1951 Rare Book - FAIRIES, The Cottingley Photographs And Their Sequel by Edward L. Gardner.

 

(description)

Author: Gardner, Edward L.
Title: Fairies. The Cottingley Photographs And Their Sequel.
Publisher: London, The Theosophical Publishing House, 1951. Second Edition (stated).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 9 " X 7 ".
Pages: 47 pages.
Binding: Very good original hardcover binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed -  as shown).
Dustjacket: Original dustwrapper in good condition some repairs to the back of dustwrapper, with a few creases, chips and marks - as shown. Scarce in any condition. Under a removable mylar protective cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, small bookseller stamp on the first endpaper - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with the famous 5 Cottingley Fairies photographs.

The book: Rare and very nice second edition of this book on The Cottingley Fairies which appears in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright (1901–88) and Frances Griffiths (1907–86), two young cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England. In 1917, when the first two photographs were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 9. The pictures came to the attention of writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who used them to illustrate an article on fairies he had been commissioned to write for the Christmas 1920 edition of The Strand Magazine. Doyle, as a spiritualist, was enthusiastic about the photographs and interpreted them as clear and visible evidence of psychic phenomena. Public reaction was mixed; some accepted the images as genuine, but others believed they had been faked. A rare find in any condition!