Two rather unique copies of the famed Cottingley Fairy photos that caused a sensation in England over a century ago are reportedly set to be sold at auction this week. The 1917 case, considered one of history's greatest photographic hoaxes, saw cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths claim to be in contact with the elemental beings and that they had the pictures to prove it. The wondrous photos were the subject of considerable debate at the time, with many people, including legendary Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, believing they were genuine. It was not until 1983 that the cousins admitted to having concocted the clever hoax and keeping quiet about it after it had grown to such epic proportions.

As the furor surrounding the pictures unfolded, Griffiths gave her best friend, Mary Anderson, a pair of prints that had been made of the fairy photos captivating the country. The copies became a prized possession to her in the decades that followed until the true nature of the images was revealed. "My mother was completely shocked. She had totally believed her friend's story and was so proud of those photographs," son David Whittaker recalled, "she felt so let down that she brought out the photographs and the big archive of Cottingley Fairies material that she had collected over the years and told us to throw it all out."

Fortunately, the prints and other artifacts were saved from the dustbin by Whittaker's wife, who convinced his mother to allow her to hold on to the materials for safekeeping rather than toss them all in the trash "in case she changed her mind." Alas, the woman never looked at the photos or the story the same way again. The cache of Cottingley Fairy collectables remained in possession of her family, who ultimately decided to put it all up for sale. The materials, including the two once-prized prints, will be available to the highest bidder at an auction to be held on Tuesday. While interest in the cache is said to be high, previous sales of Cottingley Fairy collectibles have been a mixed bag, with some fetching an enormous price and others failing to generate all that much excitement.