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Tormont Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest

Does someone at Tormont Publishing Company take inordinate pleasure in confusing those who try to catalogue books? I have just been lucky enough to find what I take to be a complete set of five oversized Tormont booklets titled "The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest." As I compare these five with other holdings, I find that I have individual booklets from other series in English, French, and Polish. Some are published by Tormont, some by Madison Marketing, and some by PML editions. Among the French copies, there is a series titled "Le Monde Magique des Contes et Légendes" and another titled "Le Coffret Magique des Contes et Légendes" -- though some at least of the members of one are identical with some of the others. One of the books in my just-found set of five I had found earlier: Book 2. But there is another "Book 2" of a set titled identically "The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest," but its contents are different from this Book 2. That one adds a Roman "IV" under its series name. So now I list this set of five, which includes three books including fables, since I hope that at last I have at least one complete set of Tormont booklets. Who knows what I will find next from this publisher!

1989? The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest, Book 1. Paperbound. Tormont. $3.18 from Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, Jan., '11.

This first volume of the set of five actually has a title-page that confirms that there are five booklets in the series. Thus I have a complete set! The title-page for the set also includes the specific stories in each of the five booklets. Here there are six stories. Of them, only "The Musicians of Bremen" is not an Aesopic fable; this story's picture, by the way, gets the center of the front cover. The fables included here are: LM, BC, OF, GA, and FC. What the title-page unfortunately does not reveal is the year of publication. LM (2-3) includes a remark from the lion: "I'm afraid there's little you can do for me." BC features a mouse standing on the upper portion of a lantern holding a bell (5). The last line of GA (12-13) comes from the ant: "Singing, eh? Well, try dancing now!"

 

1989? The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest, Book 2. Paperbound. Tormont. $3.18 from Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, Jan., '11.
I already list a copy of this book among my regular holdings under "1989?". Now I find this second copy in a set -- complete? -- of five, and so I list it again, but this time as part of that series. As I write there, this is among the largest-format books I have. The T of C on the back cover indicates that there are three stories here, the last of which is DS (16). The other two are "Puss in Boots" (the central image on the front cover) and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." If nothing else, the illustrations here are really large! Like some other Tormont pamphlets, this booklet has very little bibliographical information. Be sure to distinguish this book from the "Book 2" of another series named identically "The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest." That copy has a "IV" on its cover, with a central image of a wolf looking over his shoulder at two goats. That booklet contains "The Wolf and the Seven Kids"; "The Cock, the Cat and the Mouse"; "Chico and the Crane"; "The Horse and the Wolf"; "The Lion and the Mosquito"; and "The Monkey King."
1989? The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest, Book 3. Paperbound. Tormont. $3.18 from Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, Jan., '11.

This third volume of the set of five contains no fables. It includes "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast." I catalogue it here for the sake of completeness, since I have the whole set of five.

1989? The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest, Book 4. Paperbound. Tormont. $3.18 from Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, Jan., '11.

This fourth volume of the set of five contains one fable: "The Obstinate Goats" (16). The illustration, a dramatic view from below, and the page together take up this one last page of the booklet.

1989? The Great Fairy Tales Treasure Chest, Book 5. Paperbound. Tormont. $3.18 from Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, Jan., '11.

This fifth volume of the set of five contains no fables. It includes "The Three Little Pigs" and "Snow White." I catalogue it here for the sake of completeness, since I have the whole set of five.

 

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