Tenniel’s Alice

Thanks to the generosity of Harcourt Amory, a Harvard graduate and great collector of Carrolliana, the Houghton Library holds an indispensable collection of materials relating to Lewis Carroll’s life, his work, and the production of his books. Tenniel’s Alice explores the work of Sir John Tenniel (1820–1914), the largely self-taught designer and artist (he produced over two thousand cartoons for Punch over the course of a long life) who furnished illustrations for the first editions of Carroll’s best-known works. The book also describes the process of transferring finished drawings to woodblocks for engraving and printing—a delicate partnership between the artist and highly-trained engravers. Although Tenniel and Carroll parted ways after publication of Through the Looking-Glass, the artist’s designs fixed in the public’s mind images of Carroll’s characters that thrive down to the present day.