'Hylas & the Nymphs'
by John William Waterhouse (1849 - 1917 English)

John William Waterhouse (1849 - 1917 English), was an English painter who focused on Greek and Roman mythology, Arthurian legend and the tales from the works of Shakespeare as his subject matter. During the course of his life, he painted some of the most iconic pieces of art depicting fairies (nymphs) and other mythological characters and scenes. He often painted young women in much of his work, but also scenes of ancient legendary events, all with rich oil colors and attention to detail. His paintings have a heavily romanticized look and feel, with deep colors and somber expressions.

Examples of the themes... .

'Fairy Trade Cars with Gilded Backgrounds'
Trade Cards printed circa 1870- 1900 (France)

Displayed below are a set of Fairy trade card illustrations set against a gold background, a technique called chromolithography. The gilded background is a unique technique which gives the cards a regal effect, accentuates the fairy figures and overall creates a pleasing magic about them. As such I present them here because of their rich feel and striking appearance.

These cards were originally printed as a vintage trade card set of 6 in France circa 1870 - 1900...

'By the care of the Fairy Tulip, she as not wounded'
by Warwick Goble (1862 - 1943 British)

Of late, I have been contemplating about the nature of fairies and iron, and how iron has been used to protect against malevolent fairies of all kinds, and how all fairies in general hate iron. This has led to a number of thoughts about iron, what it represents, how it acts, what it means.

History and Practice - Historically, iron in the form of horseshoes, scissors, needles, knives or blades, nails, and even iron filings in water have been used to repel or protect against malevolent fairies.  It is usually used at thresholds such as doorways to prevent ill meaning spirits, witches, demons or ghosts from entering...

'Irish Fairy Tales'
Illustrated by John D. Batten, Stories Selected by Jennifer Chandler,

I've recently been reading a small book of selected fairy tales from a much larger two volume collection by Joseph Jacobs, 'Celtic Fairy Tales' and 'More Celtic Fairy Tales, published 1892 and 1894. The stories include a spectrum of tales, are imaginative, colorful, whimsical and magical. Titles include 'Connla and the Fairy Maiden' (illustration below), 'The Story of Diedre', 'Smallhead and the King's Son' and similar such. As example, ''The Storyteller at Fault' is about a storyteller who is supposed to tell the king a new story every night so he can sleep, but runs out of stories. Another story....

'Wild Hemlock'
by by Jessie Marion King (1875 - 1949 Scottish)

Jessie Marion King (1875 - 1949 Scottish), was born in 1875 in Bearsden, Scotland, a suburb of Glasgow,, the youngest of five children. Her father was a minister and her mother the daughter of a prominent banker. She grew up in the care of a housekeeper and governess Mary McNab, whom she came to regard as a second mother.

At the age of 17, as part of her formal education, she enrolled in the Glasgow School of Art, where she showed a natural talent for drawing, and where she continued to study and later taught. After her time there, she won a scholarship to study in France and Italy. In 1898 she won a silver medal in the South Kensington annual competition, and in 1902 a gold medal for book design at another competition, the Turin exhibition. As recognition grew of her work across Europe, she started being commissioned to illustrate books with her distinctive, recognizable style. Over the course of her career, she illustrated or decorated over 40 books between 1898 to 1949... .

'Liebig Company's Fleisch Extract Butterfly Girls'
by Louis-Théophile Hingre (1832-1911 French)

During the late 1800's and early 1900's, many companies offered collectible trade cards as incentives to purchase their products. This advertising strategy was originally developed by Albert Poulain in the 1880's. The strategy was to offer 'sets' of collectible trade cards that could be gathered by buying a company's products and the included trade cards.

Trade cards sets included all kinds of topics, from illustrations for fairy tales, to historical figures and events, the the alphabet, animals and nature, and so on including fairies. Company products marketed via this strategy ranged from chocolate to baking soda to meat products...

'Woodland Faerie'
by by M. T. (Penny) Ross (1881 - 1937 American)

Marion. T. Ross (1881 - 1937 American) affectionately nicknamed 'Penny', was a popular comic artist and children's book illustrator from the early 1900's. During his early career he lived in Oak Park, Illinois and owned a studio (Penny Ross Advertising Company) in downtown Chicago. in 1926 he moved to Southern California where he worked as a co-worker with Walt Disney, and also as a set designer for several area studios until 1937, the year of his death at the age of 56.... .

'Fairy Islands'
by Ida Outhwaite (1888 - 1960 Australian)

Love, Beauty, Honor, Truth, Compassion, Empathy... Bravery, Humility, Wisdom, Honesty, Respect... Trust, Bliss, Freedom, Courage... Words to live by...

I've long thought on, meditated on the impact of words, and the values they carry or express, how they are used, and how they can influence one's life. In particular, I've focused on what I term 'The Noble Values' - words that indicate the evolved principles, the higher values of life, words such as Love, as Peace, as Truth - words, values I sometimes think of as the 'Flowering' of life, referring to the way they can bring life to blossom.....

'The Coming of Bride' (1917)
John Duncan (1866–1945 English)

The goddess Brigid, is a triple diety of ancient Ireland, with mutltiple aspects, often presented as three sisters. As such, she is simultaneously or at different times, the goddess of healing and protection, the goddess of poetry and wisdom, and the goddess of fire, smithing and war. She is also associated with domesticated animals, the beginning of Spring and planting season,, and the Pagan festival day of Imbolc, the celestial midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

Her names means 'the exalted one' and has various spellings - Brigit, Brigantia, Bride, Brid, Briginda, Brigdu, and has several modern words associated with these spellings, notably 'Bride', 'Brigand' and 'Brigantia'...

'Riddaren' (Rider)
by John Bauer (1882 - 1918 Swedish)

The Púca is a fairy from older Celtic and Irish origins, with mention also throughout the British Isles. There are a lot of descriptions of encounters with púcai (plural), which can appear in many various shapes, generally animal forms with black or dark fur, but sometimes white also. They are renown shapeshifters, even assuming human figures from time to time. They also are considered both beneficial and menacing, good and bad, bringing both good fortune and ill tidings, depending on the encounter, or in other words, typical fairy mixed values.

Their primary claim to fame is that of appearing as a large, black horse and offering weary travelers a ride along the way, particularly at late evening or night. However, once the rider is seated, the Púca takes off in a wild ride....

''Morgiana Danced With Grace'
Arabian Nights' (1928)'
by Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931 American)

Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900 - 1931 American) is one of my favorite illustrators from the early 1900's. Her stylistic illustrations capture imaginative scenes that seem to tell stories all by themselves.

She was born in 1900, Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, she was an introverted chid who preferred drawing to social interaction, so early on started developing her signature style. Preferring her own company, she also developed an expansive imagination which shows through her artwork... .

'Moon Maiden'
Sir Frank Dicksee, P.R.A. (1853-1928 English)

This question arises from time to time, and is understandable as there is a lot of overlap between the two. However, in a short answer and in fairy speak, fairies are fairies, and ghosts are ghosts. They overlap but are not the same, but in some regards, each can be both - the ghost of a fairy, or a fairy ghost.

First let's consider the differences between the two. To start and most obvious, fairies are alive, and ghosts are dead. While some descriptions of fairies say that fairies are the spirits of the dead, this is a very narrow definition of fairies, if at all. Fairies are many things, and can appear wispy or translucent, even invisible, and there are indeed spirit fairies,..