CARROLL, LEWIS (AUTHOR) TENNIEL, JOHN (ILLUSTRATOR) - Alice’s Adventures in [...]

CARROLL, LEWIS (AUTHOR) TENNIEL, JOHN (ILLUSTRATOR)Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [and] Through TheLooking-Glass And What Alice Found There. London,Macmillan And Co., Limited 1932. 8vo. 2 vols; publisher’sred cloth with triple-line panels to sides enclosing pictorialroundels to all 4 boards, spines lettered and decorated ingilt, all edges gilt; pp. [xiv] + 195 + [i]; [xvi] + 227 + [i] +[2], adverts.; with a total of 92 fi ne illustrations after the originalwood-engravings by Tenniel; clean and attractive copies forminga convincing pair, with a gentle patina of age, uniform fading tospines, light overall rubbing, and some pinkish bleed to lowermargin of front pastedown of Wonderland, otherwise internallyclean and sound throughout.Sold with a loosely-inserted 3-page autograph letter signed inink by illustrator John Tenniel on laid headed notepaper “10,Portsdown Road, Maida Hill, W.”, watermarked Parkins & Gotto,and dated April 1, 1901, addressed to the British poet and criticWilliam Cosmo Monkhouse (18 March 1840 – 20 July 1901) just3 months before the recipient’s death: “Dear Mr. Monkhouse….”.He thanks him for sending the monograph, which he describes as“excellent in every way” (presumably an article in the Art Journalof 1901 which was published on the announcement of the artist’sretirement). Tenniel then, however, confesses to “a feeling ofdisappointment” in that “Three of the Selected Cartoons havebeen discarded, without consulting me, to be substituted by the3 wretched ones of the late Queen, which were not in the list ofsubjects at all”. His work, he bemoans, is represented “at its veryworst, whereas the idea and desire was of course to show it at itsvery best!”. He goes on to ask for Monkhouse’s opinion on thedecision which “quite spoils the book!!!”.In his respected biography of the artist “Sir John Tenniel, Alice’sWhite Knight” (Scolar Press) the author Rodney Engen refers toMonkhouse’s survey of Tenniel’s career as “lightweight” being“long on illustrations and short on critical comments”. In Engen’sopinion its contribution lies in the fact that it includes Tenniel’spersonal choice of artwork. Fascinatingly this letter debunksthat notion and is also characteristic, in its tone, of the artist’sfastidious and exacting nature. Famously Tenniel was unhappywith the printing of his wood-engraved illustrations in the fi rstedition of Alice, in 1865, which led to the edition being pulledand the original sheets being sent to Appleton & Co. in the UnitedStates.CARROLL, LEWIS (AUTHOR) TENNIEL, JOHN (ILLUSTRATOR)Les aventures d’Alice au pays des merveilles [et] à traversle miroir et ce qu’Alice y a trouvé. Londres, Macmillan AndCo., Limited 1932. 8vo. 2 vols; tissu rouge de l’éditeur avec despanneaux à trois lignes sur les côtés enfermant des rondellespicturales sur les 4 planches, des épines marquées et décorées endoré, tous les bords dorés; pp. [xiv] + 195 + [i]; [xvi] + 227 + [i]+ [2], annonces .; avec un total de 92 belles illustrations d’aprèsles gravures sur bois originales de Tenniel; des copies propreset attrayantes formant une paire convaincante, avec une doucepatine d’âge, une décoloration uniforme des épines, un légerfrottement global et un peu de saignement rosâtre pour réduire lamarge du pastedown avant du Wonderland, sinon propre et sainà l’intérieur.Vendu avec une lettre autographe de 3 pages, signée à l’encrepar l’illustrateur John Tenniel sur papier à en-tête “10, PortsdownRoad, Maida Hill, W.”, en fi ligrane Parkins & Gotto, et datéedu 1er avril 1901, adressée au Poète et critique britanniqueWilliam Cosmo Monkhouse (18 mars 1840 - 20 juillet 1901):“Cher M. Monkhouse….”. Il le remercie d’avoir envoyé lamonographie, qu’il décrit comme “excellente à tous points devue” (Vraisemblablement un article du Art Journal of 1901 qui aété publié à l’annonce du départ à la retraite de l’artiste).Prix de départ : 8000