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Thesis: “A New Evaluation: The Theological Influence of F. D. Maurice on the Imaginative Works of Lewis Carroll”

Karen Gardiner published her thesis called “A New Evaluation: The Theological Influence of F. D. Maurice on the Imaginative Works of Lewis Carroll.”

The thesis explores how the fictional work of Lewis Carroll was influenced by mid nineteenth century eschatological ideas and controversies, particularly in relation to how eternity was understood and explored by F. D. Maurice and other Broad Church theologians who were friends and acquaintances of Carroll.

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New book: “Design Theory, Language and Architectural Space in Lewis Carroll”

There’s a new book that analyses Lewis Carroll’s works: “Design Theory, Language and Architectural Space in Lewis Carroll” by Caroline Dionne.

In both “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there”, we can find spacial challenges, like the strange rabbit hole, the chessboard-like landscape, and how Alice gets stuck when she grows. Here, Carroll plays with different understandings of space: space as a set of physical or material boundaries, or as an abstract geometry.

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Auction: The Alice in Wonderland collection of Stephen and Nancy Farber

On November 30th, many Alice in Wonderland items (mainly books from other illustrators) will be auctioned at Potter & Potter Auctions, Chicago.

From the Potter & Potter website:

For nearly four decades, the Farbers have been “mad as a hatter” when it came to collecting everything related to Alice in Wonderland. One of their main focuses was on the hundreds of various illustrators that, since 1865, have been producing their own renditions of the characters and scenes from this popular children’s book. They also had a deep fascination for the many translations that were done including collecting one of the most important which just so happened to be the “original Alice’s copy” of Vladimir Nabokov’s Russian translation of Alice.

Other highspots of this sale include a presentation copy of Alice from Carroll to the British illustrator Richard Doyle, another presentation copy of Alice but this time from John Tenniel with one of his famous pencil sketches, a massive 6-foot prototype celestial globe from one of London’s leading globe makers that features all of the Alice characters, and many other rarities including toys, posters, art and more.

Date: 30 November 2023
More information: https://www.potterauctions.com/auctions/upcoming (no auction page yet, you may have to scroll down the page)

[edit 9 November 2023]
The catalog page is now online: https://auctions.potterauctions.com/Catalog.aspx?auctionid=1168

The auction notably includes a first edition, second issue ‘Appleton Alice’ (comprising sheets of the suppressed 1865 printing with a new title-page) together with a first edition of ‘Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there’ (Macmillan and Co, 1872) – estimated to sell for $8,000-$12,000, and an individual first edition of ‘Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there’ ($600-$800 estimate).

For sale: 1st edition of Sir John Tenniel’s wood-engraved illustrations to ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ & ‘Through the Looking-Glass’

For collectors: a copy from the limited edition of “Sir John Tenniel’s Wood-engraved Illustrations to ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ & ‘Through the Looking-Glass'” is now for sale!

This book set was part of the library of art lover and collector José Neistein, who passed away in 2020. It is now sold by his nephew and trustee, Rubens Neistein.

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Alice’s Day 2023

Alice’s Day, the yearly city-wide celebration of all things Alice in Wonderland in Oxford, UK, will be held on Saturday 1 July 2023.

This year’s theme is ‘The Great Outdoors’.

As always, there is a full and varied programme, including theatre, puppetry, crafting, trails, dance, games, lectures and more. On many places there will be Alice in Wonderland themed family and kids activities. In Christ Church library you can find an exhibition of the manuscript and other rare material relating to Dodgson and to the Liddell family. Local historian and author Mark Davies will guide a walk through the Oxford of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice, and the Lewis Carroll Society will organize three talks:

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