Alice in Wonderland – Cottage Capers

On this day in history : 25th February 1914 – The death of Sir John Tenniel – the illustrator and satirical artist known for his cartoons in Punch Magazine and illustrations in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland….

Sir John Tenniel – Self portrait c.1889 – Public domain

Tenniel was born in Bayswater, London on the 28th of February 1820…. His father, John Baptist Tenniel, was a fencing instructor and his mother, Eliza Maria Tenniel, a dancer…. He attended the Royal Academy and in 1836, at the age of just 16, submitted a piece of artwork to the Exhibition of the Society of British Artists….

At the age of 20 he was involved in a fencing accident whilst practicing with his father, which cost him the sight in his right eye…. He never let on to his father the severity of his injury – not wanting to make him feel worse than he already did….

It was in 1845 that he submitted a 16 foot cartoon as an entry to a competition for a mural design for decoration in the new Palace of Westminster…. He won a commission for a fresco in the ‘Hall of Poets’ situated in the House of Lords…. He also received £100….

His career with Punch Magazine began in 1850 – working alongside John Leech as a cartoonist, succeeding Richard (Dickie) Doyle after his resignation…. This career was to last over 50 years, gradually he was to take over completely producing the weekly satirical political contribution to the magazine….

‘Dropping the Pilot’ – commenting on the forced resignation of Otto von Bismarck from Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany’s government in 1890 – one of Tenniel’s most well known cartoons for Punch – Public domain

He produced some 2,000 cartoons for Punch – and also worked on other illustration projects, such as Shirley Brooks’s ‘The Gordium Knot’ in 1860, Thomas Moore’s ‘Lalla Rookh’ in 1861 and a collaboration with John Leech and friend George Cruikshank on ‘The Ingoldsby Legends‘ in 1864….

Cartoon criticising the police for their inability to find the Whitechapel murderer….22nd September 1888 – Public domain

Tenniel married Julia Giani in 1854, the daughter of an Italian family from Liverpool…. They lived in Maida Hill – but tragically after only two years of marriage Julia was to die from tuberculosis…. Tenniel was devastated and never remarried….

It was during the 1860s that he produced the illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there’….

Carroll was notoriously fussy about the illustrations for his book and gave Tenniel a long list of instructions and requirements…. When the first 42 illustrations were submitted Carroll only liked one…. When asked to illustrate the second book Tenniel initially refused…. Carroll approached many other illustrators but none met his standards – after two and a half years of persuasion Tenniel finally agreed to illustrate ‘Through the Looking Glass’….

Even with Carroll’s stipulations Tenniel still had freedom to interpret the drawings as he visualised them – and so his style is recognisable in them…. Carroll even recalled the first edition run of his book because Tenniel was unhappy about the print quality of his drawings….

Tenniel was knighted for his artistic achievements by Queen Victoria in 1893…. He retired from Punch in 1901 and died in 1914 at the age of 93….

On this day in history : 14th January 1898 – the death of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – who under the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll brought us ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and its sequel ‘Through the Looking-Glass’…

Charles was born on the 27th of January 1832, in Daresbury, Cheshire; the son of a parson, he came from a large family, being the third of eleven children…. The Dodgson family had their roots in Northern England but also had Irish connections….

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – 2nd June 1857

Until the age of 12 Charles was educated at home; he was then sent to Richmond Grammar School and then on to Rugby…. In January 1851 he went into residency at Oxford University – where he was to remain in varying capacities all of his life…. A stained-glass window at Christ Church College can be seen that depicts a White Rabbit and Alice holding a flamingo….

Charles studied mathematics at Oxford – such was his talent that he won the Christ Church Mathematics Lectureship in 1855, which he held on to for 26 years….

Throughout his life Charles did not enjoy the best of health; he was deaf in one ear after a childhood fever – and whooping-cough had left him with a weak chest…. Later in life he suffered debilitating migraines….he also had a life-long stutter….

Although we always associate Lewis Carroll with ‘Alice in Wonderland’, which was published in 1865 and its sequel ‘Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There’ in 1872 – there was so much more to the man. He wrote twelve works of literary fiction and a further eleven books on mathematics…. He was a poet, philosopher, satirist, inventor and photographer….

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – self portrait

Charles had written short stories and poetry from an early age….and had successfully had some published in magazines and national publications…. It was in 1856 that he wrote for the first time under the pen name of ‘Lewis Carroll’ – a poem entitled ‘Solitude’…. The pseudonym came from the anglicised ‘Ludovicus’ (which in turn came from the Latin for ‘Lutwidge’) to give ‘Lewis’ – whereas ‘Carroll’ is an Irish surname – similar to the Latin ‘Carolus’ – from which we get ‘Charles’….

Although Charles always claimed his character of Alice was not based on any one particular child – there are many who believe she was a real person….and with good reason…. Charles became close to the Liddell family, Henry Liddell being Dean of the College. Charles was especially good friends with the Dean’s wife, Lorina and their three daughters, Lorina, Edith and ‘Alice’….and it is perhaps ‘she’ who was his influence…. Indeed the poem at the end of ‘Through the Looking-Glass’ ‘A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky’ is an acrostic spelling out ‘Alice Pleasance Liddell’….

Alice Liddell – taken by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson circa 1858

Even after his success and his increase in wealth and fame (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is translated into over 70 languages) little changed in his life…. He continued to teach at Christ Church and remained in residence until his death ~ although as he got older he did spend more of his time at the house of his six unmarried sisters – ‘The Chestnuts’ in Guildford….

Two weeks before his 66th birthday Charles died from pneumonia after a bout of influenza – at ‘The Chestnuts’…. He is buried at Mount Cemetery, in Guildford….