Mermaids by Beatrice Phillpotts
I started collecting mermaids in 1984. Over the past 10 or 15 years, there's been several books about mermaids published, full of paintings of mermaids dating back to Oannes up through John Waterhouse's beautiful painting, and quotations from poetry and from scientists of bygone ages, one of whom famously described mermaids on the same page as crayfish. Ah, to live in an era when people did not doubt the existence of mermaids any more than they did that of crayfish!
(I am still annoyed that of the two, it was crayfish that turned out to exist.)
But in 1984, none of these collections existed. There was only one, Mermaids by Beatrice Phillpotts. I found out about it from my library's card catalog, along with the novels The Mermaid Madonna (wonderful book, I recommend it) and The Mermaid's Daughter (all right, but the only mermaid was the statue of the goddess of whom the heroine was a priestess).
Unfortunately, no matter how many times I went to the shelf, Miss Phillpotts' book was never there. It had been lost. And in those pre-Internet days, the only way of finding an out of print book was to be lucky enough to stumble upon it in a used bookstore.
I never did.
When the internet took off, now and then it occurred to me that I could now easily obtain a copy, but somehow I just never did. Probably partly because of all the newer mermaid books being published, which was satisfying my mermaid cravings.
A couple of weeks ago I suddenly decided that a quarter of a century was long enough to wait, so I found the book on ebay and bought it. I received it yesterday, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait. Though if I had gotten it as a teen, I might have passed out from such an embarrassment of riches.
What's really great about it? It has mermaids I have never seen before. Most of the various mermaid books have the same pictures over and over again. Herbert Draper, John Waterhouse, Arthur Rackham, the Pears soap ad, that Greek urn, over and over. The same poems, too. Every mermaid aficionado has seen them all over and over again. I estimate that at this moment, in my various cards, framed prints, and books, I have at minimum 15 reproductions of the John Waterhouse mermaid.
But apparently whoever is compiling these books never got their hands on the Phillpotts book, because I'd say that at least half of the images in it I had never seen before. This is roughly like being a Sean Connery fan who has never seen a James Bond movie.
I highly recommend this book to mermaid lovers. Copies can be found on ebay, Alibris, Amazon, etc. for quite reasonable prices.
(I am still annoyed that of the two, it was crayfish that turned out to exist.)
But in 1984, none of these collections existed. There was only one, Mermaids by Beatrice Phillpotts. I found out about it from my library's card catalog, along with the novels The Mermaid Madonna (wonderful book, I recommend it) and The Mermaid's Daughter (all right, but the only mermaid was the statue of the goddess of whom the heroine was a priestess).
Unfortunately, no matter how many times I went to the shelf, Miss Phillpotts' book was never there. It had been lost. And in those pre-Internet days, the only way of finding an out of print book was to be lucky enough to stumble upon it in a used bookstore.
I never did.
When the internet took off, now and then it occurred to me that I could now easily obtain a copy, but somehow I just never did. Probably partly because of all the newer mermaid books being published, which was satisfying my mermaid cravings.
A couple of weeks ago I suddenly decided that a quarter of a century was long enough to wait, so I found the book on ebay and bought it. I received it yesterday, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait. Though if I had gotten it as a teen, I might have passed out from such an embarrassment of riches.
What's really great about it? It has mermaids I have never seen before. Most of the various mermaid books have the same pictures over and over again. Herbert Draper, John Waterhouse, Arthur Rackham, the Pears soap ad, that Greek urn, over and over. The same poems, too. Every mermaid aficionado has seen them all over and over again. I estimate that at this moment, in my various cards, framed prints, and books, I have at minimum 15 reproductions of the John Waterhouse mermaid.
But apparently whoever is compiling these books never got their hands on the Phillpotts book, because I'd say that at least half of the images in it I had never seen before. This is roughly like being a Sean Connery fan who has never seen a James Bond movie.
I highly recommend this book to mermaid lovers. Copies can be found on ebay, Alibris, Amazon, etc. for quite reasonable prices.