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Editorial Codex, Buenos Aires [Published date: 1947]. Text in Portuguese. Board book, comb-bound, 22 unpaginated pages; fully illustrated in color throughout with additional black-and-white vignette illustrations; decorative color endpapers; 22 cm. Adapted by H. Sanchez Puyol (pseudonym of Hector German Oesterheld, 1919-1977).
In good condition, with original jacket in acceptable to poor condition. Red pictorial paper covers with illustration of Hansel and Gretel, cat, birds, and trees by Chikie. Covers show edgewear with small chips and tears, mild overall rubbing, soiling and some toning to edges. Comb binding intact. Pages toned with age but otherwise clean and unmarked. Four of the full-page illustrations are mechanical with tabs that allow movement of figures (arms, legs, mouths) - all in good working condition. The last page notes that this system of movements is protected by Argentine patent No. 58840 of 1942. The original red jacket repeats the cover design; it is split along the spine and has significant chipping, tears, losses along edges, and overall fragility, but remains present. Now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover. Portuguese-language children's adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale, issued in the "Contos de Codex" series. Text adapted by H. Sanchez Puyol with illustrations by Chikie in a distinctive mid-century style. Published by Editorial Codex of Buenos Aires, with distribution in Brazil through Livraria Civilizacao Brasileira (Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo). Colophon notes printing completed in September 1947 by Peuser of Buenos Aires. Research Note: Editorial Codex was an Argentine publishing house founded in the mid-1940s by Nicolas J. Gibelli, becoming one of the largest publishers in South America through the 1950s-1970s. Codex produced encyclopedias, comics, educational works, and children's literature. Its "Cuentos de Codex" series (also issued in Portuguese as "Contos de Codex") presented classic fairy tales with colorful illustrations and often mechanical features (moving tabs and flaps). Titles in the series included Hansel y Gretel, Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood), La Bella Durmiente (Sleeping Beauty), Peter Pan, Blancanieves (Snow White), Los Hadas (The Fairies), and Riquete el del Copete. Several adaptations were credited to H. Sanchez Puyol, a pseudonym of Hector German Oesterheld (1919-1977), who later became one of Argentina's most important comic book writers (El Eternauta). The series was distributed not only in Argentina but also in Brazil, with Portuguese translations under the imprint of Livraria Civilizacao Brasileira. This context places Hansel e Gretel within a rare and collectible Latin American mid-century children's series, notable for its inventive interactive illustrations and distinctive Codex binding style.