In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries interest in fairies was particularly strong. They represented an alternative to the materialistic and rapidly changing world following industrialisation and great population growth. In England Charles Kingsley’s Water Babies (1863) was followed by J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan (1904), with illustrations by Arthur Rackham (1906), and numerous ‘Flower Fairy’ books with illustrations by Cicely Mary Barker (from 1923). The illustration of fairies on this fan depicts an enchanting, happy and graceful world of fantasy and conveys the spirit of the times in dreams and longings for a magical world where wishes come true.

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