Macmillan's Coloured Wall Illustrations: Alice in Wonderland.

London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd,, [c.1920]. First and only edition of this extremely uncommon and highly decorative set of posters First and only edition of this extremely uncommon and highly decorative set of posters. This complete set comprises possibly the first example of the original publishers of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland using illustrations to Carroll's fantasy other than those by John Tenniel. The set comprises: 1. Alice and the White Rabbit; 2. The Dodo presenting the Thimble to Alice; 3. The Cheshire Cat; 4. The Mad Tea-Party; 5. The Mock Turtle's Story, and 6. Trial of the Knave of Hearts. With the expiry of copyright on Alice in 1907, numerous publishers issued versions with colour illustrations. Macmillan, however, continued to rely on Tenniel's black and white illustrations. Nevertheless, there was evidently some requirement for the original publishers to update the appearance of the book which had been unchanged since 1865. A set of these posters in the Bodleian Library suggests their publication in 1921 (using the library's dated acquisition stamp). Six years later Macmillan published an edition which included Tenniel's drawings and 16 coloured plates (Williams, Madan, Green & Crutch, 322). The artist was John MacFarlane who, evidently, was instructed to keep as closely to Tenniel's originals as possible. The set was originally issued secured by a wooden bar at the top edge with a first sheet on paper reading "Macmillan's Coloured Wall Illustrations", the title "Alice in Wonderland", a listing of the six posters, before details of the publishers. We can trace only two sets in institutions: the set noted above in the Bodleian Library, and a set in the rare book collection of Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. The artist, John Fleming Cullen MacFarlane (1857-1936), was born in Scotland and by the 1880s was working as an illustrator. In the early 1880s he moved to Australia, and his work was published within The Illustrated Australian News, The Queensland Leader, and The Barrier Daily Truth. In 1892 he illustrated his first book, At the Races: The Melbourne Cup. He returned to England around the turn of the century and continued to contribute work to periodicals, in addition to books, including illustrations for Ward, Lock & Co., together with Macmillan and Co. 6 colour-lithographed linen-backed posters (810 x 565 mm.), each poster with publisher noted in lower right corner and title of illustration lettered in black in lower margin. Loose leaves. Single fold at horizontal centre, some minor nicks and short tears to extremities, occasional minor soiling and foxing to white borders, creases to lower right corner of Poster 1, light foxing to lower right corner of Poster 5, creases to top left corner of margin, and very minor loss to lower right corner of margin of Poster 6: a very good set.