stories (adaptation, 1921), according to Wikidata.

Can I read Grimm's Fairy Tales for free?

Yes: the text is out of copyright in the United States and free to read on Project Gutenberg. Collectors still pay for the first edition, which is the physical object, not the words.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Grimms' Fairy Tales, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Grimms' Fairy Tales (Q163027), Wikidata (wikidata.org)
Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Wikisource (German) (de.wikisource.org)

Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.