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On loan

  • On short term loan out for exhibition

Alice's adventures in wonderland

Book
1866 (published)
Artist/Maker
Macmillan & Co. (publisher)
Carroll, Lewis (author)
Sir John Tenniel (Illustrator)
Place of origin
London (published)

Line block printed illustrations from wood-engravings. Signed and gathered in fours. Rebound by Zaehnsdorf (signed on upper pastedown) c.1890's. Case binding of red morocco, blocked in gold (vignettes) in centre of both covers, with title and author lettered in gilt on spine. Raised bands and headbands. Gold-tooled turn-ins. Gilt edges. Marbled endpapers. [10], 192 pages, [1] leaf of plates.

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Discover more about this object
read The real Alice in Wonderland Not everything in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' was conjured from Lewis Carroll's imagination. Stubborn, precocious and curious, the character of Alice was based on a real little girl named Alice Liddell, with a brunette bob and short fringe.

Object details

Categories
Books
National Art Library
Children & Childhood
Illustration
Object type
Book
TitleAlice's adventures in wonderland (published title)
Materials and techniques
Printed book with line block printed illustrations from wood-engravings. Case binding of red morocco, blocked in gold, gilt edges, maerbled endpapers.
Printing Ink
Paper (Fiber Product)
Line Block Printing
Printing
Brief description
Book, 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll. Illustrated by John Tenniel, wood-engraved by Dalziel Brothers. Published in London by Macmillan & Co. 1866. NAL Pressmark: B.AA.CARL.AL.1866.
Physical description
Line block printed illustrations from wood-engravings. Signed and gathered in fours. Rebound by Zaehnsdorf (signed on upper pastedown) c.1890's. Case binding of red morocco, blocked in gold (vignettes) in centre of both covers, with title and author lettered in gilt on spine. Raised bands and headbands. Gold-tooled turn-ins. Gilt edges. Marbled endpapers. [10], 192 pages, [1] leaf of plates.
Dimensions
  • Closed book length: 195mm (closed) (Note: Measured in Book Conservation measuring box)
  • Closed book width: 137mm (closed) (Note: Measured in book conservation measuring box)
  • Closed book depth: 32mm (closed) (Note: Measured in Book Conservation measuring box)
Marks and inscriptions
From the Library of Anne Renier and F.G. Renier (Bookplate on upper pastedown)
Gallery label
(2019)
Two thousand copies of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were published in 1865. Carroll had already given away 50 before Tenniel objected to their poor printing quality, so Carroll decided to recall his gifts. Comparing a rejected copy with a reprint shows how the new printer, Richard Clay, sensitively inked the finely-engraved details to produce delicate lines and contrasts. Carroll declared the reprint: ‘far superior…a perfect piece of artistic printing’. The suppressed copies are today very rare.

[Label for Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser]
Credit line
Donated by Anne Renier and F.G. Renier
Object history
Donated by Anne Renier and F.G. Renier. Bookplate on upper pastedown reads: "From the Library of Anne Renier and F.G. Renier."
Literary reference
Other number
B.AA.CARL.AL.1866 - NAL Pressmark
Collection
National Art Library
Library number
38041802039719

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Record createdOctober 19, 2016
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1370812/alices-adventures-in-wonderland-book-carroll-lewis/
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