1890 Campbell's Popular Tales of the West Highlands (4 Vols) Folklore / Fairies

Popular Tales of the West Highlands, Orally Collected

With a Translation by the late J. F. Campbell

Paisley; Alexander Gardner, 1890-1893. New Edition. Complete in Four Volumes. Hardback, 8vo, cloth bindings with paper title-pieces to the spines. 364, 495, 440, 444pp. Volume I has an Edinburgh University gilt stamp to the front board.

Popular Tales of the West Highlands is a landmark four-volume collection that preserves traditional Gaelic folklore, fairy tales, animal fables, and Fenian poetry orally gathered from native speakers across rural Scotland. The work acts as a vital historical record created during a time when traditional Gaelic culture and storytelling were heavily suppressed.

Volumes I–III: Feature 86 numbered tales, fairy stories, hero legends, and mythological narratives concerning figures like Fionn mac Cumhaill and Diarmaid, translated directly from spoken Gaelic.

Volume IV: Contains an extensive postscript with historical commentary, discussions on the Ossian controversy, analyses of Highland customs and music, and a defence of the Gaelic language.

CONDITION
A good complete set that rarely come up for sale these days because of their popularity. The bindings are very good with a little staining to the paper title-pieces. Endpapers good. Inner hinges good but starting to crack through the endpapers. All contents present and pages clean throughout. Presentation slip to inside front board of volume I. Overall a good complete set.