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1894. THE AUTHOR OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND, LAMENTS: ?IT IS HELPFUL AND COMFORTING, WHEN THERE IS SO MUCH SKEPTICISM, AND EVEN ATHEISM, AROUND ONE IN OXFORD, TO KNOW THOSE TO WHOM CHRISTIANITY IS NOT ONLY A REALITY, BUT THE REALITY OF LIFE.? DODGSON, CHARLES L. [LEWIS CARROLL]. (1832-1898). English logician, mathematician, photographer, and novelist, especially remembered for Alice?s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Revealing Autograph Letter Signed, ?C.L. Dodgson? Four full pages, small octavo. ?Ch[rist] Ch[urch]? Oxford, England. March 18, 1894. Very fine condition. To ?My dear Mrs. Egerton? Dodgson writes: ?Your letters make me feel more and more glad that I have been allowed to add you and your girls to my list of friends. It is helpful and comforting, when there is so much skepticism, and even atheism, around one in Oxford, to know those to whom Christianity is not only a reality, but the reality of life. I shall like to come and have some chats with you. You ask if I think it ?right? to make a rule not to see Pantomimes in Lent. Surely, in one sense of the word. But the word is used in two senses (as of course you know): (1) a thing which it is wrong not to do; (2) a thing which it is not wrong to do (and also not wrong not to do). The first sense means ?it is a duty?; the second ?it is allowable? ? I think it ?right? in the second sense of the word: but I need not say that, if I thought it ?right? in the first sense, I would not go myself. But questions like this belong to the ?Church? observances, and rules of human origin ? not to the essence of Christianity. ? As life draws on to its end, I seem to feel, more and more, that all Christians, Church, and Dissent alike, are brothers (and sisters) and should love each other as such. Sincerely yours, C.L. Dodgson. My cold is better, I thank you for your kind wishes.? A most interesting letter from Dodgson?s pen. Letters where the author reflects or comments on their own personal religious beliefs rarely make it to market. In this letter, Carroll clearly approaches the topic with the mind of a mathematician and the beliefs of a theologian. Wikipedia adds some information which further reveals important background information to the possible contradictions expressed in Dodgson?s own position. They state: Charles?s father was an active and highly conservative cleric of the Church of England who later became the Archdeacon of Richmond and involved himself, sometimes influentially, in the intense religious disputes that were dividing the church. He was high church, inclining toward Anglo-Catholicism, an admirer of John Henry Newman and the Tractarian movement, and did his best to instill such views in his children. Young Charles was to develop an ambivalent relationship with his father?s values and with the Church of England as a whole. The British definition of Pantomimes is: a theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, that involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story, usually produced around Christmas. [Attributes: Signed Copy]

London: Macmillan & Co., 1869. FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE PRESENTATION COPY. 1 vol., with the chapter 'Melancholetta' incorrectly numbered 78 in the Table of Contents and no cancel title-page and without 'Author of Alice in Wonderland' to the title-page, inscribed on the half-title "Rev R. Duckworth, with the Author's sincere regards. Jan 1869." Bound in the publisher's original gilt stamped blue cloth, spine slightly darkened, all edges gilt, inner hinges just starting, outer hinges fine, head and foot of spine with minor rubbing, leather bookplate of Harry Glemby to front pastedown, housed in a 1/2 red morocco slipcase, ribbed gilt lettered spine. OF UNIQUE ASSOCIATION INTEREST BEING GIVEN BY C. L. DODGSON TO R. DUCKWORTH, HIS FRIEND AND COMPANION ON THE MEMORABLE BOATING TRIP WHICH GAVE US "ALICE IN WONDERLAND" This copy originally sold at Anderson Galleries in NY in 1926 as part of the collection of Harry Glemby. Duckworth was the person rowing the boat on the original boating expedition of 4 July 1862 during which Alice's Adventures were first told by Lewis Carroll. He is represented by the Duck in the book, a play on his last name. A more interesting presentation/association copy of this title can not be imagined. To appreciate the interest fully one must refer to the Lewis Carroll Picture Book, edited by S. Dodgson Collingwood, London, 1899, pages 358-60, where Canon Duckworth relates the whole origin of the story of Alice and the river expedition which gave rise to it. [Attributes: First Edition; Hard Cover]

Alice s Adventures in Wonderland. Hatfield: Pennyroyal Press, 1982. A splendid fine copy of the Limited Edition (One of 350 copies) signed by Barry Moser in the Colophon and bound by Gray Parrot in half-purple Morocco with marbled sides. Accompanied by the complete set (75) of pencil-signed wood engravings in the publisher's issue linen folder, the whole housed in the matching leather-backed clamshell case. Moser's magnum opus that launched his career into fine limited-edition publishing. Alice was sold out upon issue. A collector's copy. together with: CARROLL. LEWIS. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There A fine copy of the Limited Edition (One of 350 copies) signed by Barry Moser in the Colophon and bound by Gray Parrot in half-purple morocco with marbled sides. Accompanied by the separate suite of pencil-signed prints housed in the publisher's issue linen folder, the whole housed in the matching leather-backed clamshell case. This production immediately followed Alice. A collector's copy. The pair uncommonly found in commerce. Collector's copies. [Attributes: Signed Copy; Hard Cover]

