Secrets of the Flowers (1919)

Illustrated by Florence Anderson

To the left, we show an original 1st Edition of Secrets of the Flowers - as published by Jarrolds Publishers (London) Limited in 1919.   This example retains the original brown-stamped board cover with applied colour paste-down.                 On the right, we show the illustrated Title Page for Secrets of the Flowers.

Secrets of the Flowers is the work of Edith M Coker and for the 1st Edition published by Jarrolds Publishers (London)

Limited in 1919, Florence Anderson contributed a delightful suite of colour illustrations, in addition to marginal

monotone images.

The Introduction penned by Coker sets the scene for the story of each Flower described in the tales:

"Once upon a time" - that is the right way to being a story, is it not? - there were no

flowers upon this earth. A great King who lived a long way off was here on a visit.

He had come to see that this country was ready for some of the people of his own

land who were coming to live here. But when he saw there were no flowers, he

knew his friends would feel lonely and sad; they would miss the beautiful blossoms

which grew in their old home. So, determining to make this world as lovely as

possible for them, he set to work and soon made lots and lots of gay-coloured

flowers.

As he had something wonderful to say to them, he appointed a certain day for them

all to meet him in a wood. It was a beautiful spot. It had tall trees, long waving ferns,

and soft green grasses growing all about it, but it was really surprising how much

more beautiful it looked when it had ever so many colours in it. The blue-bells and

violets, the roses and lilies, the poppies and sunflowers, all looked very bright with

the sun shining on them, and the little fairies who lived in the holes in the oak trees

smiled, for they knew that now they would have some playmates.

Presently this army of flowers came to a large circle of grass, where the bushes grew

all round and the trees met overhead, so here they sat down and waited for the

King. He soon came, and when he saw these smiling flowers he smiled too. It

pleased him to see how eagerly they all raised their heads to greet him. They all sat

very quietly waiting for him to speak, except the little hare-bells, who were really

so excitable they could not keep still for long. The the King spoke:-

"My little children," she said, "my dear little children, I have made you,

not only because I love to see you, but because I have a special mission

for you. I am sending some people to live on this earth. Sometimes

they will be sad, and you must cheer them. Sometimes they will be sick,

and you must comfort them. Sometimes they will be lonely, and you

must just breathe quietly so they can tell by the perfume that you are

near, and they will thank you for reminding them of the Friend who

cares for them. You must always be cheerful. Keep your faces turned

to the sun that will make you bright. And I will never forget you: I will

send rain to refresh you, the moon shall watch over you while you

sleep, the sun shall wake you with a 'good morning' kiss. In the Winter

when it is cold the snow shall keep you warm. Old people will cherish

you, little children will love you. Go forth, do your duty, and my

blessing shall rest on you".

So the flowers turned away, each going to its home.

Anderson's illustrations are a wonderful complement to the text from Coker and remain gorgeous examples from an artist

identified with the British Fairy School.

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Prints

For connoisseurs of Anderson's work, se have prepared sets of 8 Greeting Cards displaying each of her colour images for Secrets of the Flowers and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.             Code: FA SF CS(8) Price: US$40.00

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-in plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted

approach typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century. Each card is

hand-finished and and the images are presented on Ivory card stock with an accompanying envelope. The rear of each

card carries information about Florence Anderson, this wonderful suite and the profiled illustration - we have left the

interior of the cards blank so that you may write your own personal message.

Should you wish to order a Reproduction Print of one or more of these images, we have provided some options below.

Each of these large format prints is also accompanied by information about Florence Anderson, this suite and the profiled

illustration.

To purchase, simply click on the appropriate "Add to Cart" button and you will be taken through to our Shopping Cart

secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any

destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.

Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter through

ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these wonderful images from Florence Anderson.

The colour illustrations

The Lily A wicked Fairy ... knocked off her head. (Frontispiece)	The Poppy "Admire me; see how gorgeous I am".	The Daisy She always saves a drop of water for any thirsty Butterfly.	The Star of Bethlehem So they opened their eyes as wide as possible.
Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C1 (11x14) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C2 (11x14) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C3 (11x14) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C4 (11x14) Price: US$60.00
The Wallflower "Well ... I can't smell anything," said the Robin.	The Forget-Me-Not A Sunbeam ... was dancing in and out among the Forget-Me-Nots.	Harebells The little bells have never left off ringing.	Snowdrops Davie touched them saying, "Is it snow?".
Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C5 (11x14) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C6 (11x14) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C7 (11x14) Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 11x14" sheet Code: FA SF C8 (11x14) Price: US$60.00