Fairy Plants: A Fern-Book for Children
London: John Ouseley, Ltd., [1910].
First Edition. Hardcover. "I want to tell you that in this beautiful and marvellous world there are things far more wonderful—and yet real—than anything you have ever read about in fairy books..." So begins your invitation into the fairy-land of fern-culture through the pages of this 1910 guide to pteridology for children. In Fairy Plants: A Fern-Book for Children, we find the life cycle of a fern from spore to full growth through the language of fairies; the book begins with fairy-like and gem-like fern spores flying out and beginning their adventures from the Male Fern's miniscule spore box, or "wonderful box," and the transformation of this spore into what can truly be called a plant is detailed scientifically but also as much like when "a swan is changed into a beautiful girl." There are also chapters devoted to notable ferns and how to distinguish them, and even folklore for such ferns as the Moonwort, out of which Queen Mab is said to have made saddles for her tiny horses. Adding to its charms are the 39 detailed figures of fern subjects throughout, comprising 180 total specimens, as well as lovely illustrated initials featuring ferns for each chapter's first letter, just as you would find in a book of Grimm's or Andersen's in that era.
From the 1830s into the early 20th century, fern-hunting became a popular pursuit among the British, inspiring Charles Kingsley, author of The Water-Babies, to coin the term Pteridomania, literally "fern madness." Coinciding with the popularity of fern-culture was a trend in introducing science to children not through rote fact and figure but through none other than fairy tales, and again, Charles Kingsley's The Water-Babies, a children's fantasy in support of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, is an early example. Fairy Plants: A Fern-Book for Children unites Victorian-era "fern madness" and the "fairy tale of science," welcoming children into the magic and beauty of fern-culture.
Fairy-Plants is the work of Francis George Heath (1843-1913), a botanist, civil servant, and pioneer of the Open Space and Green Belt movements in England, which championed the preservation of nature for public enjoyment. Heath was the author of nearly two dozen books on the glories of nature, including eight bestselling books on ferns, as well as titles like Tree Lore, Tree Gossip, Sylvan Winter, My Garden Wild, The Green Gateway, Garden Rockery, and many more. Though eight of Heath's books on ferns became bestsellers, with The Fern Paradise running to eight editions and The Fern World to twelve, this book introducing children to an appreciation of ferns seems to be much more obscure. OCLC shows only 4 holdings in libraries around the world and the book is scarce on the market as well. This is a quite presentable presumed first edition of Francis George Heath's fairy-tale introduction to fern-culture for children.
Presumed first and only edition. 7 5/8" X 5 1/8". xv, 236pp, plus one page of ads for author's other books. Bound in full sky blue cloth, with fern in green to upper board and spine, both lettered in gilt, with subtitle in green to upper board. Mild wear to binding, with bumping to corners, lower corner of upper board split, and gentle bumping to head and tail of spine. Gift inscription dated Christmas 1919 to front free endpaper. Some toning and stray spot of foxing to endpapers. Crease to title page. Pages are rather evenly tanned and otherwise unmarked throughout. Binding is firm and sound. Illustrated throughout in 180 figures of fern subjects, with lovely illustrated initials featuring ferns for each chapter's first letter. OCLC shows only 4 holdings, all in the U.K.
Chapters include: The Wonderful Box, A True Fairy Tale, The Transformation Scene, Adventures in a Lane, By a River Bank, On the Sea Cliffs, Royal Fern and Polypodies, The Beautiful Bracken, About the Moonwort, Adderstongues, The Buckler Ferns, The Graceful Lady Fern, Hartstongues, Maidenhairs, Spleenworts, Some More Polypodies, Shield Ferns, The Bladder Ferns, The Parsley Fern, Hard Ferns, The Lovely Bristle Fern, The Annual Maidenhair, Filmy Ferns, Woodsias, and Bringing Ferns Home, along with an index. Very good. Item #6782
Price: $295.00