1929 Signed First Edition - The Long Bright Land, Fairy Tales from Southern Seas
Author: Edith Howes. Illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop.
Title: The Long Bright Land: Fairy Tales from Southern Seas.
Publisher: Boston, Little, Brown, and Company, 1929. Published September 1929. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8.5 x 6.5 inches.
Pages: xiv, 207 pages.
Binding: Very good publisher’s original dark anthracite cloth binding, beautifully decorated and lettered in gilt on the front cover and spine with striking Polynesian-inspired motifs (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. .
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, signed by the illustrator Dorothy P. Lathrop on the half-title page - as shown).
Illustrations: Illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop with 13 full-page illustrations, including a striking color frontispiece and numerous dramatic black-and-white plates throughout. Lathrop’s illustrations combine Art Deco and folkloric influences, creating powerful stylized scenes inspired by Polynesian mythology and oceanic landscapes.
Estimate: (USD $300–400).
The book: The Long Bright Land presents a collection of imaginative fairy tales inspired by the legends and traditions of the South Pacific. Edith Howes draws upon Māori and Polynesian mythic themes to craft stories of gods, sea spirits, heroic figures, and enchanted islands. The volume is especially admired for its powerful visual interpretation by Dorothy P. Lathrop, whose bold decorative compositions evoke the rhythms of the sea and the symbolic language of Oceanic art.
The author: Edith Howes (1872–1954) was a New Zealand educator and writer best known for her imaginative children’s literature inspired by nature and mythology. Her stories frequently draw upon Māori traditions and Pacific folklore, presenting them in poetic and accessible narratives for young readers. Through works such as The Long Bright Land, she helped introduce international audiences to the mythic landscapes and storytelling traditions of the South Pacific.
The illustrator: Dorothy Pulis Lathrop (1891–1980) was an American illustrator celebrated for her expressive and atmospheric interpretations of folklore and fantasy. She received the first Caldecott Medal in 1938 for Animals of the Bible. Lathrop’s work is admired for its lyrical line work and imaginative compositions, and her illustrations for The Long Bright Land stand among her most striking early decorative achievements.