Postcards and Stamps: Windows to the World: Flower Feries

On 26th January I received my 5th flower fairy card. He is Ragged Robin Fairy from the book A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934. He came from Portland, Oregon (USA). The sender is the 15th on most postcards sent from USA but she is not a Postcrossing machine. Flower fairies are so lovely and I would like to collect all.

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There are nice stamps on this card. With the first one the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the bobcat (Lynx rufus), a member of the feline family found across the United States. In this bold, graphic depiction, the bobcat's golden eyes and pink nose make a striking contrast with its fur, rendered in shades of brown.

Flower fairies were painted by Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973). She was an English illustrator. Her first book, Flower Fairies of the Spring, was published in 1923. Similar books (Flower Fairies of the Summer, 1925; Flower Fairies of the Autumn, 1926; The Book of the Flower Fairies, 1927; A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934; Flower Fairies of the Trees, 1940; Flower Fairies of the Garden, 1944; Flower Fairies of the Wayside, 1948) were published in the following decades. Flower Fairies of the Winter was published posthumously (1985). Her sister conducted a kindergarten. The children in the kindergarten modelled for the flower fairies. Flower fairies are tiny creatures that live in the tree tops, marshes, forest floor, wayside and gardens. Wherever and whenever a seed sprouts, a flower fairy baby is born. Each flower fairy lives and sleeps in their chosen flower, plant or tree, and as this grows the fairy grows too. Each and every flower fairy is in charge of looking after their flower or plant; keeping it strong and healthy by making sure it has plenty of sunshine and water to drink, sweeping away dead leaves, and polishing flowers and stems. Flower fairies are nature sprites. Each fairy looks and behaves like an extra dimension of the plant it lives within and cares for. The evocative 'song' each flower fairy sings, helps convey the 'spirit' of her flower. The plants were painted from life, and if a specimen was not readily at hand, Kew Gardens staff would provide her the specimens needed. Barker designed and built the flower fairy costumes, and based each on the flowers and leaves of the particular plant to be illustrated.

My first flower fairy was the Winter Jasmine Fairy. He came from the UK in August 2011. I read the blog of nyassa, an English postcrosser and gave her information about a Hungarian postcard. She send me this lovely card as a thank.

This card was sent also with three stamps. The most interesting is the Mini, a British icon of the 1960s. This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis.

The second flower fairy came from Finland in January 2012. She is the Lavender Fairy. It is lovely!

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One month later I received a new fairy: the Rose-Bay Willow-Herb Fairy. It was also a "thank you card" from Cleootje from the Netherlands.Sheliked my card (HU-44156) so much so she sent me this nice thank you. Nyassa and Cleootje are good examples for postcrossers who send and receives a lot of cards but they are not Postcrossing machines.