Elfin Songs. A Book of Verse and Pictures. London: Blackie, 1912. First Edition.  Pp, 142. Publisher’s cream cloth boards, with gilt title and decoration to front board and spine, pictorial endpapers. A nice bright copy.

Illustrated with twelve mounted colour plates, protected with lettered tissue guards, ten black & white plates and many vignette drawings.

Emma Florence Harrison was an Australian Art Nouveau and Pre-Raphaelite illustrator of poetry and children’s books. Her drawings are vibrant, richly coloured and characterised by a strong black outline around the figures.

Many of her books were published by Blackie & Sons, and this edition was Blackie’s gift book of the year in 1912.