1921 Rare First Edition - Children’s Stories from Italian Fairy Tales

Author: Lilia E. Romano. Illustrated by Howard Davie.
Title: Children’s Stories from Italian Fairy Tales.
Publisher: London, Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd., [circa 1921]. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10 x 7 inches. 
Pages: 143 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good publisher’s pictorial boards with bevelled gilt edges, tan cloth spine titled in black, upper cover richly decorated with an Italian Renaissance-style border surrounding a vibrant mounted color illustration. Rear board with Raphael Tuck device. (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, some general surface wear, minor soiling to rear board, and light rubbing to extremities and edges - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing and toning - as shown, ownership name “Peter Gunn” in small neat hand on the front pastedown - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with 12 full-page colour plates and numerous line drawings by Howard Davie. Plates retain excellent colour saturation. A charming example of early 20th-century illustration by Raphael Tuck & Sons, famed for their gift books.

The book: A beautifully produced volume from Raphael Tuck & Sons, celebrated publishers of deluxe children’s gift books in the early 20th century. This edition gathers a rich selection of Italian folk and fairy tales—stories of enchanted birds, brave heroines, mischievous witches, and royal quests—adapted with clarity and warmth by Lilia E. Romano. The visual appeal is one of the book’s great strengths: Howard Davie’s full-color plates bring each tale to life with soft romantic palettes, atmospheric landscapes, and expressive characters. Additional pen-and-ink drawings scattered throughout the text provide a dynamic rhythm to the storytelling.

The author: Lilia E. Romano specialized in crafting accessible retellings of classical European tales for young readers. Her adaptations aimed to preserve the essence of traditional folklore while enhancing narrative clarity and emotional depth. Little is documented about her personal life, but her works appear widely in early 20th-century children’s libraries and Tuck gift series, indicating steady popularity in both Britain and the United States.