2019 Scarce Limited 1stED #51/100 - Fairies in Fijiland by Charles van Sandwyk
Author: Charles van Sandwyk.
Title: Fairies in Fijiland.
Publisher: Vancouver, The Fairy Press, 2019. First Limited Edition #51/100 copies.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8.5 x 6 inches.
Pages: Unpaginated.
Binding: Fine original hand-marbled paper wrappers with French flaps and a decorative pictorial title label mounted to the front cover. Hand-sewn, as issued, with metallic bronze endpapers and decorative paper-covered boards. A remarkably beautiful example of Van Sandwyk's private press craftsmanship, preserved in fine condition. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Fine content. This copy is hand-numbered and signed by Charles van Sandwyk on the limitation page, being copy number 51 of only 100 copies produced. The text block is fresh, bright, and entirely free from markings. Complete with all issued components, including the special copperplate etchings, decorative tissue guards, and movable illustrated elements.
Illustrations: Richly illustrated throughout with color and black-and-white illustrations by Charles van Sandwyk. Complete with two original sepia copperplate etchings printed on handmade paper with deckled edges and protected by decorative cobweb tissue guards. Also includes the charming bound-in pictorial tabs, decorative calligraphy, and a foldout transformational island scene.
Estimate: (USD 700–750).
The book: Fairies in Fijiland is one of the most enchanting productions from Charles van Sandwyk's private press. Conceived as a whimsical natural history of an elusive fairy race inhabiting the enchanted islands of Fiji, the book invites readers into a miniature world populated by delicate winged creatures, fantastical architecture, tropical landscapes, and curious fairy customs. Blending fantasy, illustration, calligraphy, and fine press craftsmanship, van Sandwyk creates a work that feels less like a modern book and more like a recovered artifact from a forgotten fairy kingdom.
Entirely produced in the spirit of the great Arts and Crafts private presses, the volume combines hand-marbled covers, original etchings, decorative typography, and handmade papers into a cohesive artistic object. The inclusion of the two finely executed copperplate etchings and the intricate foldout panorama elevates the work beyond a conventional illustrated book and places it firmly among van Sandwyk's most sought-after limited editions.
With only 100 copies printed, and the first fifty reserved for members of the High Branch Society, Fairies in Fijiland remains one of the scarcer and more desirable titles in the Van Sandwyk canon.
The author and illustrator: Charles van Sandwyk is among the most celebrated contemporary illustrators and private press bookmakers working today. Born in South Africa and long established in British Columbia, he has developed an international following through his finely crafted limited editions, which draw inspiration from the Golden Age of Illustration, Victorian fairy lore, and the Arts and Crafts movement. Working largely by hand, Van Sandwyk combines calligraphy, watercolor painting, etching, typography, and book design to create volumes that blur the line between book and artwork. His productions are typically issued in very small editions and have become highly collectible among admirers of fine press books, fantasy illustration, and modern private press publishing.