V RARE 1889 1st Edition - The Nursery Alice - Carroll - Alice In Wonderland
Item History & Price
The Nursery Alice
By
Lewis Carroll
Macmillan & Co - London, 1889
First Edition
**Completely Original Condition**
**Very Very RARE Indeed**
I am delighted to offer for auction one of the rarest Lewis Carroll titles being A First Edition / Second Issue of 'The Nursery Alice'. Published in 1889 with the date clear to the main title page and the price of 2 shillings this book was published in numbers of just a few thousand so survi...ving examples are virtually never seen. When this book does surface for aucition it is nearly always with the date of 1890 to the title page which is the more common second edition. Please see my description below for more details on the differences berween the issues and what makes this one so Rare. Needless to say this is a highly sought after treasure and the fact that it is all original just adds to this.
About this Item: Tall octavo. Original cream cloth-backed cream glazed pictorial boards, title to front cover red and black. Colour frontispiece with tissue-guard + a further 19 colour illustrations by John Tenniel. First edition, second issue ("The People's edition"), priced at two shillings on the title page. The original printing of this condensed version of Alice for younger readers was discarded by Dodgson in much the same way as its 1865 predecessor Alice In Wonderland. Dodgson rejected the entire first edition of 10, 000 copies in 1889, which was printed on toned paper, on the grounds that the pictures were "far too bright and gaudy". The first 4, 000 rejected sheets were sent to America for publication under the imprint of Macmillan & Co. of New York, and a second edition of 10, 000 copies was prepared for the UK in 1890. The most notable alteration in the second editions was the printing of the sheets on white rather than toned paper and the altered illustration of Alice and the Cheshire Cat on p. 34, removing Alice's profile. After the publication of the second edition, the remainder of the first printing sheets, retaining the original illustration of Alice and the Cheshire Cat on p. 34, were bound up to form the "People's Edition" of 1891, priced at two shillings, as in this copy. In 1896 copies of this issue were withdrawn from sale and offered to hospitals. Very uncommon thus, with only five copies traced at auction: copies are overwhelmingly met in the second edition. Williams-Madan-Green-Crutch 215c. In brief this is the very rare First Edition / Second Issue.........Not the Second Edition which was dated 1890.
Bound in the publishers original pictorial cloth covers designed by E Gertrude Thomson this is a good example of what is a notoriously fragile book. The book is 130 years old so has a little wear to the covers as to be expected with some bumping and rubbing to the cloth. The spine is strong and nothing is loose so overall it presents well. Internally the book is again good and again complete. There are 20 colour enlargements of Tenniel's original illustrations including a colour frontis and that still has the original tissue guard. All pages are tightly bound in presenting cleanly on the whole with a few thumb/reading wear marks and fox spots. Two pages of adds to the rear + 4 pages of the Easter & Christmas greetings as called for. Yellow plain endpapers which are original and correct. The book is dated to the base of the title page 1889 London which is correct for the FIRST EDITION / SECOND ISSUE as it was changed to 1890 for the Second Edition. Please view my photos for clarity as this forms part of my description.
I can only find one other at present online priced at over 7k with later issues often selling for up to 1k. As far as special finds go this is right up there and presents a great opportunity to have something very rare in the collection.
Good luck with the auction and please take a little time to browse through my other items. I have listed this evening some very scarce and precious titles covering many highly collectable authors and i will happily combine shipping for multiple purchases.
Postage will be swift, secure and fully tracked for a smooth experience.
Thanks For Looking
Happy to post worldwide.
By
Lewis Carroll
Macmillan & Co - London, 1889
First Edition
**Completely Original Condition**
**Very Very RARE Indeed**
I am delighted to offer for auction one of the rarest Lewis Carroll titles being A First Edition / Second Issue of 'The Nursery Alice'. Published in 1889 with the date clear to the main title page and the price of 2 shillings this book was published in numbers of just a few thousand so survi...ving examples are virtually never seen. When this book does surface for aucition it is nearly always with the date of 1890 to the title page which is the more common second edition. Please see my description below for more details on the differences berween the issues and what makes this one so Rare. Needless to say this is a highly sought after treasure and the fact that it is all original just adds to this.
About this Item: Tall octavo. Original cream cloth-backed cream glazed pictorial boards, title to front cover red and black. Colour frontispiece with tissue-guard + a further 19 colour illustrations by John Tenniel. First edition, second issue ("The People's edition"), priced at two shillings on the title page. The original printing of this condensed version of Alice for younger readers was discarded by Dodgson in much the same way as its 1865 predecessor Alice In Wonderland. Dodgson rejected the entire first edition of 10, 000 copies in 1889, which was printed on toned paper, on the grounds that the pictures were "far too bright and gaudy". The first 4, 000 rejected sheets were sent to America for publication under the imprint of Macmillan & Co. of New York, and a second edition of 10, 000 copies was prepared for the UK in 1890. The most notable alteration in the second editions was the printing of the sheets on white rather than toned paper and the altered illustration of Alice and the Cheshire Cat on p. 34, removing Alice's profile. After the publication of the second edition, the remainder of the first printing sheets, retaining the original illustration of Alice and the Cheshire Cat on p. 34, were bound up to form the "People's Edition" of 1891, priced at two shillings, as in this copy. In 1896 copies of this issue were withdrawn from sale and offered to hospitals. Very uncommon thus, with only five copies traced at auction: copies are overwhelmingly met in the second edition. Williams-Madan-Green-Crutch 215c. In brief this is the very rare First Edition / Second Issue.........Not the Second Edition which was dated 1890.
Bound in the publishers original pictorial cloth covers designed by E Gertrude Thomson this is a good example of what is a notoriously fragile book. The book is 130 years old so has a little wear to the covers as to be expected with some bumping and rubbing to the cloth. The spine is strong and nothing is loose so overall it presents well. Internally the book is again good and again complete. There are 20 colour enlargements of Tenniel's original illustrations including a colour frontis and that still has the original tissue guard. All pages are tightly bound in presenting cleanly on the whole with a few thumb/reading wear marks and fox spots. Two pages of adds to the rear + 4 pages of the Easter & Christmas greetings as called for. Yellow plain endpapers which are original and correct. The book is dated to the base of the title page 1889 London which is correct for the FIRST EDITION / SECOND ISSUE as it was changed to 1890 for the Second Edition. Please view my photos for clarity as this forms part of my description.
I can only find one other at present online priced at over 7k with later issues often selling for up to 1k. As far as special finds go this is right up there and presents a great opportunity to have something very rare in the collection.
Good luck with the auction and please take a little time to browse through my other items. I have listed this evening some very scarce and precious titles covering many highly collectable authors and i will happily combine shipping for multiple purchases.
Postage will be swift, secure and fully tracked for a smooth experience.
Thanks For Looking
Happy to post worldwide.
