La Belle au bois dormant - 1850

La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty) is a folk tale in the last version of the Aarne-Thompson classification. Among the most famous versions are that of Charles Perrault, published in 1697 in Les Contes de ma mère l'Oye, and that of the brothers Grimm (Dornrschen) published in 1812.

Perrault’s version is based on Soleil, Lune et Thalie by Giambattista Basile (published posthumously in 1634), a tale itself based on one or several folk tales. One of the earliest known versions of the story is Perceforest, composed between 1330 and 1344 and printed in 1528.

Published by: Joseph Scholz (* 16 April 1768 in Peterwitz / Silésie, † 12 July 1813 in Mayence)

The Jos.Scholz publishing house moved to Mainz in 1830, where Christian Scholz created a successful international company of it. From 1832 to 1835, his son Christian was the owner along with his brother, Anton, then by himself. The publishing house grew in importance with the production of lithographs for various uses. Then in 1840 it became one of the first publishers of children’s books. Production fulfilled the needs of children: picture books, sheets of pictures, colouring pages, board games, paper theatres, etc. The books for children and adolescents were intended to convey general knowledge and good manners. The publishing house also published stories with moral standards. The author from Mayence Kathinka Zitz-Halein (1801 - 1877) was best known as the author of such moral stories. The archives of the publishing house that dissolved in the 1970s were destroyed during the war in 1945.