I’m a devoted aficionado of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which means I’m a fan not only of Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), but also of the illustrator John Tenniel, whose Alice is Alice: we cannot think of the story apart from his images–the words and the pictures are an inseparable whole. Tenniel produced illustrations for many, many more publications besides Alice and Through the Looking Glass during his long life (1820-1914), but his illustrations for Carroll are the ultimate examples of what book illustration should accomplish: the creation of a tangible world in which the text’s characters dwell. And don’t we all want to live in Wonderland, at least for a little while? As today marks Tenniel’s birthday, I thought I’d share some of his beautiful hand-colored proofs from the collection of the Morgan Library & Museum. These are for the 1889 abridged “Nursery Edition” of Alice, which, ironically, has a cover illustration by a different artist: Emily Gertrude Thomson. As you can see, Thomson’s Alice looks very much like Tenniel’s: she is Alice, after all.
Sir John Tenniel’s hand-colored proofs for the “Nursery” edition of Alice, c. 1889; Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., 1987.
February 28th, 2014 at 9:04 am
Tenniel is terrific but apparently Carroll didn’t like his interpretation of the character. I love his artwork.
The best version of Alice is The annotated Alice by an other US fan of Carroll’s work, Martin Gardner: http://alastairsavage.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/the-annotated-alice/
It’s out of print I think but well worth digging out a copy!
February 28th, 2014 at 9:10 am
Thanks Alastair—I saw a copy long ago and must find one again.
February 28th, 2014 at 9:49 am
i think almost everyone loves alice in wonderland :3 it was such a quirky and rich story. and the original illustration gave it glory.
February 28th, 2014 at 10:53 am
Absolutely unforgettable images! Thanks, Donna —
February 28th, 2014 at 2:35 pm
What a great post – beautiful illustrations!
February 28th, 2014 at 9:56 pm
Another lover of the Gardner annotated edition, which I think of as the “adult” Alice book.
Musn’t forget Tenniel’s long career drawing for “Punch” magazine!