My Days with the Fairies (1911)

Illustrated by Edmund Dulac

On the left, we show a rare copy of My Days with the Fairies - as illustrated by Dulac and produced by Hodder and Stoughton (London) in 1911.   This example retains the original decoratively gold-stamped lilac cloth cover.             On the right, we show the Title Page with illustrations by Dulac.

The illustrations created by Dulac for Stawell's My Days with the Fairies are light-hearted and full of whimsy. As such, they

suit the tone of Stawell's tales perfectly.

Some insight into Stawell's style can be gained from her Dedication:

Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders. The sunbeams who

came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too. She sat on the grass and plated with them,

and they loved her very much.

 

One day the sunbeams were sad.

 

"Penelope is going to England," they said to each other. "I am going to England with her," said

Sunbeam the First. "How?" asked the others. "I shall hid in her hair," said Sunbeam the First.

"Then," said Sunbeam the Second, "I shall go too. I shall hid behind her eyelashes." "And I," said

Sunbeam the Third, "shall hide in her heart."

 

So Penelope went to England, with one sunbeam in her hear, and one in her eyes, and one in

her heart.

 

When was was old enough to talk she spoke to the sunbeams.

 

"Shall you always stay in my hair?" she asked Sunbeam the First. "That is more than I can say," he

answered. "Perhaps when you are old I shall be obliged to go away." Then Penelope asked

Sunbeam the Second - "Shall you always stay in my eyes?" "I hope so," said Sunbeam the Second;

"but perhaps if you are unhappy I shall be obliged to go away."

 

Then the corners of Penelope's mouth began to droop a little.

 

"Dear Sunbeam," she said to Sunbeam the Third, "shall you be always in my heart?" "Yes, if you

keep me there," said Sunbeam the Third. "How can I keep you there?" asked Penelope. "You must

love the fairies," said the sunbeam, "and understand them when they speak to you. If you love

the fairies even when you are old, I shall stay in the your heart always."

 

These stories have been written for Penelope, so that she may love the fairies, and keep sunbeam

always in her heart.

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Prints

For connoisseurs of Dulac's work, we have prepared sets of 8 Greeting Cards displaying each of his colour images for My Days with the Fairies and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.             Code: ED MDF CS(8) Price: US$40.00

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-in plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted

approach typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century. Each card is

hand-finished and and the images are presented on Ivory card stock with an accompanying envelope. The rear of each

card carries information about Edmund Dulac, this wonderful suite and the profiled illustration - we have left the interior

of the cards blank so that you may write your own personal message.

Should you wish to order a Reproduction Print of one or more of these images, we have provided some options below.

Each of these large format prints is also accompanied by information about Edmund Dulac, this suite and the profiled

illustration.

To purchase, simply click on the appropriate "Add to Cart" button and you will be taken through to our Shopping Cart

secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any

destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.

Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter through

ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these wonderful images from Edmund Dulac.

The colour illustrations

The Bird of Shadows and the Sun-Bird "Please," she said, "I want to be a nightingale" (Frontispiece)	The Sea-Fairy and the Land-Fairy He held out the little shell in the beam of coloured light	Princess Orchid's Party She smiled at him very graciously when he was introduced to her	The Cloud that had no Lining And because the silver of the moonshine-fairies is very light he was able to carry a great deal of it
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 1 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 2 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 3 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 4 (12x18) Price: US$60.00
The Fairies who changed Places Drop-of-Crystal was too busy to speak	The Making of the Opal Of course the Dear Princess ... wore the great opal on the day that she was married	The Big Spider's Diamonds The web and the diamonds and the Big Spider himself all fell to the ground	A Little Girl in a Book The other people in the book looked at her in surprise
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 5 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 6 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 7 (12x18) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: ED MDF 8 (12x18) Price: US$60.00