Iris and the Dancing Gnome

About

A photograph of Elsie Wright (1901-1988) taken by Frances Griffiths (1907-1986). This photograph is the second in the 'Cottingley Fairies' series. Elsie sits in the garden as a gnome dances towards her. At the time, this photograph provoked a bizarre public discussion. If studied closely, the point of a hat pin in the gnome's stomach - used to keep the cut-out standing - can be seen. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), after examining the print, concluded that this pin point was a navel - sparking a discussion on methods of birth in the fairy kingdom. The story of the Cottingley Fairies began as a practical joke in Cottingley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire in 1917.