The Case of the Cottingley Fairies
In the early part of this century, Arthur Conan Doyle endorsed these photos as genuine evidence of fairy folk... What was he thinking?
Click on the above thumbnails for a larger view.
In 1917 two innocent-seeming English schoolgirls, 16-year-old Elsie Wright and her 10-year-old cousin Frances Griffiths, launched a deception that somehow managed to fool many people over the following years, including the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While playing in Cottingley Glen, just behind the Wright home, the girls took what they claimed were close-up photographs of winged fairies dancing amid the foliage. The girls then took each other's picture with the wee creatures, and photo experts who were consulted said that the images were not double exposures nor had the negatives been altered. The simple fact is that the girls had just posed with very obvious cutouts of fairy drawings to make the "authentic" pictures. A complete account appears in my book, Flim-Flam!
Some sixty years later, the aging Elsie and Frances confessed to what had begun as a prank but soon got out of hand as the story was publicized. Paramount Pictures recently revived the case with the magical release Fairy Tale: A True Story. Unfortunately, the film failed to provide modern audiences with many of the incriminating details that are now known of the Cottingley hoax.
Of the nine remarkable Arthur Conan Doyle letters that the JREF has just received, four directly relate to the infamous Cottingley Fairy photos, and five to the famous "Margery" affair in Boston that involved Houdini. I will describe here the first four.
Two of the letters were written and mailed on June 30, 1920. The photographs had been put away in a drawer at the Wright home for three years, Mr. Wright having decided that they were only pranks, though his wife was thoroughly convinced of the authenticity of the fairies; she was a Theosophist, and that religion accepts elves, fairies, goblins and all such nonsense. These two letters from Conan Doyle were sent about a month after he had first been informed that the two girls, Elsie and Frances, had produced the fairy images. Very properly, Conan Doyle wrote separate letters to Miss Elsie Wright, then 19 years old, and to her father, Arthur Wright. Elsie's letter arrived by registered mail, addressed to:
Miss Elsie Wright
31, Main Street
Cottingley
near Bingley
Yorks.
June 30 - First letter from Arthur Conan Doyle to Elsie Wright
Both this and the next are written on stationary imprinted "THE ATHENƕM, PALL MALL, S.W.1." That address has been stroked out, and "Windlesham Crowborough" has been written in. Thanks to a tip from Ian Miller, we learn that the Athen�?is a gentleman's club for the "intellectually elite," still in existence in Pall Mall today.
June 30
Dear Miss Elsie Wright I have seen the wonderful pictures of the fairies which you and your cousin Frances have taken, and I have not been so interested for a long time. I will send you tomorrow one of my little books for I am sure you are not too old to enjoy adventures. I am going to Australia soon, but I only wish before I go that I could get to Bradford and have half an hours chat with you, for I should like to hear all about it. With best wishes
Yours sincerely
Arthur Conan Doyle
Mr Gardner told me about it.
 | | The Case of the Cottingley Fairies June 30 Letter from Arthur Conan Doyle to Arthur Wright  |  | Dear Mr. Wright I have seen the very interesting photos which your little girl took. They are certainly amazing. I was writing a little article for the Strand upon the evidence for the existence of fairies, so that I was very much interested. I should naturally like to use the photos, along with other material, in my article but would not of course do so without your knowledge and permission. It would be in the Xmas number. I suggest - That no name be mentioned, so that neither you nor your daughter be annoyed in any way.
- That the use be reserved for the Strand only until Xmas. After that it reverts of course to you.
- That either ?5 be paid to you by the Strand for the temporary use, or that if you don't care to take money, you be put on the free list of the magazine for five years.
The articles appear in America in connection with the Strand publication. I would, if you agree, try to get you another ?5 from that side. If this is all agreeable to you I or my friend Mr Gardner would try to run up & have half an hours chat with the girls Yours sincerely
A Conan Doyle | | |
July 12 Reply to Conan Doyle
Mr. Wright responded. This text is taken from the book, "The Coming of the Fairies," by Conan Doyle:
31 Main Street, Cottingley, Bingley
July 12, 1920 Dear Sir,
I hope you will forgive us for not answering your letter sooner and thanking you for the beautiful book you so kindly sent to Elsie. She is delighted with it. I can assure you we do appreciate the honour you have done her. The book came last Saturday morning an hour after we had left for the seaside for our holidays, so we did not receive it until last night. We received a letter from Mr. Gardner at the same time, and he proposes coming to see us at the end of July. Would it be too long to wait until then, when we could explain what we know about it?
Yours very gratefully,
Arthur Wright.
Note: In this letter, Mr. Wright appears to be very willing to meet with Sir Arthur, and expresses no doubt about the authenticity of the fairy photos. Perhaps, at this period on his new acquaintanceship with the famous author, Wright was willing to "go along" with the girls' "little joke," an attitude that is in sharp contrast with his later misgivings on the matter.
On July 14th, Conan Doyle sent this letter to Mr. Wright, obviously following up on Mr. Wright's response.
(Written on stationery headed, "Windlesham, Crowborough, Sussex. Telegrams: Crowborough. Nat. Tel. No 77.")
Dear Mr. Wright Yes, I will do perfectly well when Mr. Gardner goes north. I am deeply interested because I happened to be writing an article on the subject. I only hope that in the meanwhile Miss Elsie will have a try for another one. That would indeed silence the doubters.
Yours sincerely
Arthur Conan Doyle
On August 3, Sir Arthur writes to Mr. Wright again.
(Written on stationery of the Rougemont Hotel Exeter, that address has been stroked out and replaced by "Windlesham Crowborough.")
Dear Mr Wright I saw Mr. Gardner today and everything is now in perfect order. I hope to get a small wedding dowry for Elsie from the fairies. Also for the little girl. I go to Australia next week but my agent is in touch with Mr G. and you will hear from the latter.
Meanwhile I have altered all names and places. We can always let the cat out of the bag, but when he is out you cant put him back. I dont want you all to be worried by curiosity hunters. I can foresee 100 charabancs a day if the press gets hold of it. We propose therefore to only publish the 3 year old photos which wont be so easily recognised. If your neighbors know about it you would be wise to tell them to be cautious
With best wishes
A Conan Doyle
In this last letter, the word "charabancs" refers to a sight-seeing
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