Carroll’s copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland donated to Christ Church

The book was donated by Ellen A. Michelson, an American philanthropist and bibliophile, because she wished the book to return to what she viewed as its natural home.

It is an extremely generous gift – Lewis Carroll’s personal copy of the 1865 suppressed first edition could be worth several million pounds. Only 23 copies of this edition are known to survive, and Carroll’s is the best of all surviving copies. Carroll’s copy is even more special because it contains ten of Tenniel’s original pencil sketches, which are bound into the volume. The book also includes Carroll’s handwritten notes for what would later become the ‘Nursery Alice’ edition.

Christ Church and the Bodleian Library will take care of the copy. They have announced that it will be unveiled to the public next month: First, it will be viewable in the Bodleian Library for one day. After that it will become part of a special exhibition of Lewis Carroll’s work in Christ Church Upper Library.