London: Macmillan and Co.,, 1890. One of 100 copies inscribed by the author Second edition (the first published in the UK), first issue, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title, "For Olive, from the Author. Mar. 25, 1890". The recipient was Olive Augusta Langton Clarke who Carroll met in September 1883. Her father was both a clergyman and an inventor, and a close friend of the author's. The original idea for a simplified version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland came to Lewis Carroll in 1881. He conceived a book with simplified text and pictures printed in colour. In 1886, the book was announced as being in preparation. The first edition was printed in 1889 and Carroll, mirroring his behaviour over the original publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, rejected the printing with the complaint that the illustrations were "far too bright and gaudy". The rejected sheets would eventually be issued in the US in 1890 (and then in the UK in 1891 and 1897). The second edition, published in 1890, was therefore the first published edition and on 25 March 1890 Carroll inscribed around 100 presentation copies, having recorded the names and (mostly) addresses of recipients in an exercise book. Describing the new printing in his diary, Carroll stated that "it is a great success" (Diaries, p. 506). The most notable alteration between the first and second editions is the printing of the sheets on white rather than toned paper and the change to the illustration of "Alice and the Cheshire Cat" on p. 34, removing Alice's profile. The first issue has "Price four shillings" above the imprint. Williams, Madan, Green and Crutch call for "an inserted printed slip advertising Sylvie and Bruno" which is frequently missing, but present in this copy. Carroll's exercise book recording the names and addresses of recipients, includes Olive Langton Clarke as entry number 45. She is listed as living at 25 Clarendon Square, Leamington. Carroll first met the Clarkes at Whitburn in October 1864. James Langton Clarke (1833-1916) attended University College, Durham (obtaining a BA in 1856 and MA 1857). He was a curate of Whitburn 1858-60, and afterwards curate at Leamington from 1885. Given this gap, it is assumed that he had some independent means. In 1857 he married Frances Mary Harrison (b. 1835), daughter of the railway engineer Thomas Elliott Harrison, and the couple had 14 children. Olive Augusta was the youngest and born in 1880. In 1904, James Langton Clarke published The Eternal Saviour-Judge. He was also an inventor of items such as a mechanical pencil-sharpener (and applied for six different patents between 1863 and 1885). The Langton Clarkes were friends of the Wilcoxes (related to Carroll), and James Langton Clarke officiated at the christening of Mary Dorothea Wilcox in October 1859. A collection of photographs taken by Carroll of the Langton Clarkes is now at the Chicago Art Institute. Provenance: Sotheby's, 25-27 July 1927, lot 571; Quaritch; Thomas and Jania Erwin. Tall octavo. Original white cloth-backed white glazed pictorial boards designed by E. Gertrude Thomson, front cover lettered in red and black. Printed slip advertising Sylvie and Bruno loosely inserted. Housed in a custom red linen chemise and red cloth slipcase by James Macdonald (of New York). Colour frontispiece with tissue-guard and 19 colour illustrations after John Tenniel. Book label of Thomas and Jania Erwin on front pastedown. Binding somewhat worn and soiled with extremities worn, some abrasions to rear cover, some light finger-soiling; else a good and attractive copy. Williams, Madan, Green and Crutch 216, Edward Wakeling, ed., Lewis Carroll's Diaries, 2004. [Attributes: First Edition]

London: Macmillan and Co., 1890. [12], 56pp, [8], original quarter cloth and decorated boards, the upper cover with a pictorial design in colour of Alice asleep and dreaming beneath a tree, signed 'E.G. Thomson', the lower cover with a picture of the March Hare in the centre, and the initials 'E.G.T.'. Cloth to spine repaired, with small splits to head of upper joint, corners bumped with small amounts of loss, slightly rubbed with very light soiling. Internally very lightly browned, lacking tissue guard to frontispiece, but generally clean and fairly bright. Now housed in a black buckram chemise and slipcase, with title and author in gilt to spine. Inscribed by Carroll, in his usual purple ink to half title, being one of one hundred presentation copies (see Williams, Madan, Green and Crutch, page 162), 'For Nina from the author, Mar. 25 1890'. Nina was apparently Nina 'Ninty' Eschwege, who later married Herbert Haviland Field. This "second (first published) edition appears to differ from the first only in the date 1890, in the substitution of 'Price Four Shillings' above the imprint, and in the Advertisements at the end. Copies also have an inserted printed slip advertising Sylvie and Bruno [not found in this copy]. The impression consisted of 10,000 copies on white, rather than 'toned' paper, with greatly improved colour reproduction" (Williams, Madan, Green and Crutch, page 162), after Dodgson had rejected the first ten thousand sets of sheets printed by Edmund Evans, because the pictures were too bright and gaudy, so he instructed that they be reprinted. Williams, Madan, Green and Crutch 216. Presentation Copy from the Author. Second (First Published) Edition. Hardback. Good. Illus. by Tenniel, John; Thomson, E. Gertrude. 4to. [Attributes: First Edition; Signed Copy]

