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Reginald
and Horace Knowles Collection
Throughout the page that follows, we have presented a
selection of vintage images from both Reginald Knowles
and his brother, Horace Knowles.
These images are drawn from contributions to titles
including: Legends from Fairyland
(1907);
Norse Fairy Tales (1910);
and Old-World Love Stories
(1913) and Peeps into
Fairyland (1924).
We have developed a range of
Giftware that includes images
reproduced from the 1st Edition plates in our collection
to ensure the most accurate form, line and colour possible. We have utilised a high definition capture and reproduction
technique for the
images - in contrast to the low definition representation necessary for this
website. The illustrations
are available as cards, infants' clothing, T-shirts
and unmatted, matted or framed prints (8x6", 10x8", 12x10", 15x10" and
30 x 20" images sizes).
Pricing starts at US$4 for single Gift Cards (US$18 for select packs of 6) and 10 x 8" prints
(double-matted and framed) begin at US$60. Further details on those
reproduction images are available at the
Giftware
section of this
site.
Should you wish to discuss an order, please contact us at
ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com referencing your request
with the Stock
Code of the plate, or plates in question and a brief description (and rest assured, we do accept payment
through PayPal or Direct Bank
Deposit).
In the meantime, enjoy browsing our selection of
genuine vintage and antique plates.
The Artwork of Reginald Knowles
Reginald Knowles (1879-1950) was a book designer
and illustrator who worked with his brother, Horace Knowles,
on a number of exquisite illustrated books in the first two decades
of the 20th Century, including Legends from Fairyland (1907),
Norse
Fairy Tales (1910) and Old World Love-Stories
(1913).
While both brothers usually share equal credit, it is
understood that most of the colour illustrations and detailed monotone
images were prepared by Reginald Knowles.
The Art Nouveau, Fantasy and Gothic Revival imagery
captured in the illustrations by Knowles is magnificent.
Legends from Fairy Land
(1907)
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A rare copy of Legends from
Fairy Land by Holme Lee (the pseudonym used by Harriet Parr) -
illustrated by Reginald and Horace Knowles - as co-jointly
published by Chatto & Windus (London) and J B Lippincott Co.
(Philadelphia) in 1907.
This copy shows the original
decoratively gilt-stamped maroon
leather cover.
On the left, is the front cover
is the side cover design.
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Legends from Fairy Land
is a work from the Victorian Era writer Harriet Parr (1828-1900), who, due
to British moraes of the period,
wrote under the pseudonym of Home Lee. This version
of Parr's work is sumptuously decorated by Reginald Knowles and his brother,
Horace Knowles, who depict the history of Price
Glee and Princess Trill, misadventures of Aunt Spite, tales of The Great
Tuflongbo
and the story of the Blackcap in the Giant's Well.
Prior to distribution of Legends from Fairy Land,
expectations for the book were reported in The New York Times of
August 29, 1908, thus:
"Legends from Fairyland," by Holme Lee, will
be remembered with delight by the older generation, and
these will be glad to hear that a new edition is in
preparation for early publication by the J. B. Lippincott
Company. The author, whose real name was Harriet
Parr, is best remembered for her work on "The Life
and Death of Jeanne D'Arc," and for a number of
novels which saw the light in fifties, sixties and seventies.
This new issue of the fairytales will be
elaborately illustrated by drawing, 250 in number, by Reginald L.
Knowles and Horace J. Knowles. It will also have an
introduction by Effie H. Freemantle.
A century after publication of Legends from Fairy
Land, the illustrations by the Reginald Knowles and his brother, Horace
Knowles
continue to be a delight.
As you consider the images that follow, keep in mind
the closing thoughts of Effie Freemantle from her Introduction to
Legends from Fairy Land:
Dear little children, be pure as the lilies, sweet
as the rose, gentle as the butterflies; and, above all, soar
with the lark, - then truly your path through
Shadowland and Sheneland will lead you into Fairy Land
indeed.
Numeous monotone images
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End Papers
(I)
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 1 |
End Papers
(II)
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 2 |
The Return of
Princess Trill and Prince Glee
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 3 |
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The Mystery of the Rose
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 4 |
The Chronicler of
Fairyland
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 5
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The Glamour of
Fairyland
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 6 |
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In every Flower and Leaf ... the
Shadows
of the Elves and Fairies
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 7 |
Banner-bearer
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 8
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The Wicked Fairy ...
lurking in their midst
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 9 |
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The Moon and Stars
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 10 |
Mannikin Hope
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 11 |
Little Maid Brisk
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 12 |
Wicked Clutch
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 13 |
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Brown, White, and Speckled
Butterflies
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 14 |
The Lily and the Rose
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 15 |
Little Maid Brisk
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 16 |
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Brown, White, and Speckled
Butterflies
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 17 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 18 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 19 |
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Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 20 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 21 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 22 |
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Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 23 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 24 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 25 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 25 |
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Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 27 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 28 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 29 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 30 |
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Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 31 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 32 |
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: K LFL 33 |
Norse Fairy Tales (1910)
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A rare copy of Norse Fairy
Tales -
illustrated by Reginald and Horace Knowles and published by George
Routledge & Sons Limited (London) in
1910.
