The Silver Branch - Dulcie Deamer

Title: The Silver Branch
Author: Dulcie Deamer
Publisher: Swinburne Press, Dover Heights
Year: 1948
Format: Hardcover
Edition: First edition

Condition: Good vintage condition overall. Dust jacket is protected in an older plastic cover with visible tape marks, staining, creasing, and wear to edges. Internal pages appear clean and well preserved. Binding remains intact. 

The Silver Branch is a scarce post-war poetry collection by Australian writer and bohemian icon Dulcie Deamer, containing twenty-seven poems steeped in mythology, mysticism, dream imagery, and romantic fantasy.

Often remembered as the “Queen of Bohemia” in Sydney’s artistic circles, Deamer moved through occult, theatrical, and avant-garde communities in early twentieth-century Australia. Her writing blends pagan imagery, mythic symbolism, sensuality, and visionary atmosphere, making her work especially appealing to collectors interested in esoteric and outsider literary traditions.

This 1948 Swinburne Press edition is an uncommon Australian small-press publication and includes striking illustrations and period design elements that reflect the mystical and artistic character of the work.

Notably, the cover artwork is by Norman Lindsay, one of Australia’s most famous and controversial artists, celebrated for his mythological, sensual, and symbolist imagery. The interior illustration is by Rosaleen Norton, the legendary Australian occult artist and witch often referred to as the “Witch of Kings Cross.” Norton’s visionary artwork and association with Australian esoteric culture have made her an enduring cult figure among collectors of occult and outsider art.

A particularly attractive piece for collectors of Australian bohemian literature, women’s poetry, occult-adjacent writing, and mid-century private press publishing.

About the Author:

Dulcie Deamer was an Australian novelist, poet, playwright, and cultural figure associated with Sydney’s bohemian and artistic underground from the 1920s onward. Her fascination with mythology, ancient worlds, ritual, and sensual mysticism shaped much of her literary work and contributed to her enduring cult reputation in Australian literary history.