The first volume of the first edition of the Brothers Grimm’s “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” contained 86 stories.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, usually translated as “Children’s and Household Tales,” in 1812. The collection drew on oral storytelling, earlier printed sources, and material supplied by acquaintances and collaborators.
The first edition was issued in two volumes. Its contents changed over time as the brothers revised wording, added tales, removed others, and reorganized the collection. Later editions became much more influential internationally and are often treated as though they were the original form.
The number 86 therefore refers specifically to the first volume of the first edition, not to the entire later collection. This distinction matters because the familiar English “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” is usually based on expanded or edited editions rather than the 1812 volume alone.