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Cottingley Fairies Collection

Archive Collection: BC MS Cottingley Fairies

Details

Type of record: Archive

Title: Cottingley Fairies Collection

Level: Collection

Classmark: BC MS Cottingley Fairies

Date(s): 1920-2010

Language: English

Size and medium: 7 boxes (+ 11 books and a video shelved sepraately), containing photographs, manuscripts, typescripts, printed material (some photocopies), a tape recording, and a DVD.

Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/8705

Description

Comprises: (1) BOOKS: 11 books (and 1 video) related to the case of the Cottingley Fairies, 1973-1998; (2) JOURNAL ARTICLES, 1920-1992: including the 1920 and 1921 issues of the Strand Magazine in which the fairy photographs were originally published, and twelve issues of the British Journal of Photography containing a series of articles by Geoffrey Crawley entitled "That Astonishing Affair of the Cottingley Fairies", 1982-1985, which revealed how the photographs were probably made; (3) NEWS CUTTINGS relating to the case of the Cottingley Fairies; (4) MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS, including early documents relating to the photographs, two sketches of flying fairies by Elsie Wright, slides, a tape recording of a 1971 BBC TV programme, and material relating to more recent media interest, including a DVD of a BBC One Show programme entitled "Sir Arthur and the Fairies", broadcast on 11 December 2008; (5) CORRESPONDENCE: 2 boxes of correspondence, including 22 letters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; (6)
PHOTOGRAPHS: prints of the 5 fairy photographs; early glass negatives; enlargements of the fairy photographs; "behind the scenes" photographs; 9 damaged photographs; and several other photographs by Elsie and Frances of Elsie, Frances, other people, and landscapes.


Additional material listed 2014: Photocopy of Elsie Hill's letter of confession, 1983; material relating to Picture Box, ITV for schools, 1988 episode drama The Cottingley Faries, includes workbook and script

Biography or history

Elsie Wright (d. 1988) and Frances Griffiths (d. 1986), who were cousins living in Cottingley, West Yorkshire, took photographs of supposed fairies in 1917, when they were respectively 16 and 10 years old. Two photographs were published in the Strand Magazine in 1920, and two more in 1921. They were described in the magazine by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed them to be genuine. Finally in 1983 came a public admission that the photographs were fakes, and that the two girls had made them with paper cut-out fairies held with hat-pins. However, Frances maintained until her death that one of the photographs was genuine, and that they had seen fairies in Cottingley.

System of arrangement

The BC MS Cottingley Fairies catalogue is based on an historic inventory. The arrangement of material does not necessarily represent the original order of the archive and it is considered partly processed by an archivist. When making requests to consult, please be aware that there may be discrepancies between description and physical arrangement. The retrievable unit for this collection is file level.

Access and usage

Reproduction

Access

Access to this material is unrestricted.

Material in this section of the collection is not original and the Library is not authorised to provide copies for any purpose. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.

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