Washington Irving used German folktales adapted for the American market. He would often use German folktales as a basis, and then change the setting and the people to be American. An example of this would be Rip Wan Winkle.
Washington Irvin was a an American writer of the early 19th century.
In 1821, he travelled in Europe in search of new material. During this time, he got in touch with Dutch and German folk tales.
He later started writing stories based in these German tales but decided to change their settings and became the first American writer to set his stories firmly in the United States.
