1930 Rare Book - Cicely Mary Barker - THE BOOK OF THE FLOWER FAIRIES. First Edition.
(description)
Author: Poems and Pictures by Cicely Mary Barker.
Title: THE BOOK OF THE FLOWER FAIRIES.
Publisher: London and Glasgow: Blackie & Son Limited, no date (circa 1930). First edition.
Size: 7.5 "X 5.5 ".
Pages: 92 pages + 72 plates.
Binding: Attractive and very good, near fine, original full cloth binding (hinges fine, upper rear corner slightly bumped - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good, near fine content (bright, tight and clean - as shown).
Illustrations: Profusely illustrated with 72 wonderful color plates by Cicely Mary Barker.
The book: Rare and nice First edition of this exquisite omnibus volume by Cicely Mary Barker including the Flower Fairies of the Spring, Summer, and Autumn.
The author: Cicely Mary Barker (June 28, 1895 - February 16, 1973) was the illustrator who created the famous Flower Fairies, in the shape of ethereal smiling children with butterfly wings. As a child she was greatly influenced by the works of the illustrator Kate Greenaway, whom she assiduously copied in her formative years. Her principal influence, however, which she duly credited, was the artwork of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Cicely was also influenced by the huge popular interest in fairies which developed from the Victorian enthusiasm for fairy stories and was epitomised by the immense popularity of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan in the early part of the 20th century. Published in 1923, Flower Fairies of the Spring was well received by a post-industrial, war-weary public who were charmed by her vision of hope and innocence, which seemed to evoke a less aggressively modern world.