West Hatfield, Massachusetts: Printed by Harold McGrath at Pennyroyal Press, 1982. Hardcover. Near fine. Issued separately, each folio volume is limited to 350 numbered copies signed by the illustrator and accompanied by an additional suite of wood engravings, with each print signed by Barry Moser, in a linen-covered chemise. A matching set, both volumes in this pairing are number 270. Printed in five colors on a paper specially made for the Press by Strathmore Mills, with calligraphy by G.G. Laurens. The type is Bembo, in blue, black, and red. Bound by Gray Parrot in quarter purple morocco and crimson morocco, respectively, over marbled paper-covered boards. Each is housed with the chemise of prints in its own morocco-backed linen clamshell box, which are a little discolored along the extremities (as usual). Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, were the first two in a series of four folio editions of classic texts printed at the Pennyroyal Press. Both sold out almost immediately and have remained the most popular of Moser's oeuvre ever since. The text was edited by Selwyn Goodacre, with a preface and notes by one of America's leading Victorianists, James Kincaid. A whimsical production and among the greatest achievements of late 20th century American book design. [Attributes: Signed Copy]

Maecenas Press - Random House, New York, 1969. 151 pages. Folio, 44 x 29 cm. Limited edition, copy 2430 of 2500 signed by Dali on title, and one original colored etching by Dali signed in pencil is opposite the frontispiece. Printed on Mandeure paper by Ateliers Rigal. In addition, twelve full page color heliogravures. Interior contents bright, clean and fresh. Spine of morocco case rebacked, some soiling to beige cloth of folding case. Loose as issued in original brown cloth chemise, quarter morocco folding case with replaced bone clasps. Very good [Attributes: Signed Copy; Hard Cover]

