1937 First Edition – The Red Witch by Averil Newell illus. Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

Author: Averil Newell. Illustrated by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite.
Title: The Red Witch.
Publisher: London, A. & C. Black Ltd., 1937 (First Edition, published Autumn 1937).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5" x 5" (approx. 21 x 16 cm).
Pages: 64 pages.
Binding: Good original publisher’s pale turquoise cloth with vignette illustration of a child and bird to front board and black lettering to spine.  (hinges fine, some overall toning, mild soiling, and fading to cloth with spine a bit sunned - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Good content (tight and clean, rare light foxing and age-toning - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with 4 charming full-page color plates by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite,  with captions beneath: “She saw a witch mounting a broomstick,” “There was the little Blue Fairy putting glow-worms into her lantern,” “Petronilla waved good-bye and mounted her bat,” and “Some of them flew away up in the air.” Bright and evocative examples of Outhwaite’s fairy illustrations, highly prized by collectors.

The book: The Red Witch (1937) is a whimsical collection of five fairy stories blending witches, fairies, shepherdesses, and magical adventures. Though Averil Newell’s tales are relatively scarce, the enduring charm of this edition lies in the exquisite plates by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, one of the most beloved illustrators of fairies in the early 20th century. Published by A. & C. Black during the late golden age of illustrated gift books, this is a collectible and desirable Outhwaite title.

The author: Averil Newell was a children’s writer of the 1930s known for whimsical and imaginative tales. Though little is recorded about her, The Red Witch remains her most recognized publication due to the collaboration with Outhwaite.

The illustrator: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888–1960) was an Australian illustrator celebrated for her delicate and magical depictions of fairies and fantasy subjects. Her work, published mainly between 1916 and 1937, captured the Edwardian and interwar fascination with fairy imagery. This title, one of her later works, remains highly collectible for its ethereal and enchanting imagery.