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163 20 Charles Perrault, Histories, or Tales of Past Times, with Morals (1697) License By the time Claude Barbin published Perrault’s Histoires in 1697, most of its stories had been circulating informally for a few years. Some had been presented before the Académie Française and had been republished in the Mercure galant, and others had been presented to Louis XIV’s niece, Mademoiselle , in a manuscript of 1695 that Perrault had entitled Contes de ma Mère L’Oye. In preparing the manuscript for publication, Perrault made a few changes to the dedication to Mademoiselle. The book’s title, Histories, or Tales of Past Times, should be understood in the context of the contemporaneous discussion of vieux romans, a term that could be translated as “novels of past times.” Thus, Perrault, by his choice of title, was contributing to a literary discussion that included predecessors’ essays such as Jean Chapelain’s La lecture des vieux romans (Reading Romances [Novels] of Past Times) and Pierre-Daniel Huet’s long essay, L’origine des romans (1670, The Origin of Romances [Novels]). Perrault’s addition of the phrase “Avec des Moralitez,” underscores his adherence to modern, as opposed to antique, sensibilities, namely, that literature of all sorts should conduce to moral behavior by its content and its avowed moral point(s). In terms of format Perrault made a shift. His verse tales “Grisélidis,” “Peau D’Asne,” and “Les souhaits ridicules” had appeared as an octavo, that is, a sheet printed so that it could be folded into eight leaves, or sixteen pages, per fascicle. For his Histories, or Tales of Past Times Perrault shifted to a smaller format that was roughly the same size as its 1695 manuscript predecessor. He also changed publishers, and turned to Claude Barbin. As was the case for every printed book at that time, a permission to publish was necessary. The text was then protected from piracy within France (“in our realm”) for six years by its license, but within months Histories, or Tales of Past Times had been copied and reprinted without permission by the Amsterdam publisher Jacques Desbordes. 164 / Fairy Tales Framed The book’s license was granted to Perrault’s son, Pierre Darmancour, at the time eighteen years old. Within a few months he would be found guilty of manslaughter in a case involving a neighbor whose settlement would impose a heavy financial cost on his father. A few years later, Pierre died serving in the French military. The text of the license appears below. Excerpt from the License of the King1 By the Grace and License of the King, accorded at Fontainebleau, October 28, 1696. Signed Louvet & Scelé: Permission is granted to Sir P. Darmancour to publish a book entitled Histories or Tales of Past Times, with Morals, and this during a period of six consecutive years. During this time, all other Publishers and Booksellers in our Kingdom are expressly forbidden under penalty of law carried by the License to publish or have published, sell, and distribute the aforementioned book without his permission or that of his legal guardian. The aforementioned Sir P. Darmancour has transferred his License to Claude Barbin, who will publish the book for him in accordance with their agreement. Registered in the Log of the Guild of Printers and Booksellers of Paris, January 11, 1697. Signed, P. Aubouin, Legal Proxy Copies have been made available 1. [231]–[232] in Perrault, Contes de Perrault: Fac-similé de l’édition originale de 1695–1697: Grisélidis Nouvelle, Peau d’âne Conte, Les souhaits ridicules Conte, Histoire ou contes du temps passé, preface Jacques Barchilon (Geneva: Slatkine, 1980); Perrault in Contes merveilleux: Perrault, Fénelon, Mailly, Préchac, Choisy, et anonymes, ed. Tony Gheeraert (Paris: Honoré Champion, 2005), 51. ...

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