Tenniel family menu cards up for auction

Menu cards (porcelain plaques), created by John Tenniel for family dinners, based on his illustrations for Lewis Carroll's Alice books, are up for auction at PBA Galleries (133 Kearny St, San Francisco) - low estimate $20k, high estimate $30k. The product description from their website:

Six small hand-painted porcelain plaques by John Tenniel, each with its own wrought-iron miniature easel. Each has a character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass taking up about a quarter of the plaque, with the remainder blank, and "Menu" written at the top of each. The plaques measure 5x3½; the easels are about 7½" high.
Marvelous and unique group of original hand-painted plaques used as menu cards for the Tenniel family dinners, descended in the family over the years. The night's fare was evidently written in the blank spaces with a crayon or grease pencil, then wiped off after the meal was completed. The characters pictured are The White Rabbit (with his pocket-watch), the Mock Turtle (crying away), the Frog Footman (delivering a letter), the Walrus (without the Oysters and the Carpenter), the Leg of Mutton (taking a bow), and a frog with a rake. The plaques have a small wooden case with a removable top, on which is a label with writing "China (Delicate)". The case top has two sides missing, some other wear.

New Poppet Alice from Lisa Snellings

Artist Lisa Snellings makes Poppets. In her words, "They're adorable... and sort of... creepy." Last year she made an Alice in Wonderland series that ran to eight or ten pieces and it seems she may be starting 2010 with a similar project. Currently she is auctioning Alice and the Caterpillar on Ebay (auction closes January 6th) but the item descriptions suggest more Wonderland Poppets may be on their way.

Swann Galleries to auction "Portrait of Emily Cecilia Harrison"

On December 8th, Swann Galleries in New York will be auctioning Dodgson's "Portrait of Emily Cecilia Harrison," a 6.5 by 5 inch albumen print of Emily and her doll in a comfortable-looking chair. The sale is notable, first for its seriously fancy online "3D" catalogue, and secondly for a very exciting re-telling of Mr Dodgson's biography:

Although best known for novels "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass," he also invented croquet, billiards, various forms of chess, scrabble, ways to divide certain numbers and two different form of the Arabic zero.

The estimated sale price is $4,000 to $6,000. Perhaps it should be higher?

"The prettiest are always further": Treasure-trove of Carroll items to be auctioned December 16th

Yesterday the internet was thick with the news that Alice Liddell's own copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass were be sold at auction. What few sites mentioned was that alongside these books, the auction house catalog is advertising a veritable who's who, or what's what, list of early Alice printed collectibles:

• not one, but two editions of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, one of which is a first edition, presentation copy inscribed by the author to the mother of Edith Blakemore.

• a first edition of The Nursery "Alice", one of twelve specially bound as samples for the American market

• a first edition of the Wonderland Postage Stamp Case, inscribed to "Miss Wordsworth [great niece of William Wordsworth], from the Inventor. May, 1891." (A potential steal, listed at $1,000 -$1,500. Don't you wish you had bought one for a shilling when you had the chance?)

• An Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves "Alice", inscribed to Edith Blakemore from Lewis Carroll. "Four-page pamphlet written on the celebration of Easter for young readers of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland."

• and of course lot 28: "Through the Looking-Glass, First Edition, the Dedication Copy, presented to the original Alice by Lewis Carroll and signed by her ...with misprint “wade” for “wabe” on page 21."

• an original ink drawing of Edith Blakemore by Dodgson, "in a bathing costume, holding a bucket and spade, leaning against the wheel of a bathing machine."

• a letter from Dodgson sending a specimen of his stamp case "...Would you kindly furnish me with the addresses of any Stationers (doing a good amount of business) to whom it would be worth my while to send a specimen-copy of my new Stamp-Case...?"

• another first edition of Through the Looking-Glass, this one with two original pencil drawings by Tenniel on the half-title signed "Ever yours, JT".

• #743 of 1,500 copies of the 1932 Limited Editions Club print of Wonderland and Looking-Glass, signed “Alice Hargreaves”

• Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing, inscribed by Lewis Carroll to Alice Blakemore, the mother of one of his child-friends.

• and finally, an original John Tenniel drawing of the sleeping Gryphon (list price $60,000-$80,000!)

The items are being auctioned by Profiles in History on December 16th, the same Hollywood memorabilia dealer selected to auction Michael Jackson's be-gemed and illuminated glove. Full descriptions and images of all the Alice items can be viewed in a pdf of the catalog, available on their website.

Online Auction for 2015

Another fundraiser for the 2015 event is a weekly auction of very fun items donated by the family of the great Carrollian collector Carolyn Buck. Check it out, and keep checking back as new items will be added every week this fall.

