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Auction News OUTSTANDING LEWIS CARROLL COLLECTION GOING UNDER HAMMER An outstanding collection of books and letters of Lewis Carroll – including an exceptionally rare first edition copy of Alice in Wonderland goes under the hammer later this month at Mullock’s next historical documents sale. ‘This is unquestionably the most important Lewis Carroll collection to come up for sale in recent years, and we are expecting considerable international interest’ commented the auctioneers’ Historical Documents Expert Richard Westwood-Brookes. ‘The edition of Alice we are selling is the scarce first American edition which is actually the very first time the book appeared in print through a very curious set of circumstances. ‘The original printing of Alice was carried out at the Clarendon Press in Oxford and was to be published by Macmillan & Co in London. 2,000 copies were printed and approximately 50 were bound and sent to Carroll for his own use. ‘Carroll donated these to friends, and a particular copy, bound in vellum was presented to Alice Liddell herself. However, both Sir John Tenniel, who illustrated the work and Carroll were dissatisfied with the printing and decided to scrap the edition and start afresh. ‘Initially he thought of selling the unbound sheets as waste paper, but Macmillan persuaded him to sell them to Appletons in America. 1,000 sets of sheets were bound in England with a new tipped in title page dated 1866 printed at the Clarendon Press The copy we are selling was one of those original 1,000. The rest were bound in America with a different title page. Known as the ‘Appleton Alice’ this issue is in effect the first authorised edition, preceding the release of the first corrected edition which finally appeared in November 1865 with the date 1866 on the title page. ‘The first edition of Alice is one of the most sought after children’s books by collectors. ‘The collection also includes a first edition of ‘Alice’s Adventures Under Ground’ which was published in 1886 and is a facsimile of the original manuscript of Alice in Wonderland. The copy we are offering is inscribed by Lewis Carroll making this a particularly rare example. ‘Also inscribed by Carroll are the first editions of his last works, Sylvie and Bruno, and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded. These have been sumptuously bound and are particularly good examples.’ In addition to the books, the collection also contains one of the finest letters of Lewis Carroll to appear on the market in recent times. ‘This makes considerable references to Enid Stevens, the last of his ‘child-friends’ and the girl to whom he dedicated Silvie and Bruno. ‘And to add to the whole collection is an extremely rare letter of Alice herself, signing under the maiden name of Liddell. Although this is a brief letter sending her autograph to a collector it is very revealing. It is well known that Alice shunned the fame which Carroll’s book bestowed on her, and when she married she insisted on being called ‘Mrs Hargreaves’ – and indeed her grave in Lyndhurst churchyard in Hampshire makes reference to ‘A.H.’ in the family tomb. ‘In the letter we are selling Alice says : ‘…if Mr Benjamin Field sets any value on my autograph it is quite at his service. Here it is …’ The collection also features a fine letter of Sir John Tenniel, and a first edition copy of the first biography of Lewis Carroll. The collection is being offered in a total of seven lots at the Historical Document and Ephemera Auction being held at Ludlow Racecourse on 23rd August 2007. Further information from Richard Westwood-Brookes on 01694 771771. |