Fairy Tales are something that might have been read to us when we were children and they have been read to our mothers and fathers, there mothers and fathers and so forth for many generations.
In fact, some of the best known fairy tales authors such as Hans Christian Andersen and the Brother's Grimm have established such a role in society that we couldn't possibly go through life without hearing of the Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea or Hansel and Grettel's ginger bread house.
Needless to say, fairy tales books are some of the best illustrated thanks to the creativity of the stories and the popularity that audiences received them with. Some of the world's most prolific illustrators, known as the Golden Age illustrators, have illustrated fairy tales books including Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and Kay Nielsen.
I have tried to showcase a few examples of the classic 'fairy' below, illustrated by various authors throughout various eras. Constantly re-drawn and re-imagined, fairies are a chance for illustrators to showcase their imagination and skill.
E.S Hardy - Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
Hebert Cole - Fairy-Gold
Jeannie McConnell - A Pilgrimage in Fairyland
Andersen's Fairy Tales - Margaret W Tarrant
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R. Savage - Queen Mab's Fairy Realm
A.D McCormick - Drake's Drum
Charles Robinson - True Annals of Fairyland
Sir John Gilbert - Tales from Shakespeare
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