Did you know that the original title of ‘Snow White’ was ‘Snow Drop?’ I learned some fun facts about one of my favorite fairytales while searching for antique examples of the book. This particular gallery features color illustrations from a 1913 version of the story. These copyright-free images are in the public domain and can be used for making greeting cards, homemade books, posters, mug designs, and many more creative projects. The seven dwarves illustration are particularly versatile and would make great crafting material for general holiday and fantasy-themed art projects as well.
Fun Facts about Snow White!
- A German fairy tale written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, otherwise known as the Brothers Grimm
- The original title of Snow White was Sneewittchen or “Snowdrop”
- The first edition of Snow White was published in 1812 and the final revision for the book was released in 1854
- Snow White was turned into a Broadway play in 1912. The Broadway version of the story was the first to give the seven dwarves their own names.
- The Disney version changed the names of the seven dwarves and eventually coined the names we know and love today
- There are a few theories about the inspiration for Snow White. A German historian in 1994 theorized that Snow White may have been inspired by real-life German Countess, Margarete von Waldeck. Some accounts claim that Margarete’s stepmother forced her to move away to Brussels where she fell for man who would go on to become Spain’s Phillip II. However, both Margarete’s stepmother and father disapproved of the match, and Margarete supposedly died from being poisoned shortly thereafter.
- Snow White could possibly be based on a girl named Maria Sophia von Erthal. Maria’s father was a wealthy landowner and widow who eventually married a new woman, Claudia Elisabeth von Venningen. According to 18th-century accounts, Claudia notoriously disliked her own stepchildren and had a special mirror that spoke. That legendary mirror now lives in a museum and was actually a special acoustical-mechanical toy.