ALICE In WONDERLAND - - Lewis Carroll - - Hardcover - - Illustrated - - - C. 1920 ' S
Item History & Price
A very nice edition of the children's classic first published in 1865.7" x 9.25", 154 pages, 41 illustrations including color frontispiece.Very solid binding and spine, no foxing or marks, pen/pencil, tears (except as noted).
Faded and soiled front cover, mark on spine, inscription (and small tear) on front end page, otherwise in very good condition.Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Biographical in formation:
Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym of Reverend Charles... Lutwidge Dodgson, a lecturer in mathematics at Christ Church, Oxford, who lived from1832 to 1898. Carroll’s physical deformities, partial deafness, and irrepressible stammer made him an unlikely candidate for producingone of the most popular and enduring children’s fantasies in theEnglish language. Carroll’s unusual appearance caused him to behaveawkwardly around other adults, and his students at Oxford saw himas a stuffy and boring teacher. He held strict religious beliefs, serving as a deacon in the Anglican Church for many years and brieflyconsidering becoming a minister. Underneath Carroll’s awkward exterior, however, lay a brilliant and imaginative artist. A gifted amateurphotographer, he took numerous portraits of children throughouthis adulthood. Carroll’s keen grasp of mathematics and logic inspiredthe linguistic humor and witty wordplay in his stories. Additionally, his unique understanding of children’s minds allowed him to composeimaginative fiction that appealed to young people.
Carroll felt shy and reserved around adults but becameanimated and lively around children. His crippling stammer meltedaway in the company of children as he told them his elaboratelynonsensical stories. Carroll discovered his gift for storytellingin his own youth when he served as the unofficial family entertainerfor his five younger sisters and three younger brothers. He stagedperformances and wrote the bulk of the fiction in the family magazine.As an adult, Carroll continued to prefer the companionship of childrento adults and tended to favor little girls. Over the course of hislifetime he made numerous child friends whom he wrote to frequentlyand often mentioned in his diaries.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland receivedmostly negative reviews when first published in 1865. Critics andreaders alike found the book to be sheer nonsense, and one criticsneered that the book was “too extravagantly absurd to produce morediversion than disappointment and irritation.” Only John Tenniel’sdetailed illustrations garnered praise, and his images continueto appear in most reprints of the Alice books. Despite the book’snegative reception, Carroll proposed a sequel to his publisher in1866 and set to work writing Through the Looking-Glass.By the time the second book reached publication in 1871, Alice’sAdventures in Wonderland had found an appreciative readership.Over time, Carroll’s combination of sophisticated logic, socialsatire, and pure fantasy would make the book a classic for childrenand adults alike. [SparkNotes]
Faded and soiled front cover, mark on spine, inscription (and small tear) on front end page, otherwise in very good condition.Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Biographical in formation:
Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym of Reverend Charles... Lutwidge Dodgson, a lecturer in mathematics at Christ Church, Oxford, who lived from1832 to 1898. Carroll’s physical deformities, partial deafness, and irrepressible stammer made him an unlikely candidate for producingone of the most popular and enduring children’s fantasies in theEnglish language. Carroll’s unusual appearance caused him to behaveawkwardly around other adults, and his students at Oxford saw himas a stuffy and boring teacher. He held strict religious beliefs, serving as a deacon in the Anglican Church for many years and brieflyconsidering becoming a minister. Underneath Carroll’s awkward exterior, however, lay a brilliant and imaginative artist. A gifted amateurphotographer, he took numerous portraits of children throughouthis adulthood. Carroll’s keen grasp of mathematics and logic inspiredthe linguistic humor and witty wordplay in his stories. Additionally, his unique understanding of children’s minds allowed him to composeimaginative fiction that appealed to young people.
Carroll felt shy and reserved around adults but becameanimated and lively around children. His crippling stammer meltedaway in the company of children as he told them his elaboratelynonsensical stories. Carroll discovered his gift for storytellingin his own youth when he served as the unofficial family entertainerfor his five younger sisters and three younger brothers. He stagedperformances and wrote the bulk of the fiction in the family magazine.As an adult, Carroll continued to prefer the companionship of childrento adults and tended to favor little girls. Over the course of hislifetime he made numerous child friends whom he wrote to frequentlyand often mentioned in his diaries.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland receivedmostly negative reviews when first published in 1865. Critics andreaders alike found the book to be sheer nonsense, and one criticsneered that the book was “too extravagantly absurd to produce morediversion than disappointment and irritation.” Only John Tenniel’sdetailed illustrations garnered praise, and his images continueto appear in most reprints of the Alice books. Despite the book’snegative reception, Carroll proposed a sequel to his publisher in1866 and set to work writing Through the Looking-Glass.By the time the second book reached publication in 1871, Alice’sAdventures in Wonderland had found an appreciative readership.Over time, Carroll’s combination of sophisticated logic, socialsatire, and pure fantasy would make the book a classic for childrenand adults alike. [SparkNotes]
