[Medieval and Renaissance Collection]

[Golden Age of Illustration Collection]

[Myths] [Fables] [Fairies] [Fairy Tales]

[About Us]

Museum of Myth, Fable, Fairy and Fairy Tale Art

Welcome to the online presence for the Spirit of the Ages Collection - our Virtual Museum of Myth, Fable, Fairy and Fairy Tale Art - and congratulations on bringing these enduring images and stories into your life.

We have created an online presence for the Spirit of the Ages Collection so that you will have the opportunity to connect with masterful illustrations prepared to accompany enduring stories from mythology, fairy tales and the classics by some of the great artists associated with the Medieval and Renaissance periods, the 19^th Century Pre-Raphaelite school, in addition to the Golden Age of Illustration, the 'fin de siècle' and Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Gothic Revival and Jugendstil movements.

In addition to showing these inspiring artworks, we also present information to place the illustrations in context such as, details of the tales being interpreted, artist biographies and contemporary reviews.

Throughout the Virtual Museum, we also provide opportunities to purchase Fine Art Posters and Greeting Cards, with all our reproduction images produced with archival quality processes to ensure many years of enjoyment.

Medieval and Renaissance Collection

Our Medieval and Renaissance Collection presents a visually and historically significant collection of Medieval and Renaissance art, including a monumental depiction of the Emperor Maximilian in Triumph surrounded by the Fates (Dürer's "Great Triumphal Chariot of Maximilian I'') shown in the Albrecht Dürer Collection, pages from ''Liber Chronicarum'' ("The Nuremberg Chronicle") showing the creation of the World and cartographic work by Münster (''Cosmographia'') and Ruscelli (''Geographia'').

Albrecht Durer - ''Knight, Death and the Devil''

Illustrations for ''Moriae Encomium'' (''The Praise of Folly'') and ''Der Todten-Tantz'' (''The Dance of Death'') are shown in the Hans Holbein Collection and Georg Scharffenberg's images for ''Der Todten-Tantz'' (''The Dance of Death'') are also on display. Similarly, we are able to show a complete set of the illustrations from the famous 1775 Kurzböck printing of ''Der Weiß Kunig''. Images are also shown from works commissioned by Emperor Maximilian, including ''Theuerdank'' and ''Seel unnd heiligen Buch Kaiser Maximilians Altfordern''.

To the left, we show ''Knight, Death and the Devil'' by Albrecht Dürer.

Golden Age of Illustration Collection

The Golden Age of Illustration Collection contains more than 5000 genuine antique and vintage illustrations from some of the greatest

Golden Age artists, including those from England, France, Germany, Australia, Holland and the United States of America. Wonderful images

will greet you from tales like ''Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'', ''A Midsummer-Night's Dream'', "The Tempest" (with versions from

Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, "The Arabian Nights" (with versions by Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, Edward Julius Detmold,

René Bull, Virginia Sterrett and Thomas Mackenzie), 'Arthur and His Knights'', ''Tales from Hans Anderson'' (with versions by

Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, Dugald Walker, Harry Clarke and Duncan Carse), ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' (with versions by

Edmund Dulac, Willy Pogány, René Bull and Anne Harriet Fish), ''Alice in Wonderland'' (with versions by Arthur Rackham and

Adrienne Ségur), Dante's ''La Vita Nuova'', Wagner's ''The Ring of Niblung'' (with versions by Arthur Rackham and Maxfield Parrish),

Poe's ''The Bells and Other Poems'' and Goethe's ''Faust'' (with versions by Willy Pogány and Harry Clarke).

To the right, we show ''The Sea Battle'' by Arthur Rackham.

Other artists represented in the Golden Age of Illustration Collection include Gustave Doré, Romain de Tirtoff (Erté),

Sulamith Wülfing, Jessie M King, Warwick Goble, Violet Brunton, Reginald and Horace Knowles, Frank C Papé,

Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Edward Burne-Jones, William Russell Flint, Heinrich Lefler and Joseph Urban,

Sidney Meteyard, Florence Anderson, Léon Bakst, Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, John Bauer, Daphne Allen,

Dorothy Lathrop, Sidney H Sime, Vernon Hill, Gustaf Tenggren, Leo Bates, Evelyn de Morgan, John Byam Shaw,

Ivan Bilibin, Newell Convers Wyeth, Jean de Bosschère, Carl Otto Czeschka, Richard Doyle and Gustave Moreau.

Our 'Petit' Collection also highlights lovely images from artists with more minor representations within the Collection.

To the left, we show ''The Story of a Mother'' by Kay Nielsen.

Those with an interest in Fairies will find many wonderful examples in the work of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Arthur Rackham,

Warwick Goble, Reginald and Horace Knowles, Daphne Allen, Florence Anderson and Dorothy Lathrop.

Orientalists and romantics will find captivating work in suites from Edmund Dulac and René Bull.

For the lover of richly detailed monotone work, there are glorious examples in the Collections dedicated to Gustave Doré,

Dugald Walker, Willy Pogány, Harry Clarke, Sidney H Sime and Vernon Hill.

Similarly, for those with a penchant for the Hero's tale, inspiring work may be found in suites prepared by Frank C Papé.

This list goes on, of course – and we are sure you will enjoy every moment of considering the art held within the Collection.

To the right, we show an illustration from ''Gods and Mortals in Love'' by Edmund Dulac.

Gustave Dore - 'The Road to Jerusalem' from Michaud's ''History of the Crusades''

Our Reproduction Prints, in particular, provide a somewhat unique opportunity to embrace the enduring artistic legacy of the Masters.

When you do so, you will be joining our valued clientele who include screenwriters, television production companies, Japanese pop stars,

obstetricians, anthropologists and other lovers of this wonderful artwork.

While we respect the privacy of all our clients, we are able to share the tales of recent sales - to read more about our sale highlights, visit

our About Us page.

On the left, we show a recent sale highlight -

an image from Gustave Doré's suite for

Michaud's "History of the Crusades".

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