1921 Rare Songs from Alice in Wonderland Illustrated by Charles Folkard 1stED
Author: Lewis Carroll (words). Lucy E. Broadwood (Music), Charles Folkard (Illustrations).
Title: Songs from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
Publisher: London, A. & C. Black, Ltd., 1921 (First Edition, published October 1921).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 11" x 9".
Pages: 48 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher’s light blue cloth binding with gilt title to upper board and spine, featuring a mounted color plate of Alice crowned and surrounded by Tenniel-inspired Wonderland characters (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. A solid and attractive copy.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing - as shown). Endpapers illustrated with delicate line drawings of Alice, the Gryphon, and the Mock Turtle.
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated by Charles Folkard with 12 tipped-in full-page color plates (including frontispiece) within elaborate decorative line borders, as well as numerous vignette illustrations integrated with text and sheet music. A wonderful collaboration of art and song, blending Carroll’s verses with Broadwood’s musical arrangements.
Estimate: (USD 250 – 350)
The Book: This 1921 First Edition of Songs from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass represents a unique blending of literature, music, and illustration. Taking Lewis Carroll’s immortal nonsense verses—such as “How doth the little crocodile,” “Father William,” and “Jabberwocky”—Lucy Broadwood set them to music, transforming Carroll’s whimsical poems into singable songs. The result is both a musical and literary delight, an edition especially cherished by collectors of Alice ephemera. Issued by A. & C. Black with the permission of Macmillan & Co., this edition is further distinguished by its lavish decorative style.
The Author: Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832–1898) is celebrated for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871), works that revolutionized children’s literature through their playful language, absurd logic, and unforgettable characters.
The Composer: Lucy Etheldred Broadwood (1858–1929) was a distinguished English folksong collector and musician, central to the English Folk Song Society. Her arrangements bring a distinctive early 20th-century musical sensibility to Carroll’s whimsical texts.
The Illustrator: Charles Folkard (1878–1963), one of Britain’s leading Golden Age illustrators, is especially remembered for his richly colored and fantastical imagery. His work on this edition brings a theatrical, playful quality that enhances Carroll’s world of nonsense and imagination, while echoing Tenniel’s tradition with fresh vitality.