This copy shows the original
pictorial hardback covers.
On the left, is the front cover
and to the right, detail from the rear cover.
Knowles' artwork for the front and rear covers is derived from the
following passage from the tale, "The Cat on the Doverfell":
Then the White Bear rose up and
growled, and hunted the whole pack of them out of doors, both great
and small. |
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The Half-Title,
Title and Letterpress Title pages to Norse Fairy Tales |
Norse Fairy Tales is a selection and
adaptation from translations of traditional Norse tales prepared by Sir
George Webbe Dasent.
The selection, prepared by F J Simmons, includes
fifty-five fairy tales. Among those stories are: "East o' the Sun and West
o' the
Moon"; "Why the Sea is Salt"; "The Princess on the
Glass Hill"; "The Mastermaid"; "The Three Billy-Goats Gruff"; "Soria Moria
Castle"; and "The Three Princesses of Whiteland".
Simmons provides an informative introduction to the
collection in the Preface, thus:
Sir George Webbe Dasent's Popular Tales from the
Norse, from which most of these stories are taken,
was originally published in 1858, and an enlarged
edition with thirteen further tales in 1859. The book
was not intended as a children's book, any more
than was the collection of Folk Tales of the brothers
Grimm. Many of the incidents will be found the same
in both collections, as is the case in such tales
all the world over, but with such variation in the
setting and characters as makes them the more
interesting. As Sir George Dasent says in his
introduction, "They are Nursery Tales, in fact, of the days
when there were tales in nurseries, old wives'
fables, which have faded away before the light of gas
and the power of steam."
A selection of the tales for the use of children
was issued in 1861, with a few illustrations. This, however,
omitted many of the most interesting of the stories
- stories which, as they stood, were hardly fit for
young people. So little alteration, however, was
needed, beyond the pruning of expressions unfit for
childish lips, and the modifying of a few incidents
beyond the juvenile experience, that I have had the
temerity to attempt the task.
The stories in the present volume that do not come
from Popular Norse Tales I have taken from
another of Sir George Dasant's translations,
Tales from the Fjeld, a book that contains a large number
of quite as charming tales as this does. For
permission to do this I am indebted to the kindness of
Messrs. Gibbings & Co., the owners of the
copyright.
The majority of the colour and monotone
illustrations were prepared by Reginald Knowles with contributions from his
brother,
Horace Knowles. The Preface notes the following:
The illustrations are in most cases signed by the
artist who drew them. The one on page 367 is by
Horace J Knowles, and all the other unsigned
pictures are by Reginal L Knowles, who also made the
cover design and the coloured illustrations with
the exception of the one illustrating "The Blue Belt,"
which is the joint work of the two artists.
In terms of illustrated books, Norse Fairy Tales
is a magnificent volume. The fantasy imagery depicted by Reginald Knowles
suits
the subject matter superbly and it has been cited
as an influence on the work of, among others, Maurice Sendak.
Numeous colour and mono-tone images
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End Papers |
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The Haunt of the Troll
(I)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 1 |
The Haunt of the
Troll
(II)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 2
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Half-Title |
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The Home-going Trolls
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 3 |
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Frontispiece |

Page with Frontispiece and
integrated ornate border |

Frontispiece |
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Boots and the Troll
Boots and the Princess
outwitting the Troll
The surrounding border design
depicts 'The Web of Fate'
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 4 |
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Title Page |

Page with illustration and
integrated ornate border |

Illustration |
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The Squirrel, messenger of the
Norse Gods, carrying tales
between the Dragon who guards
the Well of Knowledge,
and the Eagle who dwells in the
mystic tree Yggdrasil,
beneath whose branches sit Three
Norns spinning
the fates of men
The surrounding border design
depicts 'The Web of Fate'
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 5 |
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Letterpress Title |
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The Spirit of these Tales, and
of almost all Fairy Tales, the
Rescue of the Princess from the
Troll
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 6 |
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True and Untrue |
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When they had walked till
evening they sat down in a wood
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 7 |
So he climbed up
into a lime tree
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 8 |
They had come to
keep St John's Eve
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 9 |
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The Lassie and her
Godmother |
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He met the kind Lady again
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 10 |
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How one went out to
woo |
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There was a lad who went to woo
him a wife
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 11 |
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Why the Sea is Salt |
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An old, old man with a long
white beard
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 12 |
The old dame stood
by, blessing her stars
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 13 |
Away he went, as
though the Evil One were at his heels
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 14 |
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The heap of salt grew higher and
higher,
and at last down sank the ship
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 15 |
There lies the quern
at the bottom of the sea,
and grinds away at
this very day
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 16
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Shortshanks |
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Away went the ship as swiftly as
a bird
through the air
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 17 |
They were all so
amazed that they ran down
to see who it could
be
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 18 |
"Fire and Flame!"