Which reminds me, if you are interested in helping organize a fabulous event, send Joel Birenbaum an email. Every little bit helps!

Rackham Alice

Bloomsbury Auctions (London) is selling a beautiful Rackham Alice, signed by Rackham with a wonderful ink sketch of the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle. It is part of the "Books, Manuscripts, Prints, and Original Artwork" sale on July 9.

New Old Dodo Picture

In all the hubbub of newly released character and scenery pictures from Tim Burton's Wonderland, only the Telegraph (U.K) has taken note of a previously undiscovered 17th century picture of a dodo. The picture is particularly important as it was drawn before the bird became extinct, although it is uncertain whether it was drawn from life. The picture is to be sold at auction by Christie’s on July 9.

Bloomsbury Auction

Bloomsbury Auctions' Literature, Manuscripts and Modern First Editions sale on April 23 has quite a few Carrollian items: Lots 333, 772, 856, 1097, 1099, 1104, 1162, 1227, 1301, 1408, and 1409 include modern limited editions signed by illustrators such as John Vernon Lord and presentation copies of Euclid and His Modern Rivals and The Game of Logic.

Photos at auction

Bonham's auction house in London has 15 Carrollian items - photographs, two letters, and a first edition of Through the Looking-Glass (Lots 135 to 150) - included in Sale 16761 - Printed Books, Manuscripts, Music & Photographs on March 24.

More auction items

Bloomsbury New York has a first American edition of Through the Looking Glass and The Harp of a Thousand Strings (the first -albeit unauthorized and uncredited- appearance of Lewis Carroll's work in a book) up for auction on January 25, while Bloomsbury London has a Dali Alice on the block on February 26.

If only the best will do...

If you are looking for something more authentic than a facsimile, and don't mind being a few weeks late, you could always bid on an Arthur Rackham-illustrated Alice in Wonderland (a limited edition and, I presume, first edition but not actually stated) up for auction at Bonham's on March 4.

Auction Muchness

Tomorrow's (June 24, 2008) auction at Bonhams in London includes five items from the Blakemore family: an "original [purple] ink drawing of Edith Blakemore in a beach costume, holding a bucket and spade, leaning against a wheel" by Lewis Carroll (Lot 119); and inscribed presentation copies of "An Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves 'Alice'" (Lot 115), Symbolic Logic, Part I (Lot 116), Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter-Writing (Lot 117), and Alice's Adventures Under Ground (Lot 118).

In addition, the International Poster Gallery of Boston will be having their “Summer of Love” poster show July 4 to September 1, 2008. Two items of note are “Dartmouth Winter Carnival – Through a Frosted Looking Glass" poster (#USL16197), which has the Jabberwock on skis, and
"Through the Looking Glass" on blotter (#USL15956). (If you don't know what the blotter is for, probably better you don't ask...)

Upcoming Events

This weekend, March 8 and 9, the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre of Snellville, Georgia, performs a ballet of Alice with what look like wonderful costumes: www.gwinnettballet.org.


On Saturday, March 15, the Leeds [U.K.] Centre for Victorian Studies, is holding the 19th Northern Victorian Studies Colloquium, on Victorian Ethics. In the section titled: Children and Literature: Zoe Jaques (Anglia Ruskin University) will be giving the following talk at 3:45 pm: “Alice’s Moral Wonderland: Lewis Carroll and Animal Ethics.” Further details from their website: www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/lcvs/Colloquia/Ethics.html.

On Thursday, March 20, PBA Galleries of San Francisco will be holding an auction including illustrated and children's books (www.pbagalleries.com/live/sale_details.php?s=376&). Of particular note are an Appleton Alice (lot 16) of 1865/6, an 1870 Alice (lot 17), and a first edition of Looking Glass (lot 18)

On Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, Arizona's Gravity Jazz Dance Theatre will be performing Alice in Wonderland: www.gravityjazzdance.org. (Are those marathon runners?!)


On Thursday, April 3, PBA Galleries' "fine literature" auction (www.pbagalleries.com/live/sale_details.php?s=377&) will include an 1876 Snark (Lot 18) and a first edition set of S&B/S&BC (Lot 19).


On Saturday, April 26, Storybook Weekend Events of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in conjunction with its performance of Alice In Wonderland, will include a “Mad Hatters Tea Party” in the Great Hall adjacent to the Grand Theater (www.grandoperahouse.org/events/tas/0708/12alice.html), “Queens Croquet” events on the City Square,” and most importantly, a corresponding exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (www.lywam.org) of a small selection of art and items from LCSNA member Joel Birenbaum's collection. The exhibit opens on Friday, April 25.