1948 First Australian Ed. - Little Green Road to Fairyland by I. D. Outhwaite

Author: Annie R. Rentoul and Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. Illustrated by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite.
Title: The Little Green Road to Fairyland.
Publisher: Melbourne: The Specialty Press Pty. Ltd. for Oxford University Press, 1948. First Australian Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10.5" × 8".
Pages: viii-94 pages.
Binding: Very good publisher’s original beige cloth binding with blue lettering and decorative vignette to upper cover and spine (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) complete with the good original illustrated dust jacket (showing only minor chips and short tears to edges, and gentle toning consistent with age - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover..
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light toning - as shown, charming fairy-themed gift inscription on the front free endpaper - as shown). Original Decorative illustrated endpapers featuring fairy and woodland creatures procession in brown ink.
Illustrations: With 16 full-page plates, including 8 in delicate color and 8 in black and white, all by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, printed on high-quality coated paper.

The book: A beautiful and highly desirable First Australian Edition (1948) of The Little Green Road to Fairyland — one of the most enchanting collaborations between sisters Annie R. Rentoul and Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. First published in 1922, this lyrical fairy tale follows the adventures of two children who encounter a fairy and follow her along the little green road into her magical world. The poetic text by Annie R. Rentoul perfectly complements Ida’s ethereal and dreamlike illustrations, among the finest examples of early 20th-century Australian children’s art.

This Australian edition, produced in Melbourne by The Specialty Press for Oxford University Press, represents the post-war renaissance of Outhwaite’s fairy art, printed with exceptional clarity and color fidelity. Complete in its scarce illustrated dust jacket, it is a collector’s treasure — a quintessential example of the golden age of fairy illustration.

The authors: Annie Rattray Rentoul (1882–1978) was an Australian poet, playwright, and author who collaborated extensively with her sister, creating a lyrical, distinctly Australian mythology of fairies and bushland spirits. Her verses evoke wonder, innocence, and the natural beauty of the antipodean landscape.

The illustrator: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888–1960) is among the most celebrated illustrators of the “Golden Age” of children’s books. Renowned for her delicate watercolor and ink drawings of fairies and woodland beings, Outhwaite brought an unmistakably Australian sensibility to her magical subjects. Her works — including The Enchanted Forest, Elves and Fairies, and The Little Green Road to Fairyland — continue to be admired for their grace, luminosity, and poetic charm.