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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. An 1865 printing re-described and newly identified as the Publisher's "File Copy". With a revised and expanded Census of the suppressed 1865 "Alice"

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. An 1865 printing re-described and newly identified as the Publisher’s “File Copy”. With a revised and expanded Census of the suppressed 1865 “Alice”

SCHILLER (Justin G) and GOODACRE (Selwyn) SCHILLER (Justin G) and GOODACRE (Selwyn): Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. An 1865 printing re-described and newly identified as the Publisher's "File Copy". With a revised and expanded Census of the suppressed 1865 "Alice" compiled by Selwyn H Goodacre, to which is added a short-title index identifying and locating the original preliminary drawings by John Tenniel for ALICE and LOOKING-GLASS. Catalogued by Justin G. Schiller. [Kingston NY:] Privately Printed for The Jabberwock, 1990. Illustrated with 98 reproductions, chiefly original sketches by John Tenniel and Charles Dodgson ("Lewis Carroll"), the majority published here for the first time, and with a foldout plate reproducing a page from the British Museum's Dalziel Bros album of woodblock proofs (1865) for ALICE. Tall 8vo, 112pp on Mohawk soft-white Superfine 100lb. Acid-free archival paper; full color laminated boards simulating an art nouveau gilt leather binding by Riviere especially done for this copy in 1899. With inserted errata slip. ISBN# 0-9627110-0-4. When a teacher of mathematics at Oxford University, Charles L. Dodgson told a fantastic tale to a little girl and her sisters while on a summer's picnic. Using the pseudonym "Lewis Carroll" Alice's Adventures In Wonderland was first printed by the Clarendon Press (Oxford) for Macmillan (London) in 1865: but most people do not realize that this first edition was suppressed and it has become amongst the most valuable rare books in the English language. Only 22 copies are known to survive intact (plus one stolen from Christ Church Library), and this gives a brief record of ownership for each copy and background history when available; what is normally advertised and sold as the first edition (London 1866) is actually the first "authorized" edition, i.e. second printing, done four months later by another printer. ALICE is much more than just a children's book: in fact, it is the third most frequently quoted book in the English language, and this is the definitive study on its printing history after many years of research. While this is still a definitive study of the first edition, detailing reasons why it was eventually suppressed prior to distribution, further research has now proven that the purple markings on the book are by Lewis Carroll himself, in preparation for the simplification of the text for his "Nursery Alice" (1889). Each of the 23 recorded copies of the 1865 first printing has its own historical paragraph and since publication, no additional copies have been located (though several have changed hands, including the "File Copy" which fetched US$1,542,500 at auction in December 1999 -- making it the most valuable children's book in existence). The sections detailing Tenniel's original drawings.
  • $45
Angels & Wild Things. The Archetypal Poetics of Maurice Sendak

Angels & Wild Things. The Archetypal Poetics of Maurice Sendak

CECH (John) CECH (John): Angels & Wild Things. The Archetypal Poetics of Maurice Sendak. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995. Square 4to, xx 284pp including 10 full color reproductions (six are double-page) + 110 b/w illustrations of Sendak images (some from sketchbooks and preliminary drawings) or that which inspired them; brown cloth boards gilt-titled on spine, full color pictorial dust-jacket. First edition, originally conceived as a college on Sendak's art and the philosophy (psychology) behind his images, allegories and symbolism. This was never intended to replace or update Selma Lanes' lavish 1980 biography, but it has still been heralded for going beyond the framework of a mass-marketed trade-book in exploring the universally recognized genius of Sendak: delving deeply into the artist's self-admitted endless fascination and absorption with childhood and child-life. The energy of his picture-books is not simply their artistic beauty, which has dubbed Mr Sendak "the Picasso of Children's Literature", but it also represents a serious enquiry into the emotional and visionary landscape of childhood. Unlike Mrs Lanes' book, this is an analytical study rather than a series of anecdotes, quoting from a variety of published interviews because Prof Cech lacked direct access to the author/artist in the development of this work: but in doing so it also gave him an independence to investigate the psychological quests and journeys that occupy the main activity of so many Sendak books. Most importantly, Cech remains passionate in deconstructing both text and pictures to the scrutiny of an academic researcher and searches for meaning at every step. This "traces the emergence of Sendak's child archetype and maps the exploration and expansion of it . to historical and cultural influences . from Mickey Mouse to Judy Garland, from Blake to Mozart" - (Cathryn M. Mercer, Horn Book Magazine). "Just as Sendak's major works reflect a growing psychological awareness, Cech's essays build in complexity" - Washington Post (Book World). And by the book's end, one can truly comprehend the genius behind Sendakian words as well as images. The author/artist urges his adult readers to "strip away what Freud called 'blessed amnesia' and reclaim the wonder and innocence of childhood, while encouraging children to . believe in the possibility of worlds better than our own" - (Gregory McNamee, Bloomsburg Review).
  • $35
BEATRIX POTTER. A Bibliographical Check List

BEATRIX POTTER. A Bibliographical Check List

QUINBY (Jane) QUINBY (Jane): BEATRIX POTTER. A Bibliographical Check List. Stroud: Ian Hodgkins & Co, [1999]. Illustrated with 23 full-page reproductions, chiefly of pictorial endpaper designs which help identify first editions, 1st states, and 1st issues of her little "Peter Rabbit" story books. Square 8vo, 121pp; printed red stiff wrappers, with a pictorial paste-label on upper cover. Originally published in 1954 in a limited edition of 250 copies (the original now selling in excess of $600 each), this pioneer study of Beatrix Potter's story books details first edition information, also describes many American editions, original Potter manuscripts, early reviews of her books, with an appendix on minor publications and ephemera. A MUST HAVE for anyone wanting to identify valuable Beatrix Potter first printings, whether a collector, dealer, or research librarian; here reprinted in a new edition of 450 copies. Please Note: despite the quantity of reference books published on both sides of the Atlantic, Quinby has not been superceded nor has all of its information been incorporated into other reference books like those by Leslie Linder. Born in 1866, Miss Potter spent a solitary childhood enlivened by holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, which inspired her love of animals and stimulated her imaginative watercolor drawings. This work covers her two privately printed books, subsequent trade editions, and 28 other children's book titles published by Frederick Warne and others. Besterman 4991
  • $75