Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, First Edition, appleton (4 results)

With forty-two illustrations by John Tenniel (illustrator). Octavo. [xii], 192, [iv]. 7"x 5.25" Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865 by Macmillan and Co, but after only a few of the two thousand copies were fully published, the edition was suppressed when John Tenniel complained about the poor paper quality and their effect on the printings of his illustrations. Macmillan sold the remaining sheets to the American publisher Appleton, which they used to make this edition and which definitively precedes the second edition, printed in the UK by Macmillan in 1866. All points of issue mentioned in Williams confirms. The story was inspired by a boat trip on the 4th of July with Robinson Duckworth and the three young daughters of Henry Liddell: Lorina, Alice, and Edith. Under the insistence of Alice, Carroll wrote down the story he told them while they were rowing on the river. Carroll received further encouragement to seek publication of his story by George Macdonald's family, whose children enjoyed the story. In honor of the original audience of Alice's adventure, Carroll based characters on them. Aside from Alice as her namesake throughout the book, in chapter three, A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale, the Duck represents Duckworth, the Lory Lorina, the Eaglet Edith, and the Dodo Carroll himself, stemming from his real name Charles Dodgson. This copy includes a period inscription on the front fly, dated two years after publication: "Little Laura from Aunt Lizzie on her fifth birthday, Staten Island 1868." [Williams 10. Williams, Madan, Green, & Crutch 44]. Slight bow to boards, minor spots rubbing to text block edges with small nick to fore edge effecting pp 75-108 but not the text, small chips to upper corners pp 43-50, closed tear middle of pp 65-66, faint spots of darkening sparsely throughout text, overall a near fine, tight copy in beautiful binding with bright gilt, in custom mylar. Rebound in 20th-century full crushed red morocco with gilt rules and decorations, raised spine bands decoratively gilt, inner and outer dentelle, with marbled endpapers and text block edges First edition, second issue (comprising the sheets of the suppressed 1865 printing, with cancel title page dated 1866).

hardcover. Condition: near fine. first. First US edition, with first UK sheets. Book near fine, some rubbing to corners and spine ends, rubbing to upper left corner of front free end paper, partial cracking to front gutter. Housed in custom-made fold-out case.

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. In 1865 Macmillan printed this book in England and recalled it because John Tenniel, the illustrator considered the printing of the illustrations unsatisfactory. After consulting with Tenniel, Lewis Carroll authorized Macmillan to sell 1,952 bound copies to Appleton in New York with a new title page replacing Macmillan with D. Appleton and dated 1866. The new title page was tipped onto the excised stub of the Macmillan 1865 edition. Top edge and fore edge gilt. A few small waterspots on the front cover. The half title page has some writing on it and the lower fore edge corner has had a professional repair of the lower fore edge corner not affection the text. Spine a little darkened otherwise a tight copy. Michael Hancher, author of The Tenniel Illustrations to the "Alice" Books was in the shop this summer and examined our copy of this book. There is a census of the extant copies of the 1866 Appleton Alice as announced by John Lindseth in PBSA some time ago that is still a work in progress. He goes on to say, "Extant copies of what has become known as "The Appleton Alice" have turned out to become quite elusive. The British Library is the only institutional holder found in the UK. Some seventy institutional holders are found in the United States and Canada and one in Switzerland. Fewer than twenty private holders have been identified. Our copy may add one to that small number. In his note Lindseth distinguishes four different states of the text, which apparently have no priority. Hancher goes on in his email to write, "I also attach two pages from the new chapter about "Printing" in the revised edition of my Tenniel book. Apparently the image quality for the illustrations of the suppressed Macmillan printing of 1865 (which got recycled as the Appleton edition of 1866) varies from copy to copy and image to image, depending on how much ink leaked through from the printing on the other side of a particular leaf. Tenniel must have been given - and rejected - one of the worse copies. Had he been given your copy he might not have balked." 1st American edition / Ist edition, second issue.

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.