Books > Children's > The Nursery Alice Signed with Four Letters By Lewis Carroll.

The Nursery Alice Signed with Four Letters By Lewis Carroll.

Lewis Carroll

£24,000

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Ref. 113342   Edition. 1st UK Edition

Illustrated By: John Tenniel Edmund Evans

Published By: Macmillan And Co 1890 (London)

This remarkable copy in extremely fresh condition signed by Lewis Carroll one of 100 copies presented to friends with a copy of the name recorded in a Lewis Carroll's notebook. Second overall edition 1st Uk edition. This fabulous copy comes with four signed letters by Lewis Carroll, a brief transcript of each below. Engraved and printed by Edmund Evans"--Title page verso Advertisements: p. [6]-[8] at end, with slip advertising "Sylvie and Bruno" A fascinating collection of four letters written by C.L. Dodgson, a.k.a. Lewis Carroll, and addressed to ‘Mabel’. Lewis Carroll first met Mabel Amy Burton on 16 August 1877. He noted in his diary "Went on the pier in the evening and made another fortunate acquaintance... my new friend is Mabel Amy Burton, of 53 Pentonville Road, Islington. She seems to be about 8... Mabel herself is entirely charming, and without an atom of shyness: I never became friends with a child so easily or so quickly". Though their friendship ended as Mabel grew, these examples of correspondence provide a precious insight into both Carroll’s relationships and, in the case of letter no. 4, of how his taste for nonsense and the absurd permeated his real life as well as his work. Revisiting letter no. 4, we’re gifted a particularly valuable passage: ‘What is your idea of smallness, I wonder? And how do you distinguish it from largeness? Do you call an elephant "small”, for instance? And do you call this a "long” letter?’ Of course, we’re reminded of Alice’s adventures and her bizarre physical changes. In the mid-fifties, English psychiatrist John Todd coined the terms ‘Alice in Wonderland syndrome’ to refer to certain hallucinations induced by migraines; sufferers would experience size-related hallucinations affecting both themselves and the objects around them. Since, many scholars have proposed that Carroll himself was plagued by these same illusions, consequently using them as a source of inspiration for his two Alice books.  A fine example of this famous work, with such fabulous covers. 


Book Condition: Fine

Size: Large 8vo

Binding: Hardback

Inscription: Signed Lewis Carroll

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