Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
This edition of Lewis Carroll's classic work, the "Royal" Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was donated to the library as part of the Lucile Clarke Memorial Children's Library. It is one of the most popular children's books of all time. Its origins come from stories Carroll told to the daughters of his friends during boating trips. He based the central character, Alice, on one of these small girls, Alice Liddel, and wove into the story many of the places and things they had seen on their outings.
This particular copy was presented to Princess Beatrice of Great Britain, the daughter of Queen Victoria. It bears her personal bookplate on the inside cover, making it the "Royal" Alice.
British copies of this edition of the work are very unique. Carroll was displeased with the reproductive quality of the forty-two illustrations provided by famed Punch illustrator, John Tenniel, and the copies of the first British edition were recalled, eventually to be shipped overseas and sold in the United States, which the British clearly viewed as a less discriminating market. Carroll, however, had already presented a few specially bound copies of the book to various important individuals, such as the princess, and he was loathe to inform these individuals that they had received an "inferior" copy.
Thus the work remained in England. It eventually was sold and donated to the Clarke.