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Flower Fairies are illustrations by Cicely Mary Barker, created during the first half of the 20th century.
Flower Fairies are the product of English illustrator Cicely Mary Barker. [1] Unable to go to school as a child because of her epilepsy, she was home-schooled and spent much of her time drawing and painting. Her artwork was influenced by illustrator Kate Greenaway and even more so by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and she developed her talent as a member of the Croydon Art Society. Her flower fairy paintings, in particular, were driven by the Victorian popularity of fairies and fairy stories.
Cicely Mary Barker published her first Flower Fairies book in 1923; she received £25 for Flower Fairies of the Spring, a collection of twenty-four paintings and illustrations. The books enjoyed huge popularity due to Queen Mary’s well-known interest in fairy art. She later published seven more volumes of Flower Fairies. Following the publication of Cicely Mary Barker's original Flower Fairy paintings and verses, two series of fairy stories featuring original Flower Fairies characters, Flower Fairies Friends and, more recently, Secret Stories, have also been published. The Flower Fairies were Cicely Mary Barker's most well-known creations. They are notable in particular because of the sweet, realistic depiction of the children, modelled on children enrolled in her sister Dorothy's kindergarten. She has also been likened to Beatrix Potter in the botanical accuracy of the plants and flowers amidst which the fairies dwell. The Flower Fairies and all related publications are licensed properties of Frederick Warne & Co and the Estate of Cicely Mary Barker.
Below are the eight original Flower Fairies books and the dates they were published by Cicely Mary Barker's original publisher, Blackie.
Though first published in the first half of the century, Cicely Mary Barker's original eight volumes were re-launched in 2002 with slightly contemporary jackets, while maintaining their classic artwork.
In addition, Frederick Warne & Co has published the following compilations of Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairy artwork and poetry.
Frederick Warne & Co have published two other series of fairy stories based on Cicely Mary Barker's original characters and incorporating her original artwork.
Flower Fairies Friends are books for younger readers, each telling the story of a particular fairy and her friends, and were first published in 2003.
Secret Stories is a new departure for the Flower Fairies. Introduced in 2006, they feature the characters of the Flower Fairies Friends books in chapter book length stories for 6-10 year olds.
A new range of gift books was launched in 2005 with Flower Fairies Journal (Fairyopolis) and continue with How to Find Flower Fairies (2007), featuring ephemera such as postcards, mini-books and letters plus tabs, lenticulars and pop-ups. They explore the worlds of the author Cicely Mary Barker and the Flower Fairies in exquisite detail. A sequel to Fairyopolis has been released, entitled Return to Fairyopolis.
The Flower Fairies are highly successful internationally and are sold in more than 35 countries. Flower Fairies merchandise includes items such as giftware, toiletries, cross stitch and stationery.
Clara Ingram Judson, writer who created her own Flower Fairies title, illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright, circa 1915.
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which was her first commercially published work in 1902. Her books, including 23 Tales, have sold more than 250 million copies. An entrepreneur, Potter was a pioneer of character merchandising. In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy, making him the oldest licensed character.
Cicely Mary Barker 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.
Catherine Greenaway was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School of Art, the South Kensington School of Art, the Heatherley School of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art. She began her career designing for the burgeoning holiday card market, producing Christmas and Valentine's cards. In 1879 wood-block engraver and printer, Edmund Evans, printed Under the Window, an instant best-seller, which established her reputation. Her collaboration with Evans continued throughout the 1880s and 1890s.
Yoshitaka Amano is a Japanese visual artist, character designer, illustrator, a scenic designer for theatre and film, and a costume designer. He first came into prominence in the late 1960s working on the anime adaptation of Speed Racer. Amano later became the creator of iconic and influential characters such as Gatchaman, Tekkaman, Honeybee Hutch, and Casshern. In 1982 he went independent and became a freelance artist, finding success as an illustrator for numerous authors, and worked on best-selling novel series, such as The Guin Saga and Vampire Hunter D. He is also known for his commissioned illustrations for the popular video game franchise Final Fantasy.
