Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-04-01
WHO HAS A cOPY7
a Book that Cost Little, but is Worth
Much.

Much.
Among the things not generally
known is this fact: There is at the
present moment, something like
500, 900 worth of particular kind
OF book floating around America and
nobody knows where the volumes are,
nor is IL likely that the present pos
SCISSORS are aware of the value of
them.
The name of the book is "Alice in
Wonderland. and this is how Alice
got into Wonderland in the first
pace:
This most popular imaginative
work was written by a mathemati-
clan, of all persons on the earth. AS
everybody knows, his nom de guerre
is Lewis Carol, and as everybody d)es
not know his real name is G.
L. Dodgson. Mr.. Dodgson is
mathematical tutor in Oxford
aud is l believe, a Christ Church
man. / am told that Mr.. Dodgson
knows absolutely nothing of Lewis
Carol. The delightful and charm
ing writer Lewis Carol on the other
hand, probably cares very little about
the man of figures in Oxford. They
are the Doctor Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde
Of literature in way, although of
course neither Carol nor the mathe-
matician are given to the deplorable
habits of Mr.. Hyde. If you wish to
communicate with the author of
''Alice in Wonderland" you must
write to Mr.. Lewis Carol, care of his
London publishers. If you wish to
consult an authority on figures, write
to Mr.. Dodgson at Oxford
The editor Of big London daily,
ignorant of the etiquette in these
matters, wrote Mr. Dodgson asking
him to contribute to the big London
weekly. The editor was much Of
Tended at the reply he received. He
found that the grave mathematician
knew nothing about the frivolous
writings of Lewis Carol.
But all this has no more to do with
the books in America than the writer
OF children's stories has to do with
mathematics
'Alice in Wonderland" was writ
ten nearly thirty years ago. The au-
thor secured John Tenniel of Punch.
as illustrator The books were
printed at Oxford. The Oxford press
at that day knew very little about
printing wood cuts. When Tennel
saw the book he was wroth and he
absolutely refused to have a copy
sent out with his name attached to
1t, because his illustrations had been
so badly produced. The Oxford press
was evidently not proud of the produc.
tion, for its name does not appear on
the volume. The publishers found
themselves with 1000 copies of
book by an unknown writer on their
hands which they dare not circulate
in England. At that day anything
was thought good enough for Amer
lea, so the whole 1000 were dumped
in at New York to be sold for what
they would bring.
They were sold and are now scat
tered all over the land Anyone who
has a copy is hereby informed that it
is worth $50 to-day on the London
market. When the 1000 books were
landed in New York anyone might
have bought the package for about
the price of the paper and the print
ing. If he had kept them until to-
day he would have made good thing
out of it.
Even the English first edition is
valuable. 1t bears the imprint of
Clay of London, and fetches from s25
to $50. OF course "Alice in Won
dcrland" was largely pIrated in the
United States These New York
editions, however, are valueless from
the book collectors point of view.