Through The Looking-glass, And What Alice Found There. By Lewis Carroll. Macmillan And Co, 1872

Through the looking-glass, and what Alice found there. By Lewis Carroll, author of "Alice's adventures in wonderland". With Fifty illustrations by John Tenniel. London: Macmillan and Co., 1872

First Edition
First Issue
First State

First edition, first issue, first state. A copy of particular bibliographical and collecting interest, preserved in the original publisher’s red cloth binding, retaining the characteristics of the first state. The presence of the famous misprint “wade” instead of “wabe” on page 21 identifies the copy as belonging to the first state of the first edition. The binding features red cloth-covered boards, with gilt lettering and ornamental decoration. The cloth shows some light fading and staining, while the gilt decoration, including the characteristic ornamental medallions, remains clearly visible. All edges are gilt. The board edges are slightly rubbed. The original endpapers are present, an especially important feature for the completeness of the copy. The rear endpaper also bears the stamp of “Bound by Burn & Co.”, a historic London bookbinding firm and an important company active from the nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The firm specialised in cloth and leather bookbindings, often of high quality and intended for books of particular publishing and collecting interest. It bound large quantities of Victorian literature, poetry collections, and children’s books for major London publishing houses, including Macmillan & Co., Smith, Elder & Co., and Richard Bentley. The interior is in very good condition. The pages are generally fresh and clean, with light staining. The volume is complete, retaining all pages and illustrations, including the rich illustrative apparatus by John Tenniel, the artist responsible for the celebrated images accompanying the text. All 50 illustrations, an integral part of the work’s appeal and publishing significance, are present and in generally very good condition. The original tissue guard protecting the frontispiece is also present. In Through the Looking-Glass, Alice once again enters a fantastical world by passing through a mirror, finding herself in a universe where events unfold according to the logic of a game of chess. Along the way, she encounters a host of memorable characters and follows a symbolic journey towards maturity.

8° (7,24×4,80in).

Private collection

Binding boards with signs of wear and staining, edges slightly rubbed. Front hinge weakened. Pages fresh and clean, with light staining. Overall, good condition.