1920 Scarce Book - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, frontis by Margaret Tarrant

Author: Lewis Carroll. Illustrated by Margaret Tarrant.
Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Publisher: London and Melbourne, Ward, Lock & Co., Limited. [n.d., ca. 1920s].
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7" x 5".
Pages: 212 pages + publisher's catalog.
Binding: Good original beige pictorial cloth binding, with gilt-stamped spine and an exquisite circular onlay of Alice and the flamingo on the front cover. Spine panel somewhat darkened with wear to extremities; rubbing and minor bumping to corners and head/tail of spine (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. A nice survival in original publisher’s cloth.
Content: Good content (bright, tight, rare light foxing and staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Illustrated with a single stunning color frontispiece by Margaret Tarrant, capturing Alice’s whimsical struggle to reach the key atop the glass table—imbued with Tarrant’s characteristic delicacy and magical palette.

Estimate: (Scarce with no of few other copies of this edition available for sale worldwide).

The book: A delightful and uncommon early 20th-century edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, issued as part of Ward, Lock & Co.’s “Royal Series.” This version stands out for its elegant presentation and the inclusion of a frontispiece by Margaret Tarrant, one of the era’s most celebrated illustrators. Though undated, it is consistent with editions printed in the 1920s, during a flourishing period of children's illustrated publishing in Britain.

The author: Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832–1898), was an English writer, mathematician, and logician best known for creating the timeless world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel. His imaginative storytelling and playful use of logic and nonsense continue to enchant readers across generations.

The illustrator: Margaret Tarrant (1888–1959) was a British illustrator and watercolorist best known for her gentle and romantic depictions of fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and religious subjects. Her work on Alice in Wonderland—though limited to the frontispiece in this edition—demonstrates her gift for evoking innocence and fantasy with soft, luminous color and graceful composition.