1923 First Edition - The Rose Fyleman Fairy Book Illustrated by Hilda T. Miller
Author: Rose Fyleman. Illustrated by Hilda T. Miller.
Title: The Rose Fyleman Fairy Book. Selected from the poems of Rose Fyleman.
Publisher: London, Methuen & Co. Ltd., First published 1923. Printed in Great Britain.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10 x 8 inches.
Pages: 102 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher’s bright blue cloth binding, gilt-lettered on the upper board and spine, with a gilt vignette of a fairy and bird to the front cover (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content overall. Text block firm and square. Pages with light, even toning typical of early 1920s paper; occasional faint handling marks but no major stains or tears. Endpapers clean.
Illustrations: With 12 colour plates and 12 additional line illustrations by Hilda T. Miller. Notably, all the line drawings have been skilfully hand-coloured by a previous artist-owner in sensitive, harmonious washes, enhancing the book’s fairy-like atmosphere while respecting Miller’s original line. The colouring is consistent, delicate, and clearly the work of a capable hand rather than a casual owner.
Estimate: (USD 250–350).
The book: The Rose Fyleman Fairy Book is one of the most enchanting fairy-poetry collections of the interwar period, bringing together Fyleman’s delicate, whimsical verses with Hilda T. Miller’s dreamlike illustrations. The poems gently blur the boundary between the everyday and the magical — fairies dancing in gardens, slipping through chimneys, or hovering just beyond the edge of sight — capturing the wistful, imaginative mood that made Fyleman beloved by both children and adults. This copy is especially compelling for its thoughtful hand-colouring of all the line drawings, transforming the book into a unique, quasi-illuminated version that feels closer to an artist’s personal fairy album than a standard printed edition.
The author: Rose Fyleman (1877–1957) was a British poet best known for her fairy poems, including the famous line “There are fairies at the bottom of our garden.” Writing with simplicity, lyric grace, and gentle humour, she created a distinctive, modern fairy world rooted in suburban gardens and childhood wonder rather than traditional folklore.
The illustrator: Hilda T. Miller (active early 20th century) produced refined, lyrical fairy imagery characterized by fluid line, elongated figures, and a light, decorative sensibility. Her work sits within the later British fairy-art tradition, bridging the romanticism of earlier illustrators with a cleaner, more modern aesthetic suited to the 1920s gift-book.