DODGSON, Charles Lutwidge - Lewis Carroll; Leo John De Freitas. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-glass: Sir John Tenniel's Illustrations; 91 Prints From the Original Wood Blocks. (THE ROCKET PRESS - 1988)

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002066

AUTHOR: DODGSON, Charles Lutwidge - Carroll, Lewis; Sir John Tenniel; Leo John De Freitas. 

TITLE: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-glass: Sir John Tenniel's Illustrations; Ninety-one Prints From the Original Wood Blocks.

PUBLISHER: London: Macmillan & Co. & The Rocket Press, 1988.

DESCRIPTION: 3 vols., limited to 250 numbered sets of which this is #65, Box 1. 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', comprising 42 plates and an information leaflet. Box 2. 'Through the Looking Glass', comprising 50 plates. Item 3. De Freitas, Leo John: 'Tenniel's Wood-Engraved Illustrations to Alice', with the original order-form/prospectus, complete, plates housed in their original morocco backed clam shell boxes, gilt lettered black leather spine labels, all housed in the original cloth open ended slipcase.

CONDITION: AS NEW.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Printed from the original boxwood blocks that were used to create the electrotype plates for the first edition.  These were discovered in two deed boxes belonging to Macmillan in 1985, in the vaults of the National Westminster Bank where they had lain undisturbed since World War II. Macmillan then commissioned The Rocket Press to produce a limited edition of 250 prints taken directly from the blocks, the first time they had been used to create new complete edition. Previously Macmillan had treated them as masters, only taking them out of storage to cut electrotype copies for each fresh printing. Only the block for 'Alice & the Dodo' was missing so Jonathan Stephenson used an electrotype in its place, for completeness. No further sets were commissioned by the The Rocket Press and the woodblocks were eventually deposited in the British Library.