Flower Fairy – Hazel Catkin

This is another member of the willow family, along with the pussy willow, which heralds the beginning of spring in the UK.  It can be in flower as early as late February.

The catkins really do look like lambs’ tails.  Cicely Mary Barker really has captured them so well in her illustration.  She has even included the female flower which is that little reddish tuft at the top of the branch.  This is the part, which when pollenated, will grow to form the hazelnut which will be fully formed by autumn and ready to be stached away by squirrels or eaten by humans.

Cicely Mary Barker is the illustrator.

This print along with other original Flower Fairy prints can be found on Ebay.

Flower Fairy – Pussy Willow

Pussy Willow is one of my favorite things to see in the spring along with the hazel catkins. Their appearance signifies the coming of warmer weather and they are lovely to look at.

To begin with the pussy willow is just soft and furry but after a few days the stamens appear so it takes on a yellow appearance.

The pussy willow flower fairy vintage print is of a little boy so this particular print would be suitable for a baby boy’s nursery as well as a baby girl’s.

Cicely Mary Barker is the illustrator.

This print along with other original Flower Fairy prints can be found on Ebay.

Sitting on The Sand – The Water Babies

A Gorgeous Warwick Goble – Sitting on The Sand – from The Water Babies – Original Antique Print from 1924

“A real-live water baby sitting on the sand”

An original antique/vintage lithograph print from The Water Babies, by the illustrator Warwick Goble. He was well known for illustrating children’s books, especially in Japanese and Indian themes.

This print is in very good condition and the colors have retained their original depth.

The Dragon Fly – The Water Babies

This is a lovely Warwick Goble The Dragon Fly from The Water Babies – Original Antique Print from 1924.

“The thing whirred up into the air, and hung poised on its wings ……, a dragon fly,…. the king of all the flies”

The colors are beautiful and have maintained their full strength all these years.

This vintage lithograph print from The Water Babies, is by the illustrator Warwick Goble. He was well known for illustrating children’s books, especially in Japanese and Indian themes. These sought after prints can be found on Ebay

Bird of Paradise – The Water Babies

This is a lovely Warwick Goble – The Water Babies – Original Antique Print from 1924.

“The most beautiful bird of paradise”

The colors are beautiful and have maintained their full strength all these years.

This vintage lithograph print from The Water Babies, is by the illustrator Warwick Goble. He was well known for illustrating children’s books, especially in Japanese and Indian themes. These sought after prints can be found on Ebay

Flower Fairy – Wood Sorrel

This is a delightful Flower Fairy – Wood Sorrel – Original Vintage Print from the 1920’s to the 1940’s.

I remember the Flower Fairy range of books from when I was a child and then again when my four sons were small. There are some little boy flower fairies! The flower fairies seem to please both young and old alike.

Cicely Mary Barker was the illustrator

Cicely Mary Barker was equally proficient in watercolour, pen and ink, oils, and pastels. Kate Greenaway and the Pre-Raphaelites were the main influences on her work. She claimed to paint instinctively and rejected artistic theories. Barker died in 1973. Though she published Flower Fairy books with spring, summer, and autumn themes, it wasn’t until 1985 that a winter collection was assembled from her remaining work and published posthumously.

Bush Vetch

I was delighted to find and rescue these very rare botanical prints. So rare to discover just as they were printed 139 years ago, in 1874. This totally original vintage/antique lithograph print was illustrated by F Edward Hulme.

This is a botanical print of the Bush Vetch, Latin name Vicia sepium.  It is in excellent condition, and the colors have retained their original depth. Although dating from 1874 the print, as with the other F Edward Hulme prints I have listed on Etsy, it has a modern and contemporary feel as well as being pleasing for anyone interested in botany.

The print measures 9.5inches by 13.5inches.

Frederick Edward Hulme (1841-1909) was a teacher, amateur botanist, antiquarian and natural historian. He was Professor of Freehand and Geometrical Drawing as King’s College, London from 1886