Paris: GLM, 1939. FIRST EDITION, Deluxe issue. EXCEEDINGLY RARE DELUXE SET OF AVANTE-GARDE WORKS BY FOUR LITERARY MASTERS. Each copy one of only 15 deluxe issues. Includes the deluxe issue of Duchamp's important collection of aphorisms, "Rrose Sélavy". This extraordinary and complete collection (collectively "Biens Nouveaux") of works by Marcel Duchamp, Lewis Carroll, Franz Kafka and Gisèle Prassinos demonstrates the significance of absurdism, magical realism and surrealism across Europe in the 1930s and 40s. Published in April 1939 by Guy Lévis-Mano, one of the most creative French printers of the twentieth century, this complete series includes Marcel Duchamp's Rrose Sélavy, Lewis Carroll's La Canne du Destin, Franz Kafka's Le Chasseur Gracchus, and Gisele Prassinos's Sondue. Each copy is one of only 15 of the deluxe issue printed on high-quality Vieux Japon. This original edition of Marcel Duchamp's book of aphorisms, Rrose Sélavy, is numbered two out of only fifteen copies on Vieux Japon. Duchamp's female alter ego Rrose Sélavy was an artist, muse, and creative experiment that brought to life his symbolic use of language. Her name, as pronounced in French, sounds like "Eros, c'est la vie", meaning "The passion of love [sex], such is life." The playful puns and witty satire in this text provide clever commentary on society and the art world, offering the reader a glimpse into the mind of a revolutionary artist who believed in the joy to live and roam free in thought. Lewis Carroll's La Canne du Destin (The Cane of Destiny) is numbered thirteen out of only fifteen copies on Vieux Japon. Published posthumously in 1939, translator André Bay believed it was written in 1848 when Carroll was only 16. La Canne du Destin features two barons, a magician and a man named Blowski who dies and is transformed into mashed potatoes (!). It is notable for its fantastical storytelling and whimsical wordplay, a style which predated and foreshadowed Carroll's most famous work Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. His writing inspired the work of surrealists, like Duchamp and Prassinos. Le Chasseur Gracchus (English: The Gracchus Hunter; German: Der Jäger Gracchus), numbered seven out of fifteen copies on Vieux Japon, was translated by Henri Parisot in 1939 and is one of the earliest Franz Kafka's stories published in French. A six-page story written in 1917, it was found posthumously among Kafka's papers. The tale is about the long-dead Hunter Gracchus who is destined to wander aimlessly and eternally at sea, unable to find peace. The surrealist dreamlike imagery of the story explores themes of loneliness, alienation, and the human condition. This work represents a model for Kafka's later writing and a Kafkaesque dilemma, "two worlds that cannot make themselves understood by one another." (Emrich) Sondue (Sounded) by Gisèle Prassinos is numbered two out of fifteen copies on Vieux Japon. A French artist and writer she was discovered by André Breton in 1934, who declared "the tone of Gisèle Prassinos is unique: all the poets are jealous of it." When she was just fourteen, her first book, La Sauterelle Arthritique (The Arthritic Grasshopper) was published. For many, her personification of animals in this story was reminiscent of Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Hailed as a prodigy by the surrealists, Sondue, a novella-length narrative, was published when she was just 19 and considered macabre humor. Prassinos used automatic writing, sometimes referred to as free writing, a common surrealist technique. This was the last story she published before the start of World War II. She would not publish any writing again until 1958. This "Biens Nouveaux" collection was beautifully printed on Vieux Japon, known for its velvety texture and substantial weight and only used by Guy Lévis Mano for premium projects. René Char, French poet and member of the French resistance explained, "When the passion to give life to a collection...unites with...the art of printing, it brings us admirable successes and restores the object to its lasting plenitude. Guy Lévis Mano is the only one today who satisfies this haughty concern. He devoted his faith, his competence, his generosity and his enthusiasm to it." (Char 745) 1. Marcel Duchamp. Rrose Sélavy. Paris, G.L.M., 1939. First Edition. Small quarto (165 x 115 mm), original wrappers; glassine. Small closed tear to glassine at front base, otherwise fine. One of 15 original copies on Vieux Japon, this one number 2. 2. Lewis Carroll. La Canne du Destin (The Cane of Destiny). Paris, G.L.M., 1939. Small quarto (165 x 115 mm), original wrappers; glassine. Fine condition. One of 15 original copies on Vieux Japon, this one number 13. 3. Franz Kafka. Le Chasseur Gracchus (The Gracchus Hunter). Paris, G.L.M., 1939. Small quarto (165 x 115 mm), original wrappers; glassine. Fine condition. One of 15 original copies on Vieux Japon, this one number 7. 4. Gisèle Prassinos. Sondue (Sounded ). Paris, G.L.M., 1939. First edition. Small quarto (165 x 115 mm), original wrappers; glassine. Fine condition. One of 15 original copies on Vieux Japon, this one number 2. References: André Breton. Translated by Richard Seaver and Helen R. Lane. Manifestos of Surrealism. University of Michigan Press, 1969. René Char. In the Poet's Studio. Gallimard "Quarto" collection, 1956. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Franz Kafka." Encyclopedia Britannica, December 2, 2022. Wilhelm Emrich. Translated by Sheema Z. Buehne. Franz Kafka. Frederick Ungar Publisher, 1961. Alexander Hawkins. "Meet Rrose Sélavy: Marcel Duchamp's Female Alter Ego." AnOther Magazine. December 1, 2015. Gisèle Prassinos. Translated by Ellen Nations. Surrealist Texts. Black Scat Books, 2014. Rachel Rivenc and Kendra Roth, eds. Living Matter: The Preservation of Biological Materials in Contemporary Art. Getty Conservation Institute, 2022. Fine. [Attributes: First Edition]

D. Appleton and Company, [New York, 1866. 192 pp. With Forty-two Illustrations by John Tenniel. 12mo, in a modern designer binding in full inlaid morocco, a.e.g. by Starr Bookworks. Preserved in a custom quarter morocco slipcase and chemise. First American edition, first printing; second issue with the cancel Appleton title page. 1 x 2" section of the upper right corner of the title page expertly replaced (owner's name removed?) This copy has the title page with the "B" in the second "By" above and slightly to the right of the "T" in "Tenniel," and the hyphen in "Rabbit-hole" on the Contents page. No priority for these variants has been reliably established. [Attributes: First Edition]

London: Macmillan, 1872. Early edition. Twenty-Ninth Thousand printed on the title page. Small quarto (7 x 4 5/8 inches; 178 x 117 mm.). [xii], [1]-192 pp. Wood engraved frontispiece with original tissue-guard, numerous wood-engraved text illustrations. A few very light marginal smudges. Bound ca. 1910 by Kelliegram of London, stamp-signed in gilt on rear turn-in. Full hunter green crushed levant morocco, the covers beautifully decorated with multi colored leather inlays depicting ten different Alice characters. The front cover with a large central inlay of the Mad Hatter, surrounded by Father William's Son, the Dodo, the Mock Turtle and the Duchess, all within a gilt-stamped frame. The rear cover similarly decorated with a large central inlay of the White Rabbit, surrounded by the Mouse, the Duck, the Eaglet and the Cheshire Cat, all within a gilt-stamped frame. Spine with five raised bands decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, gilt ruled board edges and turn-ins, ochre silk liners and endleaves, all edges gilt. "On the surface, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a paradise of puns, paradoxes, and anthropomorphism. Underneath, it is a deeply honest portrayal of childhood and adulthood. What unites Carroll's wordplay and analytical anomalies with truth is Alice. She... fumbles through strange, increasingly grown up encounters, and remains honest and curious all the while. She is courageous in the act of growing up...Carroll's classic is an absurd yet magnificently perceptive form of entertainment unlike anything that came before or even after it" (Allen). Alice's impact was immediate. At a time when most children's books were highly didactic and focused on clear-cut morality, Wonderland offered something new and fantastical; it gave young readers an opportunity to be amused, to sort through logical puzzles, and to imagine a world unlike any other in literature. Thanks in part to Carroll, "children's books entered a new, more fantastical phase: instruction with delight" (Allen). With its amazing whimsical design, this copy is a prime example of a Kelliegram binding. Known for their highly detailed pictorial inlaid color leather bindings, the London-based firm Kelly and Sons was one of the longest running in the trade. Started in 1770 by John Kellie, various family members continued the business into the early twentieth century. Charming, beautiful, and occasionally whimsical, the inlaid designs were often inspired by in-text illustrations. Fine. Fine.

