150 years of "Alice in Wonderland"
In 1865, a tale was published about a girl who plunged into a rabbit hole full of adventure. The illustrated story was called "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
To celebrate the story's 150th anniversary, the Morgan Library & Museum held an exhibit dedicated to the popular tale.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland"
Pictured here is the real "Alice," Alice Liddell.
"It's all because of Alice Liddell, the real Alice, that we now have this classic of children's literature," says Carolyn Vega, curator of New York's Morgan Library & Museum. She says the story came to life on a boat ride on the River Thames in England in 1862, where a professor told 10-year-old Alice and her two sisters a wild story. "Once the boat ride was over, she asked for a written copy of the story."
That professor, Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson, then spent more than two years handwriting and illustrating what he first called "Alice's Adventures Under Ground." He published it under the pen name Lewis Carroll.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland"
A page from the original "Alice's Adventures Underground" manuscript, handwritten and illustrated by Lewis Carroll for the real Alice -- Alice Liddell.
"It's absolutely unique," says Vega.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland" -- Lewis Carroll
"He's an elusive figure...he was so intensely private," says Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, author of "The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland," describing Dodgson.
150 years of "Alice in Wonderland"
The story was expanded and published under the name "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" in 1865, with illustrations by John Tenniel. Pictured here is a hand colored proof of the White Rabbit, by Tenniel.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland"
According to the Morgan Library & Museum, Tenniel originally wasn't happy with the printing quality, so the edition was quickly suppressed and reprinted. As a result, only 22 or 23 copies of the first edition exist today.
150 years of "Alice in Wonderland"
A hand colored proof by Tenniel depicting: Alice, left, the White Rabbit, middle, and the Mad Hatter, right.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland"
"There's one of his letters in which he says his main aim is to remain personally unknown to the world," Fairhurst says of Lewis Carroll's private persona. But he wanted Alice to be known, using what Fairhurst calls "modern franchising."
Alice and other characters from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" were put on everything from biscuit tins to postage stamps to publicize the story. Pictured here, Alice on a postage stamp case.
150 years of "Alice in Wonderland"
Magic lantern slides of "Alice in Wonderland" issued by W. Butcher & Sons.
150 years of "Alice in Wonderland"
Alice Liddell's purse, prayer book and a letter to her father.
150 years of "Alice in Wonderland"
An early printing of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
150 years of "Alice in Wonderland"
During its 150 years, "Alice in Wonderland" has never been out of print and has been translated into more than 170 languages.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland"
Lewis Carroll's story gave us the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, and the Cheshire Cat, seen here in an illustration by Tenniel.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland"
When the technology arrived, Alice became a movie star. The original film was about 12 minutes long.
"At the time in 1903, it was the longest film to that day produced in Britain," says Vega.
150 Years of "Alice in Wonderland"
"[Alice] is anything we want her to be," Fairhurst says of the lasting story. "So although Carroll would write a story that sent her through a mirror. In some ways she's become a mirror. And what happens is that she reflects ourselves."
For more: Alice: "150 Years of Wonderland" - The Morgan Library & Museum