Birds Caught Kissing. Gnomes, Elves and Fairies watch. c1915.

by Stuart Hardy, Evelyn

Antique print of Elves and Gnomes with Insects, gathering scraps after a picnic on the grass among the mushrooms.

Wood engraving by E. Stuart Hardy for The Book of Gnomes, written by Fred E. Weatherly; published by Ernest Nister in London c.1915 (first edition published in 1895). Evelyn Stuart Hardy was the pseudonym adopted by Beatrice Evelyn Elizabeth Hardy (1865-1935), who was born in Clifton, Bristol, to a family of artists. 

Frederic Edward Weatherly (1848-1929) was a London-based barrister who worked the western circuit to Bristol. During WWI he also pleaded cases for military courts in the Salisbury Plain. Sometimes at night, between 2 appointments, or on the train between 2 trials, he wrote songs, poems and childrens stories - about 3,000 in all - of which about half were set to music and published. His best known lyrics were for the well-known song, Danny Boy and Roses of Picardy. 

E. Stuart Hardy's illustrations for The Book of Gnomes are some of the most delightful children's illustrations ever done. The addition of later hand-colour to this illustration makes it even more enjoyable.

To the border of the image measures 220 x 265mm (approximately 8 5/8 x 10 1/2 inches).