London, Macmillan and Co., 1868. 8vo. (10), 192 pp. Contemporary red full cloth with giltstamped spine-title, giltstamped borders and 2 ornaments on the covers featuring characters from the story. All edges gilt. Presentation copy of the all-time bestseller illustrated by John Tenniel, signed and inscribed by the author to half-title: "Mary Harriet Rowden, / from the Author. / May 24. 1869". In a lovely binding prepared by the London bookbinder Burn & Co. with their label to lower pastedown, sixth edition. - Mary Harriet Rowden was the daughter of the Revd. Dr Edward Rowden. Her address is given next to the author's inscription in her own hand: "15. S. Giles / Oxford". - Covers slightly spotted. Rebacked with original spine relaid. Occasional minor spotting, front endpaper repaired at margins. Still a good copy. - Williams, Madan, Green & Crutch 46d. [Attributes: Signed Copy; Hard Cover]

1862. DODGSON, CHARLES L. [LEWIS CARROLL]. (1832-1898). English logician, mathematician, photographer, and novelist, especially remembered for Alice s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Good, early Autograph Letter Signed, ''C.L. Dodgson''. Four full pages, octavo. 'Ch[rist] Ch[urch] Oxford', England, December 1, 1862. Very fine condition. To ''Dear Sir''. Dodgson writes: ''I am glad to find that you take in such good part my many criticisms on your poems. One or two further remarks I will trouble you with. You have not noticed Ah! Well, there s little in my story after all a line which is 2 syllables too long would you mind altering it to Ah! Well, my story has but little to it -- then -- the curves sail lateen -- Do you not mean curved-sailed ? Thirdly, as to the 2 doves: I enclose you a proof, in which they are reduced to one, that you may judge of the effect. I do not think the 4th stanza o the song suffers much my the change, which the last stanza almost suits the new version better than the old --- the mate evidently having remained at home during the voyage, and so furnished an additional stimulus for the speed of the messenger --- At any rate, if you wish them to continue two, I hope you will alter the passage knitting first *A lover s lovers letter underneath their wings which certainly does convey some notion of an Astley s performance. [Astley s was a performance venue in the UK, similar to a circus] You seem to have put a comma into stir his memory with hints and innuendoes of the pledge ; but I think it ought to be all one clause. I see several places where commas might as well be omitted, if you will trust me to erase them. With thanks for your good wishes for College Rhymes I remain truly yours, C.L. Dodgson. P.S. I forgot to say that I quite admit the possibility of the page haunting the eye as a picture -- while the single lines haunts the memory. I did not see your meaning before.'' A remarkable letter on many levels showing Dodgson as: editor; critic, and grateful recipient of praise for one of his earliest writing/publications: College Rhymes. His letters written from this early period are exceedingly scarce.

