1928 Rare First Edition - Blossom A Fairy Story by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
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Author: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (written & illustrated by).
Title: Blossom. A Fairy Story.
Publisher: London, A. & C. Black, Ltd., 1928. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10.25" x 8.25".
Pages: vii-94 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good binding bound in original pictorial paper-covered boards with pale blue cloth spine, titled in silver (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, small bump to the lower margin of a few pages - as shown).
Illustrations: Profusely illustrated by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite with 8 tipped-in colour plates (complete), numerous delightful black-and-white illustrations, and illustrated title page.
Estimate: (USD 650–750).
The book: A charming first edition of Blossom, one of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite's most enchanting fairy books, blending lyrical narrative with ethereal fairyland imagery. This whimsical tale follows the fairy Blossom and her woodland companions through a richly imaginative world of garden adventures, magical creatures, and gentle moral lessons. It is a quintessential example of early 20th-century children’s literature where fairies, flora, and animal friends coalesce in a narrative of innocence and wonder.
The author: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888–1960) was a celebrated Australian illustrator and author, renowned for her fairy-themed works that became emblematic of Edwardian and interwar fantasy illustration. Her art, marked by delicate linework and a haunting, dreamlike quality, remains a high point in the history of children’s book illustration. Blossom continues the traditions established in The Enchanted Forest, The Little Fairy Sister, and The Little Green Road to Fairyland, all of which helped define her legacy.
The illustrator: Outhwaite’s illustrations in Blossom are among her most refined, capturing intricate woodland scenes, expressive fairies, and lyrical moods in both colour and monochrome. The coloured plates—each tipped in and captioned—evoke the ethereal beauty of nature and the playfulness of her fairy characters, while the black-and-white line drawings provide charming visual continuity throughout the text.