My mom bought me a hardback collection of fairy tale stories in December of 1996, 1997, or 1998. She remembers purchasing it from Barnes and Noble, and recall it was a special holiday edition. I do not know the title, though I think I vaguely remember the worlds “Once Upon a Time” on the cover. I remember that the cover was a royal blue, and I think there was a picture of a castle/kingdom centered on the front. I think the book was almost square in shape. The pages were gold, that was one of my favorite things. I remember a couple stories from it, the Princess and the Pea I remember distinctively, and I know there was one about a man stealing herbs from a witch’s garden because they would heal his wife’s illness, but they made a deal to give the witch their first born child, so maybe this is a Brother’s Grimm book? I know there are a lot of stories I think may be in there, but those are the two I remember very well, so I don’t want to accidentally give a story that is not there.
It was such a beautiful book, and all I want is to find it and have it for my children to enjoy as well.
“I know there was one about a man stealing herbs from a witch’s garden because they would heal his wife’s illness, but they made a deal to give the witch their first born child”
The story’s probably Rapunzel, but I can’t help identify that particular collection.
I think that might be the Rapunzel story in the Tall Book of Fairy Tales by Eleanor Graham Vance. I love that story!
Maybe The Random House Book of Fairy Tales? One of the editions has blue on the cover and a picture of a castle, but I’m not sure about the rest.
“I know there was one about a man stealing herbs from a witch’s garden because they would heal his wife’s illness, but they made a deal to give the witch their first born child”
That is Rumpelstiltskin!
Perhaps it was “Treasury of Fairy Tales” by Killion and Goldenberg?
“Once Upon A Time…” by Zapp, pub 1998 has a cover that matches, plus the gold pages. However there is no ‘Princess and the Pea’
https://archive.org/details/onceupontime0000zapp