GLM, Paris, 1939. EXCEEDINGLY RARE DELUXE SET OF AVANTE-GARDE WORKS BY FOUR LITERARY MASTERS. Each copy one of only 15 deluxe issues. Includes the deluxe issue of Duchamp's important collection of aphorisms, "Rrose Sélavy". This extraordinary and complete collection (collectively "Biens Nouveaux") of works by Marcel Duchamp, Lewis Carroll, Franz Kafka and Gisèle Prassinos demonstrates the significance of absurdism, magical realism and surrealism across Europe in the 1930s and 40s. Published in April 1939 by Guy Lévis-Mano, one of the most creative French printers of the twentieth century, this complete series includes Marcel Duchamp's Rrose Sélavy, Lewis Carroll's La Canne du Destin, Franz Kafka's Le Chasseur Gracchus, and Gisele Prassinos's Sondue. Each copy is one of only 15 of the deluxe issue printed on high-quality Vieux Japon. This original edition of Marcel Duchamp's book of aphorisms, Rrose Sélavy, is numbered two out of only fifteen copies on Vieux Japon. Duchamp's female alter ego Rrose Sélavy was an artist, muse, and creative experiment that brought to life his symbolic use of language. Her name, as pronounced in French, sounds like "Eros, c'est la vie", meaning "The passion of love [sex], such is life." The playful puns and witty satire in this text provide clever commentary on society and the art world, offering the reader a glimpse into the mind of a revolutionary artist who believed in the joy to live and roam free in thought. Lewis Carroll's La Canne du Destin (The Cane of Destiny) is numbered thirteen out of only fifteen copies on Vieux Japon. Published posthumously in 1939, translator André Bay believed it was written in 1848 when Carroll was only 16. La Canne du Destin features two barons, a magician and a man named Blowski who dies and is transformed into mashed potatoes (!). It is notable for its fantastical storytelling and whimsical wordplay, a style which predated and foreshadowed Carroll's most famous work Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. His writing inspired the work of surrealists, like Duchamp and Prassinos. Le Chasseur Gracchus (English: The Gracchus Hunter; German: Der Jäger Gracchus), numbered seven out of fifteen copies on Vieux Japon, was translated by Henri Parisot in 1939 and is one of the earliest Franz Kafka's stories published in French. A six-page story written in 1917, it was found posthumously among Kafka's papers. The tale is about the long-dead Hunter Gracchus who is destined to wander aimlessly and eternally at sea, unable to find peace. The surrealist dreamlike imagery of the story explores themes of loneliness, alienation, and the human condition. This work represents a model for Kafka's later writing and a Kafkaesque dilemma, "two worlds that cannot make themselves understood by one another." (Emrich) Sondue (Sounded) by Gisèle Prassinos is numbered two out of fifteen copies on Vieux Japon. A French artist and writer she was discovered by André Breton in 1934, who declared "the tone of Gisèle Prassinos is unique: all the poets are jealous of it." When she was just fourteen, her first book, La Sauterelle Arthritique (The Arthritic Grasshopper) was published. For many, her personification of animals in this story was reminiscent of Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Hailed as a prodigy by the surrealists, Sondue, a novella-length narrative, was published when she was just 19 and considered macabre humor. Prassinos used automatic writing, sometimes referred to as free writing, a common surrealist technique. This was the last story she published before the start of World War II. She would not publish any writing again until 1958. This "Biens Nouveaux" collection was beautifully printed on Vieux Japon, known for its velvety texture and substantial weight and only used by Guy Lévis Mano for premium projects. René Char, French poet and member of the French resistance explained, "When the passion to give life to a collection.unites with.the art of printing, it brings us admirable successes and res [Attributes: First Edition; Soft Cover]

London: William Heinemann; Doubleday Page & Co., New York,: , [1907]. London: William Heinemann; Doubleday Page & Co., New York,, [1907]. Limited edition, finely bound with onlay Deluxe limited edition, number 288 of 1,130 numbered copies, of which 1,100 were for sale, with the last 30 reserved for presentation. Published when the book came out of copyright in 1907, this deluxe edition was issued unsigned, as Rackham was out of the country at the time. For the first time, Rackham's plates were distributed at the appropriate places throughout the text, rather than gathered together at the end as they had been in Rip Van Winkle (1905) and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906). Quarto (276 x 229 mm). Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in dark green morocco, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, raised bands, pictorial onlay to front board with titles in gilt, twin rule to turn-ins gilt, burgundy endpapers, top edge gilt, others uncut. With 13 tipped-in colour plates, captioned tissues, numerous black and white illustrations throughout. Some partial browning to half-title and limitation leaf, the occasional minor blemish overall an excellent copy in a fine binding.

Stockholm: Albert Bonniers. 1966. First edition with these illustrations. First edition with these illustrations. Inscribed by Tove Jansson, who adds an original drawing for the highly influential Swedish author and critic Stig Ahlgren. Publisher's original brown cloth with gilt titles to the spine and a gilt design to the upper board, in dustwrapper. Illustrated throughout by Tove Jansson with colour and black and white in-text illustrations. Text in Swedish. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very good, rubbed, nicked and marked dustwrapper that has several short closed tears at the edges and a small chip at the middle of the upper panel.Inscribed by Tove Jansson in black ink on the front endpaper with a fine original drawing of Alice holding a flower "Till Stig Ahlgren / av en beundrarinna - illustratören -66" [to Stig Ahlgren / by an admirer - the illustrator - [19]66]. A fine and rare presentation copy of Moomin creator Tove Jansson's exquisitely illustrated Alice In Wonderland. Provenance:Presented by Tove Jansson to Stig Johan Axel Blommert-Ahlgren (1910-1996), Swedish author, editor, translator and critic; collection of Tor Morisse (1947-2017), Norwegian children's book author and illustrator who lived in Sweden for most of his life. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers. [Attributes: First Edition; Signed Copy; In Dust Jacket]

