Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
$22,552 · Offered by Biblio
London: Macmillan and Co.,, 1866. An unprecedented work of fantasy First published edition, finely bound by Riviere. This timeless work ushered in "a sea change in children's fantasy and mount[ed] a defiant opposition to the didactic tendencies of Victorian children's literature" (Stableford, p. 63). Continuously in print since publication, Alice remains "a universal reference for art, marketing, pop culture, and political satire" (Grolier). The first published edition comprised 4,000 copies issued in November 1865 with a post-dated title page. The original edition was suppressed due to poor printing quality, and the 2,000 copies that were printed in June 1865 were sold to Appleton's for publication in America one year later. This copy has the inverted "S" on the last line of the contents page and page 30 misnumbered "3". Octavo (191 x 117 mm). Frontispiece and illustrations in text by John Tenniel. Early 20th-century red crushed morocco by Riviere, gilt rules to compartments, covers, and turn-ins, blue endpapers, edges gilt, original cloth bound in at end. Minor rubbing to extremities, foxing and occasional marks to contents. A very good copy, handsomely bound. Grolier Children's 100, 35; Lovett A22.1; Magill I, pp. 7-16; Printing and the Mind of Man 354; Williams, Madan, Green, & Crutch 46. Brian Stableford, The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, 2009.
- Year: 1866
- Binding: hardcover
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