Norma Bright Carson. The Fairy Housekeepers. Illustrations by Hazeltine Fewsmith. Boston, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard co., 1917.
I fell in love with this book! There is only 1 coloured illustration in it, however, the plain drawings are charming and delightful and entirely typical of the Art Nouveau Period. I’ve included all of the full-page illustrations, plus a few others, but if you get a chance I encourage you to check out the entire book. (The address is at the end) There are small illustrations on most pages and the story is a sweet look at how the fairies work as the seasons progress.
Endpaper, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Endpaper, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Frontispiece, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Title Page. The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 11, The Spring World Cleaning, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 14, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 23, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 53, How the Fairies work in Summer, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 103, Autumn Preparedness. The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 104, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page124, The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 141, In Grandfather Winter’s Reign. The Fairy Housekeepers.
Page 161, The Fairy Housekeepers.
The plants on that cover are Indian Pipe, Monotropa uniflora (probably). They’re a fascinating species, and quite appropriate for faeries!
Unlike most plants, they don’t have any chlorophyl. Instead of living on sunlight, they steal their energy from the underground fungal networks that are mutualistic symbionts with other plants. Their above-ground stem is dry and apparently lifeless most of the year, only briefly filling out in that ghostly white flesh when it is ready to flower.