Macmilland and Col, London; 1870 and 1872. Octavo. In two volumes. Through the Looking-Glass- First edition, first issue with "wade" for "wabe" in the second line of the Jabberwocky verse on page 21. 224pp., (1)pp. publisher's ads, illustrated with 50 fine illustrations by John Tenniel. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Twenty-Third Thousand (first published in 1866). 192pp., (1)pp. ad at rear. Also illustrated by John Tenniel with 42 fine illustrations. A fine set bound by Bayntun-Riviere in full red pictorial gilt morocco centrally stamped in gilt.Through the looking Glass with the Rabbit and Alice in Wonderland with the Queen stamped in gilt, edges ruled in gilt, raised bands with compartments beautifully decorated and lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, morocco turn-ins gilt. Both volumes have the original covers bound in at the rear. Set housed together within a felt lined publisher's cloth slipcase with ribbon pulls. No names or bookplates, just a hint of foxing to one title page. A beautiful set. [Attributes: First Edition]

West Hatfield, MA: Pennyroyal Press, 1982. Trade issue bindings in 3/4 levant morocco lettered and ruled in gilt, housed in publisher's clamshell boxes with separate suites of loose signed etchings in chemises: 72 signed pencil plates in the first volume, 92 signed pencil plates in Through the Looking-Glass. Both volumes signed by Barry Moser on the rear colophon numbered #278 & #170. Both Near Fine with light fading to spines and modest shelf wear and soiling to cloth slipcases. Alice in Wonderland has a few trivial tape stains to the verso of a few plates. Barry Moser's most popular productions for his Pennyroyal Press, both major achievements in 20th century fine press book design. The first two Pennyroyal Press illustrated editions of classics. Near Fine.

Doubleday Page, 1907. Carroll, Lewis. (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., [n. d. but 1907]. First American De Luxe Edition illustrated by Arthur Rackham. With a "proem" by Austin Dobson. Limited to 550 numbered copies SIGNED by the publisher of which this is #114. Large quarto. Thirteen full-page tipped-in colored plates with all tissue guards present, illustrations sized much larger than those found in the first trade edition. This large paper edition is 162pp and measures 11 1/2" x 9 ¼". Original publisher's quarter dark green cloth over light green boards lettered in gilt with a small onlay image of Alice affixed to the upper board, t.e.g. A VERY FINE copy in ORIGINAL GLASSINE DUST JACKET still residing inside its matching green ORIGINAL CARDBOARD GIFT BOX. Virtually as new and untouched, an astonishing survival. In 1907, after more than forty years, Lewis Carroll's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland entered the public domain. That year, many new editions of Alice's Adventures were free to be published. Of those, Arthur Rackham's 1907 illustrated version is arguably the most iconic (and the most sought after) visual interpretation of Alice outside of the original Victorian era drawings by John Tenniel. In thirty years of selling Lewis Carroll desiderata, this is the first time we've ever seen the Doubleday Edition De Luxe in its original glassine DJ (much less with its original gift box). Also included, a nice clean example of the first American Trade Edition (c.1907, printed in England) as a reading copy. [Attributes: First Edition; Signed Copy; Hard Cover; In Dust Jacket]

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1866. FIRST EDITION SECOND ISSUE. 1 vol., frontispiece & 42 illustrations by John Tenniel. Bound in 1/2 red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, gilt lettered blue and tan morocco spine labels, gilt green morocco floral onalys in each panel, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, by Krumin of Boston. This is the earliest obtainable issue with the Appleton cancel title page. Macmillan printed around 2,000 copies of the book in 1865, but both artist and author were unhappy with the poor quality printing and insisted it was reprinted before being published. Macmillan sold the rest of the print run to Appleton in New York who published a US edition using a new title page but with the first printing sheets from the 1865 London edition. Though the execution of the binding is quite skilled the only reference we can find on "Krumin of Boston" is a reference in a 1922 Boston trade directory that he Henry Krumin, registered as a binder and lived and or worked at 88 Moody St. in Boston. We were also able to locate a clamshell box in the British Library also noted as stamped "Krumin of Boston".

New York: Limited Editions Club, 1932 & 1935. Hardcover. Very mild sunning to the spine of the Wonderland book. Fine, bright copies in Fine slipcases. Exceptional condition. John Tenniel. Two volumes in original full blue morocco and original full red morocco leather bindings with heavy gilt decorations. Each is copy #509 of 1500 copies with the original John Tenniel illustrations and with typography and binding by Frederick Warde who has SIGNED the first volume. Each copy is additionally SIGNED by Alice Hargreaves, "the original Alice." Only about 500 copies of the first title and about 1000 of the second were signed by her a few years before her death. Alice refused to sign other editions of this famous book in her lifetime, written by Carroll for her when she was young Alice Liddell, but she was convinced with the help of monetary compensation at an advanced age to sign these copies. Many have praised these books, but perhaps novelist Sir Walter Besant's remark on ALICE IN WONDERLAND is the most insightful: "It admits us into a state of being which, until it was written, was not only unexplored but undiscovered." [Attributes: Signed Copy]

New York & London: Macmillan & Co, 1872. Leather Bound. Very good/Very good. John Tenniel. John Tenniel. Leather Bound. H: 7 1/4", D: 5", W: 3/4" 2 Volumes. Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in full red morocco with the covers and raised band spines gilt-tooled. All edges gilt with gilt-tooled dentelles and marbled endpapers. 42 illustrations by John Tenniel. New York & London: Macmillan & Co., 1872.

