Aventures d’Alice au pays des merveilles. First French Edition. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

CARROLL, Lewis. Aventures d’Alice au pays des merveilles. Translated by Henri Bué. Illustrated by John Tenniel. London: Macmillan and Co., 1869.

First Edition in French. Octavo (8vo). [12], 196 pp. Original bright blue cloth, covers ruled in gilt, upper cover with central gilt vignette of Alice holding the pig, rear cover with gilt vignette of the Cheshire Cat, spine lettered and ruled in gilt, dark coated endpapers, all edges gilt. Illustrated with frontispiece and forty-one text illustrations by John Tenniel.

The first French edition and the second foreign-language edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, preceded only by the German translation issued earlier in 1869. An important early document in the international reception of Carroll’s classic.

With ownership inscription to the half-title reading, “Alice Calame, 1912, Repton,” an appealing period inscription by a reader named Alice.

Condition: Contents clean and unmarked, with light, even toning. Text block remains firm and square; inner hinges cracked but holding, with netting visible at the rear gutter. Original cloth remains bright, with light rubbing at corners and spine ends. A Very Good minus copy in the original gilt-decorated cloth.
Reference: Williams, Madan, Green & Crutch 73.
[Attributes: First French Edition; Hard Cover; Illustrated.]