The Gates of Dawn
Women Artists Fantasy Art Book Middle-Grade Fantasy Illustrated Children's Fiction Australian Small-Press Art Nouveau Revival Collectible Vintage
The Gates of Dawn is a 1978 first-edition fantasy art book that has quietly become one of the most sought-after titles from Australia’s Golden Age of small-press publishing. Limited to only 1,000 copies, this Gryphon Books release combines Christian Waller’s luminous full-page plates with a short, dream-like story that speaks to both children and adults. Every spread is printed on heavy cream stock, so the gold-ink details still shimmer forty-five years later; the result feels like a secret illuminated manuscript slipped between paper covers.
Waller—best known in art circles for her stained-glass designs—treats each page as a panel of jewel-toned glass. Dragons, owls, and gatekeepers glow against midnight blues and sunrise roses, pulling readers through an allegorical journey from dusk to dawn. Because the text is brief, the illustrations carry the emotional weight, making the book an ideal bridge for middle-grade readers moving from picture books to longer fantasy, while adult collectors prize it as a masterpiece of Art Nouveau revival produced right at the tail end of the hippie era.
Vintage copies in collectible condition are scarce; most were loved to pieces in nurseries or lost in library purges. This copy retains its original pictorial dust jacket (light edge-scuffing only) and has no inscriptions, bookplates, or dog-eared pages—just a single small mark on the front endpaper. For collectors of Australian women artists, Golden Arrow Press rarities, or anyone hunting a magical bedtime book that doubles as a display-worthy art object, The Gates of Dawn offers a double gift: a story that still sparks young imaginations and a first edition that keeps appreciating on the shelf.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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