London: Macmillan und Comp., 1869. FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE PRESENTATION COPY OF THE FIRST FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION OF ALICE! 1 vol., inscribed on the half-title "Georgina Balfour from the Author", illustrated by John Tenniel. Bound in the publishers original gilt stamped green cloth, all edges gilt, with the original "Burn" binders tick to lower corner of rear pastedown. Inner and outer hinges fine, head and foot of spine with some mild rubbing without loss, back corners lightly rubbed, occasional mild foxing otherwise a NICE COPY. WMG 71 This copy last appeared at auction in May 20, 1950 at Sotheby's in one lot containing 2 A.L.S.'s and this book. Georgina Balfour was the recipient of one of the 1865 Alice's. There's a letter dated Nov. 14, 1865 which asks her to please return her copy as it was "so badly printed". There were 4 families named Balfour. Georgina belongs to the northern Balfours who have been family friends since Dodgson's boyhood. [Attributes: First Edition; Signed Copy; Hard Cover]

Christ Church, Oxford: , 1895. ("Charles L. Dodgson") in black fountain pen ink on plain letter paper, Christ Church, Oxford, December 5, 1895. 7 1/8" x 4 1/4"; 2 pages (1 sheet recto and verso). Together with the original holograph mailing envelope, in Dodgson's hand, stamped and postmarked Oxford, December 5, 1895. To a child-friend, Gladys Baly: Interesting letter beginning with a rhyme, 'In one way I'm like the Old Woman that lived in a shoe - that is, I've got so many picture-books, I don't know what to do!' Dodgson asks whether Gladys already possess The Story of the Mermaiden illustrated by Laura Trobridge: if not, he will send it to her as a Christmas present - 'The pictures are by the same artist who illustrated Little Thumb, & I think you will find many pretty figures among them, some of which perhaps you may like to copy'. Dodgson had befriended Gladys Baly when staying at Eastborune in October 1891. She was then six years old, & had a talent for drawing. Dodgson predicted that she would become a first-rate artist. Not in The Letters, ed. Cohen. [Attributes: Signed Copy]

Christ Church, Oxford: , 1891. ("C.L. Dodgson"), in black ink on bifold leaf, 3 1/2 pages, 3 1/2" x 5 1/2", Christ Church, Oxford, July 16, 1891. Fine fresh example. To Sir Robert H. Collins: A good letter to an aid to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Albany with reference to Maggie Bowman, her sibling and a stage performance of "Alice in Wonderland". Carroll seeks to have the Duchess meet Maggie and her two sisters (Nellie and Empsie) hoping to get her a royal audience and approval. Dodgson had a good deal to do with putting the Bowman sisters and brother on the stage and with their great success. He first encountered Isa, who had a small part in the original stage production of Alice, at a rehearsal, and before long was taking her on day outings and on visits to Eastbourne. In the course of their friendship he naturally met the other Bowman children, three younger sisters and a brother. With Dodgson's help all went on to act professionally - the girls to full-time stage careers. See page 710 in Cohen: "The Letters," for much more information on the Bowman family. Not in "The Letters", but see page 851 for a letter July 16, 1891 to Ethel Hatch referring to Isa. [Attributes: Signed Copy]

London, Macmillan, 1889 & London, Macmillan, 1893., 1893. First editions. 8vo. Frontispiece and forty five illustrations by Harry Furniss; 5 pages of publisher's advertisements at end. Full gilt stamped red morocco by Scroll Club, spines with raised bands, gilt ruled edges, gilt ruled inner dentelles, a.e.g. (with original cloth bound in). Very good-fine. Later black cloth slipcase. Both signed and inscribed by Carroll on half-title pages to Alice Wilson Fox. The first in purple ink; the second in black ink. "Sylvie and Bruno": "Alice Wilson Fox from her old friend the Author. Jan. 8, 1890." "Sylvie and Bruno Concluded": "Alice Wilson Fox, with the Author's affectionate regards. Dec. 27, 1893." Alice Raikes (later Mrs. Wilson-Fox) was the daughter of Lewis Carroll's cousin, and may have been the inspiration for Carroll's "Alice" character (see the entry in Lewis Carroll's diary for August 17, 1868, wherein Lewis records his visit with Alice Raikes and the further development of "Through the Looking Glass"). The editor, Roger L. Green, comments after this entry: "It was probably during this stay in the house at Onslow Square that a chance meeting with his little cousin Alice Raikes helped Dodgson to the additional realization of the peculiarities of 'Looking-Glass House,' which gave still greater verisimilitude to the new 'Wonderland' which he was then inventing for his own dream-child.".. Signed by Author(s). F. Hardcover. [Attributes: First Edition; Signed Copy]