Visitors to Leeds Central Library are being invited to step inside the pages of antique works by iconic storytellers such as The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen as the library explores the remarkable realm of fantasy.
And a jaw-dropping pair of mythical dragons are also carefully watching over their eggs in the library in an installation created by fantasy artist Anne Stokes.
Among the elaborately illustrated tomes on display in Fantasy: Realms of Imagination, will be vintage copies of Grimms Fairy Tales, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travels and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, complete with stunning illustrations by the renowned Arthur Rackham.
The gallery below features a selection of pictures from the enchanting exhibition:
1. Elaborately illustrated tomes
Among the elaborately illustrated tomes on display in Fantasy: Realms of Imagination, will be vintage copies of Grimms Fairy Tales, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travels and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photo: James Hardisty Photo: James Hardisty
2. Heather Edwards librarian and digital assistant at Leeds Central Library reads a vintage Fairytales book by Hans Christian Andersen next to a dragon created by fantasy artist Anne Stokes, ahead of the Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition which opening this Friday at Leeds Central Library the exhibition explores the history of fantasy from 500BC up to the present day and includes rare illustrated books of classic fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. Picture By Yorkshire Post Photographer, James Hardisty. Date: 7th November 2023.
As well as exploring the golden age of fairy tales, the exhibition will take library-goers on a quest through the historic building, with different spaces exploring the origins of fantasy stories in ancient cultures across the world as well as looking at how the genre has influenced pop culture today. Photo: James Hardisty Photo: James Hardisty
3. Works on display
Other works on display will include an 1894 edition of The Story of the Glittering Plain by famed poet, artist and fantasy writer William Morris, illustrated with black and white woodcut designs by Walter Crane. Photo: James Hardisty Photo: James Hardisty
4. Greek coins
Other objects on display, on loan from Leeds Museums and Galleries, include ancient Greek coins dating from more than 2,000 years ago featuring the monstrous Gorgon and the fabled winged horse Pegasus, fantastical creatures which were key characters in Greek mythology. Photo: James Hardisty Photo: James Hardisty
5. Little Red Riding Hood
Pictured An illustration from Little Red Riding Hood, published in Grimm's Fairy Tales, Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Photo: James Hardisty Photo: James Hardisty
6. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Pictured is an illustration from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland published by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Photo: James Hardisty Photo: James Hardisty