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| Rene Cloke |
Rene Cloke (1905-1995) was an author and illustrator of stories for very young children. She also illustrated several books for Enid Blyton, which included the Three Golliwogs, Brer Rabbit, Mr. Meddle, Mr. Pink Whistle and the Amelia Jane books. All of which still remain upon my library shelves.
However, she was possibly best known as a painter of fairy subjects, which were reproduced by a number of publishers, including Medici (greeting cards) and Valentine (postcards).
I have long been an admirer of her fairy paintings along with those of Margaret Tarrant (1888-1959), Hilda T. Miller (1876-1939), Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888-1960), Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973) as well as other illustrators of their time with similar styles and interests.
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| Margaret Tarrant |
Strangely, these women were all British apart from Ida, who was Australian. Ida was born in Carlton, Victoria, the youngest child of four and second daughter of the Rev. Dr. John Laurence Rentoul, an Irish-born Presbyterian minister and his wife Annie Isobel, née Rattray.
Ida's first illustration was published by New Idea magazine in 1904 when she was just 15 years of age, accompanied with a story written by her older sister, Anne Rattray Rentoul. In the years that followed, the sisters collaborated on a number of stories and after her marriage to Grenbry Outhwaite in 1909, she also collaborated with him on
The Enchanted Forest (1921),
The Little Fairy Sister (1923) and
Fairyland (1926).
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| Ida Rentoul Outhwaite |
I grew up reading hand me down books like
The Water-Babies by
Charles Kingsley,
Dulcibella & The Fairies by Alice Raiker and borrowed
Cicely Mary Barker picture books, so I guess it's little wonder I became such a dreamer at school.
Still, I'm sure it was those very same books, which helped develop my very vivid imagination, without which, I would never have enjoyed such a successful and varied career.
This fondness I have of fairies, elves and other fictional creatures, is perhaps also the reason for my loving my tiny
Fairyland dolls so dearly. In my opinion, my precious Puki Fees along with the newly introduced Real Fees truly capture the qualities of the fairy and elf beautifully.
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| Cicely Mary Barker |
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| Hilda T. Miller |
Tales of fairies, pixies and other creatures of the forest bewitched me as a child and I'm afraid, even after all these years, the realm of fantasy still has a strong hold on my daydreams and my heart. It's the happy part of my life which holds no sorrow, nor regret.
Happy daydreams to you all!
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There are elves at the bottom of my garden!
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I found this little pattern on ebay and thought I'd use it to make the new clothes for Patsy. It's been quite some time since I've tackled anything like this, (not having any bouncing babes born in recent years) but I think I will manage it okay as the lacey stitch doesn't look too difficult.