screamed the Ogre
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 19 |
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Away went all of his five heads
(I)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 20 |
Away went all of his
five heads (II)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 21 |
Flying over the sand
(I)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 22 |
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Flying over the sand (II)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 23 |
Flying over the sand
(III)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 24 |
There he stood, in
his golden robe,
all gleaming and
glittering in the light
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 25 |
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The Princess on the
Glass Hill |
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He stole to the door and peeped
through a chink
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 26 |
He had silver mail
and a silver saddle and bridle
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 27 |
He stood before them
in his gleaming golden mail
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 28 |
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The Best Wish |
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The innkeeper's wife came to the
window
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 29 |
Such a handsome
fellow
out in the yard
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 30 |
He pulled out his
scissors and cut in the air
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 31 |
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So Jack got the Princess and
half the kingdom
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 32 |
The wedding
procession
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 33 |
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The Three Aunts |
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"How in the world can my lovely
bride
have such misshapen aunts!"
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 34 |
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Not a Pin to choose
between them |
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"It must be some strange
outlandish bird"
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 35 |
"I'm only carrying
in a little sun"
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 36 |
He jumped into the
cart and drove off
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 37 |
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The Old Dame and her
Hen |
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She had no stock but one single
hen
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 38 |
He was about to
untie the mouth of the sack
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 39
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Jack and the Troll
have an Eating Match |
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"If you hew in this wood of
mine, I'll kill you!"
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 40 |
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Katie Woodencloak |
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So they rushed at one another
and fought
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 41 |
"I see nothing but
the sky
and the wind fell,"
said
the King's daughter
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 42 |
"Bright before and
dark behind,
Clouds come rolling
on the wind;
That this Prince may
never see
Where my good steed
goes with me."
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 43 |
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The Cat on the
Dovrefell |
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"Every Christmas Eve such a pack
of Trolls
come down upon us, that we are
forced to flit"
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 44 |
So, when everything
was ready,
down came the Trolls
(I)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 45 |
So, when everything
was ready,
down came the Trolls
(I)
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 46 |
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"Have you got your big cat with
you still?"
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 47 |
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Hacon Grizzlebeard |
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No suitor was good enough for
her
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 48 |
He sat down under
the Princess' window and began
to file away at his
spinning wheel
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 49 |
When the Princess
heard what
was going on, she
came to the
window
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 50 |
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So she got leave to go with the
beggar,
and they walked a long, long way
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 51 |
"Here is the
beggar," said Hacon Grizzlebeard.
The she knew him
again
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 52
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Taming the Shrew |
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"No, I have not," said the lad,
"but this is worn out,"
as he pulled out the shoe sole
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 53 |
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East o' the Sun and
West o' the Moon |
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The prettiest was the
youngest daughter
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 54 |
"Mind and hold tight
to my shaggy coat, and then
there's nothing to
fear," said the bear
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 55 |
She saw that he was
the loveliest Prince
one ever set eyes on
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 56 |
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An old hag sat and played with a
golden apple
which she tossed about
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 57 |
"Shrivel you both
up, what do you want?"
roared the North
Wind
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 58 |
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Boots and the Troll |
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A Troll had seven silver ducks
which swam on the lake
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 59 |
The Troll caught
hold of him at once and took
him off into the
cave
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 60
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Rich Peter the
Pedlar |
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The Stargazers looked and looked
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 61 |
After he had walked
some way he came
to a King's palace
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 62 |
The Dragon came home
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 63 |
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When they had come out into the
stream he
cast him into the midst of the
river
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 64 |
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The Mastermaid |
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He called on his stream-sucker,
and he came
and stooped down and took three
gulps
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 65 |
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Jack and his
Brothers |
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Just against the King's windows
a great oak
had sprung up
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 66 |
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The Three Bill-Goats
Gruff |
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"Who's that tripping over my
bridge?"
roared the Troll
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 67 |
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The Giant who had no
Heart in his Body |
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In that well swims a duck
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 68 |
In a trice the raven
came, and flew up and
fetched the keys
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 69 |
The salmon came and
fetched up the egg
from the bottom of
the well
Provenance: An Irish Collector
Code: K NFT 70 |
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Why the Bear is
Stumpy-tailed |
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