Doyle, Richard "Fairyland: A Series of Pictures from the Elf-World" [1875]

DOYLE, Richard. Fairyland: A Series of Pictures from the Elf-World. With a poem by William Allingham.

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1875. Second edition. 15.25” x 11”, 31pp poem with 16 full-page color plates. Rebound in half green morocco with five raised bands and gilt spine titling, retaining the original pictorial cloth as onlaid panels to the front and rear boards. Light scattered foxing and occasional marginal spotting, most noticeable to plate margins; plates generally clean and bright with strong color. A handsome and well-executed restoration preserving the original Victorian binding design. Very Good.

First published in 1869, Fairyland is widely regarded as Richard Doyle's masterpiece and one of the great achievements of Victorian color illustration. The oversized plates depict an elaborate fairy realm populated by elves, sprites, birds, insects, and fantastical creatures rendered with extraordinary detail and imagination. Accompanied by William Allingham's poem, the work helped define the visual language of Victorian fairy art and remains among the most celebrated illustrated books of the nineteenth century.

Complete copies have become increasingly difficult to find. Owing to the beauty and decorative appeal of the chromolithographic plates, many examples were broken up during the twentieth century so that individual illustrations could be framed and sold separately. As a result, intact copies are encountered far less frequently than the book's original popularity would suggest.