In pre-modern times (ie pre-Victorian era) the Fae were often depicted with various animal features, and most animals have pointed ears. If that is not the direct origin, then I'm guessing that the origin was in the 19th century, when images of the fae were made cuter and less wild and animalistic, at that point transforming animal ears into pointed ears may have been an artistic choice to go along with the "taming" of fae imagery. OTOH, I'm far from certain with this and could easily be wrong.
Hmmm. That's a good question. Here's a link I found that gives the timeline of the historical development of the corresponding Children's Literature. It might help some.
http://www.ils.unc.edu/~prier/KidLit/#timelines
I'll keep looking though. From what I can tell so far, most of the stories and folklore weren't written down until the late 1700's.
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Date: Jul. 1st, 2004 12:35 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Jul. 1st, 2004 09:49 am (UTC)From:http://www.ils.unc.edu/~prier/KidLit/#timelines
I'll keep looking though. From what I can tell so far, most of the stories and folklore weren't written down until the late 1700's.