Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. First Trade Rackham Edition, First Impression, 1907.

CARROLL, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London: William Heinemann, 1907.

First trade Rackham edition, first impression. Octavo (8vo), xi, 162 pp. Publisher’s green cloth, upper cover pictorially stamped in gilt, spine and upper cover lettered in dark green, top edge green, illustrated endpapers. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham with 13 colour plates, each with captioned tissue guard, and 14 black-and-white line drawings. Without the scarce dust wrapper.

A desirable first trade edition of Rackham’s illustrated Alice, issued in the same year as the signed limited edition. Rackham’s interpretation of Carroll’s classic remains one of the most celebrated illustrated editions of the book, with his distinctive colour plates and illustrated endpapers.

With ownership inscription to the front pastedown by John Hughes Rutherford, later Sir Hugo Rutherford, 2nd Baronet, Conservative politician and Member of Parliament for Liverpool Edge Hill, 1931–1935. A small gift tag with an Arthur Rackham illustration is laid in, inscribed: “Mum & Dad / A Happy Christmas / Lots of Love / Tim and Rosie.”

Contents complete, with foxing to edges and preliminaries and scattered foxing internally. Binding remains firm, with slight cock; hinges and joints sound. Cloth with bumping and wear to corners, slight fraying to spine ends, and a large discoloured patch to rear board. A very good copy of the first trade Rackham edition, complete with all colour plates and tissue guards.