Ballads and Lyrics of Old France: With Other Poems [in the RARE DUST JACKET] by Lang, Andrew - 1872

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1872. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good/very good. A Very Good copy of the first edition, first printing (boards and spine showing the usual spotting and darkening), in a Very Good example of the TRULY RARE DUST JACKET (soiling, edge wear, some chips and tears, a few tape repairs to the verso); the debut book Andrew Lang, the Scottish writer and literary critic who is best known as an important collector of folk and fairy tales --- the list of poets translated, and whose works are herein presented, include: Victor Hugo, Charles D'Orleans, Francois Villon, Joachim Du Bellay, Remy Belleau, Pierre Ronsard, Jacques Tahureau, Jean Passerat, Victor Hugo, Alfred de Musset, Gerard de Nerval, and Henri Murger. Lang also was a noted contributor to the fields of anthropology, folklore, psychical research, history, and classic scholarship, one of the founders of "psychical research", and the inspiration for, and namesake of, the University of St. Andrew's "Andrew Lang Lectures" which began in 1927 -- the most famous of which, titled "Fairy Stories", was given by J. R. R. Tolkien in March 1939, in which Tolkien discussed the fairy-story as a literary form, focusing on Lang’s work as a folklorist and collector of fairy tales. [Tolkien's lecture was subsequently published as as "On Fairy-Stories" and has been reprinted in other compilations of Tolkien's works such as The Tolkien Reader (1966) and The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays (1983). Notably, Tolkien's writing of his lecture brought him to clarify for himself his view of Fairy stories as a legitimate literary genre, and one not intended exclusively for children.] A prolific author and compiler, Lang published over 100 works, including twelve fairy books wherein he gathered together folk and fairy tales from around the world. His "Lilac Fairy Book" and his "Red Fairy" book are credited with having influencing J. R. R. Tolkien. As noted above, the copy of "Ballads and Lyrics of Old France: With Other Poems" -- a volume of metrical experiments -- herein described wears the truly rare dust jacket, one of the earliest surviving British dust jackets, and ranks with Dickens's "Edwin Drood" and Carroll's "The Snark" as one of the earliest known dust jackets from the work of a major British literary author (notably in this case being an author whose work had a strong influence on Fairy Tales and Fantasy Literature). A Very Good copy of the debut work of an important and influential British literary figure in the TRULY RARE AND HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT DUST JACKET. QUITE RARE INDEED.