I love looking through old books especially for their wonderful illustrations and recently stumbled upon a gem that I want to share with you. The book is called Der Elfenraub from 1912 and is illustrated by Alexander von Volborth, If you like elves, gnomes and whimsical forest scenes like I do I feel sure that you will like these images as well. They are in the public domain and therefore you can feel free to use these pictures in your creative endeavors or just to enjoy looking at them.

Alexander Hubert von Holborth was born on February 2nd, 1885 in Saint Petersburg Russia. He was of Russian and German descent and was known for his landscape art and work as an illustrator.

The title “Der Elfenraub” translates to The Theft of the Elves” and I have included a small summary of what the story is about:

Hidden deep in the green forest in a water lily pond lies the realm of the
mermaid king. In the eerily dark night, he is always on the lookout for evil. Above all, he hates the dwarves and elves because they always help those that embrace goodness.

One day, the fairy queen rides past the mermaid pond and she is immediately in trouble: The mermaid king dives up out of the water and restrains her. He won’t release her until she gives him her daughter in marriage. But the queen would rather die than do the ogre this favor.

Luckily, help soon arrives: the Sun Queen discovers the crime. The Heather Princess,
the dwarves, the moon women and many other good spirits and animals join in the fight
against the evil mermaid king and in the rescue of the fairy queen.

Enjoy these captivating images! They would make lovely cards or posters / framed pictures. View them in the Gallery and right click to save them for your own use.