1904 Rare Book - Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. First Edition illustrated by Maria L. Kirk.
Author: Lewis Carroll. (illustrated by Maria L. Kirk).
Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. With twelve illustrations in color by Maria L. Kirk.
Publisher: New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company, no date (1904). First Edition illustrated by Maria L. Kirk.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8.5 " X 6 ".
Pages: xiv-247 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original decorated full cloth binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, gift note of a previous 1915 owner on the first endpaper - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the beautiful 12 full-page color illustrations by Maria L. Kirk and the 42 illustrations by John Tenniel.
Estimate: (USD 400 - USD 500)
The book: Rare and attractive First Edition illustrated by Maria L. Kirk of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The illustrator: Maria Louise Kirk was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on 21st June 1860. Despite being a prolific and highly talented illustrator, very little is known about her life. She studied art in Philadelphia – at the School of Design for Women, and the Academy of Fine Arts. These schools were well-respected in the area, and Kirk exhibited broadly in her home state. She consequently won awards in both Philadelphia and Chicago and illustrated over fifty books during the course of her lifetime. Many of her most famous pieces were commissioned during the 1890s, and her most celebrated work was a delicate rendition of Alice in Wonderland, which came out in 1904. Kirk’s characteristic style included exceptionally technically well-executed children, with bright foregrounds and foreboding dark backgrounds. Her characters are stylized, and statuesque in their quiet beauty, but show little of the art nouveau and art deco influences so prominent for many of Kirk’s fellow illustrators. Today, her monotone works are just as sought after as her color plates. Maria Louise Kirk died on her birthday in 1938 – at the age of seventy-eight.