The Penn's Grove record., 1894-03-02
WHO HAS A copy,
a BOOK that Cost Little, but is Wort
Much.

A Book that Cost Little, but is WORT
Much.
Among the things not general,
known is this fact: There Is at. tn,
present moment, something Xix,
500, 600 worth of a particular kind
! OF book floating around America ant
nobody knows where the volumes are,
nor is il likely that the present DOS,
SCISSORS are aware of the value Of
them
The name OF the book is "AIice 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 does
not know his real name is G.
l. Dodgson. Mr.. Dodgson ia
mathematical tutor in Oxford
and , | believe, a Christ Church
man | am told that Mr.. Dodgsou
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 a way, although OF
course neither Carol nor the mathe-
matician are given to the deplorable
habits OF Mr.. HYDE. II you wish to
communicate with the author OF
'Altce in Wonderland" you must
write to Mr.. Lewis Carol, care OF his
London publishers. II you wish to
consult an authority on figures, write
to Mr.. Dodgson at Oxford.
The editor of a big London daily,
ignorant OF the etiquette in these
matters, wrote Mr; Dodgson asking
hun to contribute to the big London
weekly. The editor was much o.
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-
thog secured John Tenniel of Punch.
as illustrator. The Looks were
Ir,nted at oxford. The oxford press
at that day knew very little about
printing wood cuts. When Tenniel
sGw the book he WIS wroth and he
absolutely refused to have "A copy
sent out with his name attached to
it. because his Illustrations had been
50 badly produced. The Oxford press
was evidently not proud Of the produc'
ton, for It's NINE does not appear on
the volume. The publishers found
themsolve with 1000 cop'es OF a
buoN by an unknown writer on theif
hands which they dare not circulate
in England. At that day anything
was thought good enough for Amer
lea, so the whole Z, 900 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 2, 900 books were
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 bea s the imprint of
Clay OF London, and fetches from s25
to $50. OF course "Alice in Won
lcrland" was largely pIrated in the
States. These New York
editions, however, are vaiueless from
the book collectors point of view.