Pauline Diana Baynes was an English illustrator, author, and commercial artist. She contributed drawings and paintings to more than 200 books, mostly in the children's genre. She was the first illustrator of some of J. R. R. Tolkien's minor works and of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.
Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author Beatrix Potter. A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902, and subsequently in five more books between 1904 and 1912. The six books by Potter featuring Peter Rabbit have sold over 150 million copies. Spin-off merchandise includes dishes, wallpaper, painting books, board games and dolls. In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy, making him the oldest licensed character.
Edmund Dulac was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École des Beaux-Arts. He moved to London early in the 20th century and in 1905 received his first commission to illustrate the novels of the Brontë Sisters. During World War I, Dulac produced relief books and when after the war the deluxe children's book market shrank he turned to magazine illustrations among other ventures. He designed banknotes during World War II and postage stamps, most notably those that heralded the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.
The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in July 1906. Jeremy's origin lies in a letter she wrote to a child in 1893. She revised it in 1906, and moved its setting from the River Tay to the English Lake District. The tale reflects her love for the Lake District and her admiration for children's illustrator Randolph Caldecott.
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1905. It tells of a cat called Ribby and a tea party she holds for a dog called Duchess. Complications arise when Duchess tries to replace Ribby's mouse pie with her own veal and ham pie, and then believes she has swallowed a small tin pastry form called a patty-pan. Its themes are etiquette and social relations in a small town.
Jane Ray is an English illustrator of more than 70 children's books. The first book Jane illustrated A Balloon for Grandad written by Nigel Gray, is included in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. She is the writer and illustrator of some including Can You Catch a Mermaid?, Ahmed and the Feather Girl, and The Elephants Garden. She won the 1992 Nestlé Children's Book Prize in the 6- to 8-year-old readers category for the Story of the Creation, published by Orchard Books, and has been shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal several times. She was also a nominee for the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava 2017.
Elizabeth Twining (1805–1889) was an English painter, author, and botanical illustrator. She is best known for her detailed botanical illustrations, especially the two-volume Illustrations of the Natural Order of Plants, which was published between 1849 and 1855. She was an heiress of the Twinings family of tea merchants and was a philanthropist.
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The Story of Miss Moppet is a tale about teasing, featuring a kitten and a mouse, that was written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co for the 1906 Christmas season. Potter was born in London in 1866, and between 1902 and 1905 published a series of small-format children's books with Warne. In 1906, she experimented with an atypical panorama design for Miss Moppet, which booksellers disliked; the story was reprinted in 1916 in small book format.
Frederick Warne & Co. is a British publisher founded in 1865. It is known for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter, and for its Observer's Books.
Yankee in Oz is a 1972 Oz novel by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was the first published by The International Wizard of Oz Club. A letter from the Henry Regnery Company, which bought Reilly & Lee, is reproduced in the front indicating the publisher's blessing for the new Oz book to appear. It was originally written in 1959, but because the Oz books were not selling, it was not published. The first two editions of the book were published in 8½ x 11 inch format and running only 94 pages. This was done at the request of illustrator Dick Martin to reduce the number of required illustrations and to show them closer to the actual size they were drawn. The second printing (1986) featured a new cover, with the first edition artwork reprinted preceding the title page. The third printing (2007) is standard Oz book size. Its cover is a gaudier redesign of the second edition cover. The book also features maps by James E. Haff, and as such, Thompson correctly places the Winkie Country in the west of Oz.
Molly Brett (1902–1990) was an English illustrator and writer of children's literature, best known for her anthropomorphic artwork.
Jennie Harbour (1893–1959) was an English Art Deco artist and illustrator.
Marie Felicity Angel (1923–2010) was a British illustrator and calligrapher known for her book illustrations.
Kathleen Irene Blundell née Nixon who signed as Kay Nixon was an English wildlife artist and illustrator of books including those of Enid Blyton. She also wrote and illustrated a series of books for children.
Maria Louise Kirk, usually credited as M. L. Kirk or Maria L. Kirk, was an American painter and illustrator of more than fifty books, most of them for children.
