{"product_id":"1872-rare-early-edition-alices-adventures-in-wonderland-by-lewis-carroll","title":"1872 Rare Early Edition - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA beautiful early 1872 edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, featuring the celebrated 42 original illustrations by John Tenniel, handsomely preserved in a contemporary green half-leather binding with richly marbled endpapers and page edges.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\u003c\/strong\u003e: Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832–1898).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitle\u003c\/strong\u003e: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e: John Tenniel (1820–1914).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: London and New York: Macmillan and Co., 1872.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEdition\u003c\/strong\u003e: Early edition, Thirty-First Thousand, as stated on the title page. Published seven years after the first regularly distributed edition of 1866.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage\u003c\/strong\u003e: English.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages\u003c\/strong\u003e: 192 pages, with preliminary leaves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize\u003c\/strong\u003e: 7.5 x 5 inches.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding\u003c\/strong\u003e: Very good contemporary green half-leather binding, with textured green cloth-covered boards, leather corners, raised spine bands, and gilt lettering and decorative tooling. All edges beautifully marbled. Attractive multicoloured marbled endpapers in shades of red, blue, cream, and orange. Light rubbing and expected age-related wear to the leather extremities and corners, with some mellowing of the spine leather to a warm tan-brown. The binding remains handsome and well preserved. Protected in a removable mylar cover. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContent\u003c\/strong\u003e: Very good, with clean, well-preserved pages showing gentle age toning and occasional light foxing or minor marks. The original illustrations remain beautifully crisp and detailed. An interesting handwritten school-prize inscription dated October 1875 appears on the front preliminary leaf, together with an earlier ownership inscription on the facing page. A small historical bookseller's label from W. E. Smith \u0026amp; Son, London, is preserved on the rear pastedown.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrations\u003c\/strong\u003e: Illustrated throughout with John Tenniel's 42 celebrated black-and-white wood-engraved illustrations, including the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and the unforgettable creatures of Wonderland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEstimate\u003c\/strong\u003e: $400–500 USD.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe book: \u003c\/strong\u003eFirst published in 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland remains one of the most imaginative and influential works in the history of children's literature. Inspired by a story Lewis Carroll originally told to Alice Liddell and her sisters during a boating excursion on the River Thames, the novel follows a curious young girl who tumbles down a rabbit hole into a world where logic is delightfully overturned, animals speak, playing cards come to life, and the ordinary rules of existence no longer apply.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis attractive 1872 printing, identified on its title page as the Thirty-First Thousand, was published during Carroll's lifetime, only seven years after the book's original appearance. It retains the famous illustrations by John Tenniel that have become inseparable from the story itself. The White Rabbit consulting his watch, Alice changing size, the extraordinary gathering of creatures, and the formidable Queen of Hearts are all rendered with Tenniel's remarkable precision, humour, and imagination. The elegant contemporary binding, with its green leather, gilt-decorated spine, and colourful marbled papers, gives this early Victorian edition a particularly distinguished presence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe author: \u003c\/strong\u003eLewis Carroll (1832–1898), the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was an English author, mathematician, photographer, and lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford. His extraordinary gift for wordplay, logical paradox, and imaginative storytelling transformed children's literature, creating narratives that continue to fascinate readers of every generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the remarkable success of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll published its equally imaginative sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, in 1871. Together, these two works established Wonderland as one of literature's most enduring imaginary worlds, inspiring countless adaptations and interpretations across art, theatre, cinema, and popular culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe illustrator: \u003c\/strong\u003eSir John Tenniel (1820–1914) was a distinguished British illustrator and political cartoonist, best remembered for his extraordinary illustrations of Lewis Carroll's two Alice books. A longtime contributor to Punch magazine, Tenniel possessed a remarkable ability to combine meticulous draughtsmanship with expressive characterisation, visual humour, and subtle satire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis 42 illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland helped establish the visual identity of Carroll's extraordinary characters. Tenniel's Alice, White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, and Queen of Hearts remain among the most recognizable figures in illustrated literature. Their enduring appeal makes early editions retaining these original illustrations especially desirable to collectors of Victorian literature and classic children's books.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MFLIBRA - Antique Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67516713697529,"sku":null,"price":375.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0953\/3348\/files\/20261028alice1872_01.jpg?v=1793177420","url":"https:\/\/mflibra.com\/products\/1872-rare-early-edition-alices-adventures-in-wonderland-by-lewis-carroll","provider":"MFLIBRA - Antique Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}