Top of page

Archive: October 2023 (1 Post)

Full page color illustration of a large snake in between a man and woman in 19th century dress.

Hans Christian Andersen’s Wild Scrapbooks

Posted by: Mark Hartsell

Hans Christian Andersen created wrote timeless fairy tales ("The Little Mermaid," "The Ugly Duckling") but also created handmade picture books as gifts for children of a few acquaintances.The Library holds one of them, assembled by Andersen and his friend Adolph Drewsen in 1862 for Drewsen’s 8-year-old grandson, Jonas. The picture book is part of a collection of first editions, manuscripts, letters and presentation copies gathered over a 30-year span by Danish actor Jean Hersholt — probably the most comprehensive collection of Andersen material in America.