Author: Lizzie Mack and Robert Ellice Mack.
Title: A Christmas Tree Fairy.
Publisher: London, Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh, successors to Newbery & Harris, 1887. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 9.5" x 7".
Pages: Unpaginated, approximately 30 leaves, including numerous illustrations.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher’s pictorial boards with green cloth backstrip. Upper cover decorated with a large Christmas tree illustration in color with red lettering, children, and a dog; lower cover featuring a fairy lighting candles on a Christmas tree (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Overall, exceptionally well preserved for a fragile 19th-century children’s book.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing - as shown).
Illustrations: Illustrated with several delightful full-page chromolithographs (many signed "L.M.") alongside numerous monochrome illustrations in text. The images depict Christmas scenes, children at play, seasonal fairy imagery, and domestic life, richly capturing Victorian holiday sentiment. Illustrations are complete and exceptionally well preserved, retaining their vivid colors. Complete.

Estimate: (USD 250 – 350).

The book: A Christmas Tree Fairy is a charming late-Victorian children’s picture book celebrating the enchantment of Christmas through poems and richly illustrated fairy-tale scenes. This edition epitomizes the gift-book style of the period, with its festive chromolithographs and magical storytelling intended to delight children during the holiday season. Its combination of verse and imagery reflects the era’s fascination with fairies, moral tales, and domestic Christmas traditions.

The authors: Lizzie Mack was a prolific writer of children’s verses and fairy stories in the late 19th century, often collaborating with her brother, Robert Ellice Mack, himself a poet and children’s author. Their works were typically paired with elaborate illustrations and issued as decorative gift books. Their ability to blend gentle moral instruction with whimsical, seasonal fantasy made their books popular Christmas offerings in Victorian England.

The illustrators: The illustrations, many signed L.M., are attributed to Lizzie Mack herself, who was not only a writer but also a skilled illustrator. Her chromolithographs capture the tenderness of childhood and the magic of fairy tales with a vivid, sentimental charm. The interplay of delicate monochrome vignettes and full-color plates exemplifies the artistic richness of Victorian children’s publishing.