Alice
From Carroll’s a lightly penciled sketch to Tenniel’s bold Curiouser and curiouser!
Carroll’s early sketches
Carroll’s earliest attempt to depict Alice grown suddenly tall is this very lightly penciled sketch on the back of a sheet of writing paper. Although her features are unfinished, the general outline shows Alice clasping her hands and looking towards her now-distant feet.
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898)
Preliminary sketch of Alice
Preparatory drawing (graphite and pen-and-ink on paper), 1862-1864
Photography: Christ Church Library
© Governing Body of Christ Church, Oxford
Carroll’s final drawing in the manuscript
Carroll refined and reversed his sketch of Alice so that she would appear facing outward from the narrow margin of the original manuscript. The details of her hair and dress have been filled in, but she retains her initial demure expression.
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898)
Alice’s Adventures Under Ground
Illustrated manuscript, completed 13 September 1864
© The British Library Board, Add MS46700
Tenniel’s preparatory sketch
Tenniel keeps Carrol’s general idea, but shows us Alice’s shock at “opening up like a telescope.” Alice is no longer the quiet-looking figure of the manuscript, and confronts the change head on.
John Tenniel (1820–1914)
Curiouser and curiouser!
Preparatory drawing (graphite on paper), 1864-1865
Private Collection, Photo © Christie’s Photo / Bridgeman Images
Tenniel’s final drawing
In Tenniel’s final drawing, Alice’s figure is stretched a little further and her expression is refined. A larger, unfinished study of Alice’s head partially appears in the right margin.
Image credit:
John Tenniel (1832—1914)
Curiouser and curiouser!
Final drawing (graphite on paper), 1864-1865
The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Gale, 1982.11:2.
Photography by Steven H. Crossot, 2014.
Tenniel’s color version for The Nursery “Alice”
For the enlarged and color-printed version, Tenniel gives Alice a blue hair bow and adds ruffles to her apron. The original proof, printed by Edmund Evans, is on the right. The final version, reflecting the artist’s corrections, is on the left.
John Tenniel (1820–1914)
Curiouser and curiouser!
Revised color proof bound in Lewis Carroll’s The Nursery “Alice” (London: Macmillan and Co., [1889])
Private Collection. Photography by Graham S. Haber, 2015.