The Vanishing People: A Study of Traditional Fairy Beliefs
Folklore Mythology Celtic Studies Fairy tales British history Occult & Spirituality Medieval religion Collector’s item
Katharine Briggs’ The Vanishing People: A Study of Traditional Fairy Beliefs (1978, first edition) is the definitive folklorist’s guide to the hidden folk traditions of the British Isles, now scarce in collectible, dust-jacketed condition. In 218 pages of crisp prose and period illustrations, Briggs—Britain’s premier fairy lore scholar—traces how generations of country people wove encounters with “the Good Folk” into ballads, superstitions, and place-names, showing how these stories sustained community spirituality long after organized religion waned. Because the book was used as a university text, most copies were heavily handled; this vintage hardcover retains a bright jacket, square binding, and only minimal shelf flecks, making it a shelf-worthy upgrade for readers, writers, and artists seeking authentic source material.
What sets The Vanishing People apart from later New-Age fairy titles is its balance of scholarly rigor and storytelling magic. Briggs maps the fairies’ shifting roles—guardians, omens, moral teachers—across centuries of ballads, regional legends, and seasonal rituals, revealing how belief adapted to historical upheavals. The book is packed with hard-to-find tales like the Selkirkshire “Fairies’ Farewell,” along with Briggs’ own line drawings that capture regional costume and custom. For young-adult readers venturing beyond sanitized fairy tales, or adults researching historical witchcraft, medieval spirituality, or Celtic mythology, this edition delivers primary source material not duplicated later.
For collectors of British folklore, this copy is particularly desirable because it predates the abridged reprints and retains the 1978 jacket art depicting the disappearing fairy court. The sturdy hardcover format makes it ideal for repeated reference, and a neat inscription on the front endpaper (name/date) provides provenance without obscuring text. These first-printing volumes seldom surface with intact dust wrappers and clean pages, so this copy represents an affordable entry into collecting folkloric classics before they reach museum-level prices.
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