The collection of fans presented in this book is the result of years of dedicated collecting. Like all collections, it began with a single piece - the first fan - purchased from a small shop in the Netherlands. This acquisition profoundly impacted the life of Fransje Hovinga-van Eijsden (1939). Over the past 50 years, a collection has emerged that reflects her lifelong passion for, and interest in these extraordinary objects.

Hovinga-van Eijsden is an art historian, and it is no surprise that she graduated with a thesis on hand fans. With her research she has contributed to the fan collections of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Royal Collection in The Hague. Additionally, she has been involved in the governance of both national and international fan organizations. With this richly illustrated book, she endeavors to write a history of fans based on her own collection. Although the book features only a modest portion of her collection, it is showcasing a wide variety of fans: old and new, simple and complex, affordable and valuable, unique, small, and large.