A luminous and dreamlike fairy tale from the golden age of Australian fantasy illustration, filled with delicate winged beings, enchanted landscapes, and the unmistakable imagination of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite.

Author: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and Grenbry Outhwaite. Illustrated by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite.
Title: The Little Fairy Sister.
Publisher: London, A. & C. Black Ltd., 1929. First edition, later 1929 printing. (First published in 1923).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10.5 x 8 inches.
Pages: 91 pages + 4 pages of publisher’s advertisements.
Binding: Very good original publisher’s binding with blue cloth spine lettered in gilt and beautifully decorated pictorial paper-covered boards. Illustrated endpapers. Corners slightly worn with light rubbing to extremities, remaining remarkably attractive and well preserved overall (hinges fine) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content with pages generally clean and bright. Foxing mainly confined to the outer page edges with occasional light spotting internally. A tight and pleasing copy.
Illustrations: Complete with all 16 full-page illustrations by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, including 8 beautiful color plates and 8 black and white plates, together with decorative endpapers and numerous charming vignette illustrations throughout the text.

Estimate: (USD 450–650).

The book: The Little Fairy Sister is one of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite’s most enchanting fairy books, blending delicate fantasy storytelling with some of the most recognizable fairy illustrations produced in the early twentieth century. Originally published in 1923 and reissued here in 1929, the work follows the adventures of Bridget as she journeys into an enchanted world inhabited by fairies, woodland creatures, flowers, and birds. The visual charm of the book lies in Outhwaite’s extraordinary ability to unite innocence, fantasy, and nature into a dreamlike artistic vision filled with grace and poetic atmosphere.

The color plates are especially beautiful, rendered in soft pastel tones with remarkable delicacy and refinement. Combined with the decorative publisher’s binding and illustrated endpapers, the book stands as a wonderful example of the golden age of illustrated children’s books. Complete copies with all plates present remain increasingly sought after by collectors of fairy illustration and early twentieth century fantasy literature.

The authors: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite was one of Australia’s most celebrated illustrators and creators of fairy art. Her illustrations, first published while she was still very young, quickly gained international recognition for their elegance, imagination, and distinctive vision of fairyland rooted in Australian flora and wildlife. Working closely with her husband Grenbry Outhwaite, she produced a number of beloved fantasy books that became classics of early twentieth century illustrated children’s literature. Her work continues to be admired alongside that of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and Cicely Mary Barker within the great tradition of fairy illustration.

The illustrator: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite’s illustrations are instantly recognizable for their delicate fairy figures, subtle coloring, and harmonious integration of fantasy with the natural world. Unlike many European fairy artists, Outhwaite infused her imagery with distinctly Australian elements, including native birds, plants, and landscapes. Her illustrations possess a lyrical gentleness and emotional warmth that have made her books enduring favorites among collectors and admirers of golden age illustration.