London, Macmillan and Co., 1886. . First edition, first printing, first issue with black coated endpapers, inscribed by the author; 8vo (190 x 135 mm); thirty-seven engravings based on illustrations, in-line drawings and full-page plates, inscription in ink to half-title; publisher's red cloth triple ruled in gilt, gilt-embossed vignette depicting mock-turtle to lower board, all edges gilt, toned spine, minor marks to boards, otherwise very good indeed; [viii], 96pp, [1], [2]ads.
Presentation inscription by Lewis Carroll. A wonderful copy of the perennial children's classic, inscribed by Lewis Carroll on the half-title. This edition was released twenty-one years after the first copy was published and is a facsimile of the author's original manuscript - the only know copy of which resides in the British Library. It contains thirty-seven of Carroll's drawings to accompany the text, which decorated the manuscript. Subsequently, Carroll asked Punch cartoonist, John Tenniel to recreate these drawings to go alongside Alice in Wonderland when it was published in 1865.
The story was born from a journey Carroll took with the three daughters of his close friends. As he rowed them down the river in Oxford he began to make up stories of their expedition and named it 'Alice's Adventures Underground' in his diary later that day - Alice Liddell being the name of one of the girls. Alice pleaded with Carroll to take this story down on paper and the author obliged, presenting her with the manuscript roughly two years later wherein he received feedback from her and other children to make edits which would please young minds.
The book, alongside its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, cemented Carroll's position as a seminal writer of the Victorian period, particularly in the genre of nonsense writing. Alice's journey into the fantasy world of magic and royalty and anthropomorphic creatures would go on to influence writing for over a century after his death. The edition is unusual due to its form and illustrations - mimicking Carroll's handwriting - and it being significantly shorter than the final version of the novel, as the original manuscript did not include scenes such as the Mad-Hatter's Tea Party as they were added in later. Finally, this particular copy is inscribed 'Mary James | From the author | Dec 3 /93' crafting a bond between the reader and the eminent Lewis Carroll.
