Description: Trish Baer based this needle felting on W. G. Weigand’s
illustration in the first edition of Julia
Goddard's Wonderful Stories
from Northern Lands. The illustration depicts a
scene from Goddard’s retelling of the medieval ballad, Harpans kraft that was
sung in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. The narrative
concerns a man whose bride falls into a river. He plays his harp
to save her from a supernatural creature that is variously
described as a merman, a troll, or a neck (nix). See Weigand's
original illustration here.
Source: Trish Baer's needle felted rendering of The Power of the
Harp
Folio or Page: Inspired by an
unknown artist's illustration on page 41 in Mabel H.
Cummings's 1901 edition of Wonderful Stories from Northern Lands.
Medium: Engraved by G. Pearson
Date: 2024-08-31
Dimensions (mm): 80 x 140
Provenance:
This needle felting piece is from the Collection of P. A.
Baer.
Rights:
All Rights Reserved
Bibliography:
Editions
Goddard,
Julia. Wonderful Stories from Northern Lands.
London: Longmans, Green, and Co
, 1871.
Baer,
Trish (en.)
b. 25th January 1952
Occupation: Adjunct Professor in Medieval Studies; Digital Scholarship
Fellow in the Electronic Texts and Culture Lab; editor and MyNDIR-IDG
(Insight Development Grant) Team Leader
Nouns
Victorian (en.)The
Victorian era began with the reign of Queen Victoria and ended with her
death (June 20, 1837 – January 22, 1901).
needle felted (en.)
A 2D or 3D felted item produced with a barbed needle and unspun
fibre.
Source Materials:
Harpans Kraft (non.)
The Power of the Harp (en.)
A medieval ballad sung in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland
concerning a man whose bride falls into a river. He plays his harp to
save her from a supernatural creature that is variously described as a
merman, a troll, or a neck (nix).
Cummings,
Mabel (en.)
Nationality: English
b. 28 Mar 1872
d. 24 August 1962
Occupation: Childrens book writer.
Nationality: American
Mabel Homer Cummings lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, as well as
Boston and Cambridge. She was born on the 28th of March, 1872 in
Cambridge, and died on the 24th of August, 1962 in Brookline. She lived
with her sister, the horticulturalist and ornithologist Emma G.
Cummings. She was a school teacher and the headmistress and co-founder
of the high school Brimmer and May, where Cummings Hall is named after
her. She graduated from Smith College in 1895. She was almost certainly
a founding member of the College Club of Boston, the first women’s
college club in the United States, and bought the building at 76
Marlborough in 1893.
Goddard,
Julia (en.)
b. 11th July 1825
d. 30th September 1896
Nationality: British
Julia Goddard was a British children's writer, animal rights activist,
journalist and artist. She wrote over 25 books in her lifetime.
Weigand,
W.J. (en.)
b. Unknown
d. Unknown
Nationality: British
Illustrator and draughtsman whose work was published in many London
magazines.