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An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland
Originally published in 1918, this imaginary map depicts a marvelous variety of scenes from literature, fairy tales, and Norse and Greek mythology in a beautifully-imagined landscape. Every inch of the map is covered with vivid images from the rich body of Anglo-Saxon and English folklore, leaving almost no unused space.
To give but a few examples, Peter Pan’s house overlooks the Sea of Dreams, while Valhalla and Asgard lie on the horizon. Red Riding Hood’s cottage sits at the base of Avalon, home to Excalibur, not far from Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld. Despite the darkness of Witch Woods and The Valley of Fire on the left portion of the map, this is juxtaposed by the much brighter overall landscape, illustrating the prevalence of good over evil.
A legend at top right, flanked by angels, provides symbols for “A Wishing Well,” “Dwarfs’ Treasure,” “Elfin Temple,” “Fairie Shrine” and “Village Inn.” A faint red path travels across the landscape “From the World” to “a place that never was and always will be.”
Binding the image is an intricate foliate border, interspersed with text panels explaining the imagery on the map.
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