Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There

5C Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by John Tenniel. London, 1872. First Edition.

Notes

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is the sequel to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In this whimsical tale, Alice steps through a looking-glass (a mirror) into a strange world where everything is reversed. She encounters a series of peculiar characters and surreal adventures, including the Red Queen, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and the White Knight. The book plays with logic, language, and opposites, exploring themes of identity and change.

Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was an English writer, mathematician, and logician. His most famous works, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, have been beloved by generations. Carroll's love for wordplay, puzzles, and nonsensical logic is evident throughout his writings. His inspiration for Through the Looking-Glass stemmed from his interest in mirrors and the concept of opposites, along with a desire to craft a sequel to his first Alice adventure. The book is often considered a deeper exploration of Alice’s journey, where she encounters a world that is both more logical and more nonsensical than the one she left behind.

Description

Original red cloth binding with gilt boarders and gilt illustrations of the Red Queen and the White Queen on the upper and lower boards respectfully. Gilt lettering on the spine. All edges gilt. Original dark green/blue endpapers with a bookplate on inner cover. Fifty illustrations throughout by John Tenniel. Loose leaf in the front cover of an advertisement written by Lee Carrol for the book at Christmastime 1893. Page 21 in this being the true first edition has “wade” which was later changed to “wabe.” Minimal discoloration to the upper board and sun fading to the spine. One pen mark on upper left side of pg. 142. Very fine condition overall.