Travel Between The Pages

Christ Church Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries have become joint owners of an exceptionally rare first edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the most important of only 22 known surviving copies of the first and subsequently withdrawn edition.

The book was previously owned by Carroll aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgson himself and has never before been exhibited in the UK. Handwritten annotations in the margins reveal the author’s thinking as he prepared to adapt the 1865 book into The Nursery “Alice”, a version of the story intended for children under five.

The book also includes 10 original drawings by John Tenniel, the story’s first illustrator. The first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was printed by Oxford University Press for publication in 1865 but was withdrawn by Carroll after the artist John Tenniel expressed dissatisfaction with the poor printing quality of his illustrations. Tenniel was a famous artist at the time and Carroll, an unknown author, complied with his wishes to suppress the publication. While he did his best to recall the copies he had already given away, a few escaped his efforts. An ‘improved’ edition appeared later that year.

Following cataloguing and digitization, the book will go on display January 16-19 in Blackwell Hall at the Weston, the Bodleian’s public visitors’ space in Oxford. It will then take pride of place in the Bodleian’s forthcoming exhibition Pets and their People from March 13 to October 31. Real-life pets inspired many of the animals in Carroll’s story, including the famous Cheshire Cat.

Christ Church will mark the return of the book to Oxford and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Hunting of the Snark in an exhibition in the college’s Upper Library called Beyond the Appliances of Art: Lewis Carroll and His Illustrators that will detail the sometimes fractious relationship between Lewis Carroll and the different artists who illustrated his books.

Carroll studied at Christ Church, and subsequently remained there until his death, serving in several roles including as lecturer in Mathematics, sub-librarian in the college library, and curator of the Senior Common Room.

The book will be known as the ‘Michelson Alice’ after the donor and philanthropist Ellen A. Michelson, collector, philanthropist, and member of the Grolier Club. Christ Church and the Bodleian joined together in their efforts to acquire the book following a competitive process initiated by Michelson in which several institutions were invited to make a case for receiving the gift.

“When I began the search for the best permanent new home for this unique piece of literary history, I wanted to be sure it would not only be properly preserved, but also available for future research and public appreciation,” said Ellen A Michelson. “Now that the book will reside in its spiritual home in Oxford, I look forward to it being enjoyed by students and Alice enthusiasts for generations to come.”

Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian and Helen Hamlyn Director of Oxford University Libraries said: “The Bodleian is honoured to become jointly responsible for the preservation and display of this unique work which is of clear historical significance to Oxford and the UK as a whole. Of all children’s books, Alice is among the most influential and this copy is undoubtedly the most important. We are proud and excited to be able to use the text to advance Carroll scholarship, display it for the enjoyment of the public, and deepen our understanding of this seminal figure in British literature.”