Book excerpt: This volume of the Golden Age of Illustration Series contains Hans Christian Andersen's most famous tale 'The Little Mermaid', first published in May of 1837. This classic fairy tale has been continuously in print in different editions since its first publication, with many, many, different artists illustrating the story over the years. This edition features a beautiful collection of the best of that art, taken from the likes of Arthur Rackham, W. Heath Robinson, Harry Clarke, Honor Appleton, Anne Anderson, Edmund Dulac, Mable Lucie Attwell, among others. This series of books celebrates the Golden Age of Illustration. During this period, the popularity, abundance and - most importantly - the unprecedented upsurge in the quality of illustrated works marked an astounding change in the way that publishers, artists and the general public came to view this hitherto insufficiently esteemed art form. The Golden Age of Illustration Series, has sourced the rare original editions of these books and reproduced the beautiful art work in order to build a unique collection of illustrated fairy tales.