The Complete Works -
Lewis Carroll, [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]
1939 - The Nonesuch Press, London - First Nonesuch Edition
A finely bound volume of Lewis Carroll’s works.
Includes: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass; Sylvie and Bruno; Sylvie and Bruno Concluded; The Hunting of The Snark; Puzzles From Wonderland; Phantasmagoria; Acrostics, Verse, Stories and A Miscellany.
The two Alice titles are illustrated with John Tenniel’s original drawings, and the book begins with an introduction by Alexander Woollcott. “Whilst Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass were intended for children “fresh from God’s hand”, it is equally enthralling and delightfully magical for adults as they follow Alice on her vibrant adventures escorted by her famous companions. Who can possibly not have been carried away into the fantastically crazy world of the Mad Hatter? Or never have heard of Tweedledee and Tweedledum? Who cannot have been struck by Carroll’s love for sophisticated play with words?”
“Duckworth and I made an expedition up the river to Godstow with the three Liddells: we had tea on the bank there…On which occasion, I told them the fairy-tale of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground…” recalls Lewis Carroll. And thus was born one of the greatest children’s classics of all time…
The story ultimately became Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There and was first published in London in 1866 The original manuscript that Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) presented to Alice Liddell – the inspiration behind perhaps the most famous and best-loved children’s fairytale – on 26th November 1864 now resides in the British Library, gifted to the nation after the war in 1948 by a group of Anglophile American book collectors.
Tenniel’s illustrations perfectly capture Alice’s upside-down world and are considered to be his finest and most enduring achievement. They were an integral part of creating Alice’s fairytale world and are without doubt some of the best-known images, indelibly etched into the memory of countless children. In The Looking Glass, Tenniel gave Alice a hairband, now widely known as an ‘Alice band.’ Tenniel and Carroll quarrelled over the illustrations, most famously over the use of a model for Alice and the working relationship was further strained. Tenniel’s original drawings were reproduced by the Dalziel Brothers as woodcuts.’ [Written for Lok Man Rare Books by Stephanie Chan - October 2008]
References: Printing and the Mind of Man, 532. Bleiler; Checklist of Fantastic Literature, Book Collector No.271, 'The Great Illustrators'. Williams et al, Lewis Carroll Handbook, 223.
Thick Octavo (binding size 20x13.5cm), pp. [2] xiv [2] 1165 [3]. Elegantly bound in three-quarter burgundy calf over matching marbled boards, spine with gilt lettering and Wonderland motifs, all edges trimmed. Condition: Fine, gently toned edges, in fine binding. Ref: 112060 Price: HK$ 6,000
Includes: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass; Sylvie and Bruno; Sylvie and Bruno Concluded; The Hunting of The Snark; Puzzles From Wonderland; Phantasmagoria; Acrostics, Verse, Stories and A Miscellany.
The two Alice titles are illustrated with John Tenniel’s original drawings, and the book begins with an introduction by Alexander Woollcott. “Whilst Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass were intended for children “fresh from God’s hand”, it is equally enthralling and delightfully magical for adults as they follow Alice on her vibrant adventures escorted by her famous companions. Who can possibly not have been carried away into the fantastically crazy world of the Mad Hatter? Or never have heard of Tweedledee and Tweedledum? Who cannot have been struck by Carroll’s love for sophisticated play with words?”
“Duckworth and I made an expedition up the river to Godstow with the three Liddells: we had tea on the bank there…On which occasion, I told them the fairy-tale of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground…” recalls Lewis Carroll. And thus was born one of the greatest children’s classics of all time…
The story ultimately became Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There and was first published in London in 1866 The original manuscript that Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) presented to Alice Liddell – the inspiration behind perhaps the most famous and best-loved children’s fairytale – on 26th November 1864 now resides in the British Library, gifted to the nation after the war in 1948 by a group of Anglophile American book collectors.
Tenniel’s illustrations perfectly capture Alice’s upside-down world and are considered to be his finest and most enduring achievement. They were an integral part of creating Alice’s fairytale world and are without doubt some of the best-known images, indelibly etched into the memory of countless children. In The Looking Glass, Tenniel gave Alice a hairband, now widely known as an ‘Alice band.’ Tenniel and Carroll quarrelled over the illustrations, most famously over the use of a model for Alice and the working relationship was further strained. Tenniel’s original drawings were reproduced by the Dalziel Brothers as woodcuts.’ [Written for Lok Man Rare Books by Stephanie Chan - October 2008]
References: Printing and the Mind of Man, 532. Bleiler; Checklist of Fantastic Literature, Book Collector No.271, 'The Great Illustrators'. Williams et al, Lewis Carroll Handbook, 223.
Thick Octavo (binding size 20x13.5cm), pp. [2] xiv [2] 1165 [3]. Elegantly bound in three-quarter burgundy calf over matching marbled boards, spine with gilt lettering and Wonderland motifs, all edges trimmed. Condition: Fine, gently toned edges, in fine binding. Ref: 112060 Price: HK$ 6,000