1932 Scarce Signed First Edition - Mabel Lucie Attwell’s Fairy Book
Author: Mabel Lucie Attwell (illustrator). Various authors.
Title: Lucie Attwell’s Fairy Book.
Publisher: London: S.W. Partridge & Co., 4–6 Soho Square, W.1. First Edition, 1932. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 9.5 x 7 inches.
Pages: 255 pages.
Binding: Very good publisher’s original pale orange cloth binding, decorated and lettered in black with charming fairy silhouettes on cover and spine (hinges fine, overall slightly worn, sunned and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing - as shown).The interior is remarkably clean—fresh, bright, and free of foxing.
A unique presentation copy, inscribed and signed by Mabel Lucie Attwell on the front free endpaper:
“To Norton, with love from Auntie Mabel, Xmas 1935.”
An exceptional family association copy — Attwell’s own gift to her nephew.
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated throughout by Mabel Lucie Attwell, featuring twelve colour plates and numerous black-and-white drawings within the text, in her instantly recognizable style of whimsical, cherubic fairies and sprites.
The book: First published in 1932, Lucie Attwell’s Fairy Book stands among the most enchanting collections of its kind — a whimsical anthology of classic and original fairy tales such as The Good Housewife and Her Night Labours, The Don’t Care Bird, Fairy Fairplay, Three Days with the Fairies, and Princess Cherry Blossom.
Attwell’s delicate humour and innocence fill each page with warmth, while her luminous colour plates capture the very spirit of interwar British fairy art.
This first edition, personally inscribed by Attwell to her nephew, is of exceptional rarity. Family association copies of her books almost never appear on the market. Its clean interior and well-preserved binding make it a collector’s highlight for those who cherish early 20th-century children’s illustration.
The illustrator: Mabel Lucie Attwell (1879–1964) was one of Britain’s most beloved illustrators of the early 20th century. Her playful depictions of fairies, pixies, and children — rendered in soft pastels and gentle humour — became icons of Edwardian and interwar British illustration. Attwell’s work adorned everything from gift books and postcards to Royal Doulton figurines, earning her international admiration. Lucie Attwell’s Fairy Book remains one of her defining creations, blending moral tenderness with a timeless sense of wonder.