"Was It Yesterday? is the warmly written autobiography of Rhona "Pixie" O'Harris, one of Australia's best-known and most beloved children's book illustrators. Born in Wales, O'Harris arrived in Western Australia with her family in 1920 at the age of sixteen, bringing with her an already well-developed artistic talent. Her recollections follow the family's early life in Perth, their subsequent move to Sydney and her beginnings as a professional artist, including employment with the printers John Sands, study under Julian Ashton and the appearance of her drawings in the Sydney Mail, The Bulletin and other publications.
O'Harris recalls the hardships of the Depression following her 1928 marriage to wool buyer Bruce Pratt, while describing how she continued to support her family through illustration, writing and commercial artwork. She also records her friendships and encounters with leading figures of Australian literature and art, including Miles Franklin, Mary Gilmore, George Robinson, Steele Rudd, Frank Clune, William Dobell and Norman Lindsay. Chapters devoted to her work "with brush and pen", her memories of Miles Franklin and such celebrated creations as Marmaduke the Possum and Poppy Treloar offer an engaging personal account of Australian publishing and artistic life across much of the twentieth century.
Published by Rigby Publishers in 1983, this first edition is introduced by children's literature authority Walter McVitty and is generously illustrated throughout with examples selected from some sixty years of O'Harris's work. Her delicate fairies, children, animals and fantasy scenes accompany the autobiographical text, while an appendix provides a useful record of the many books she wrote and illustrated. Presented here in fine condition in its original unclipped illustrated dustjacket, this is an especially attractive copy of an important memoir by a major figure in Australian children's literature and illustration."
Light wear to dustjacket protected with a clear plastic sleeve. Pages clean and well presented. An excellent copy in very good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
