Lewis Carroll: Sixpenny Series of Alice and The Looking Glass
£550.00
First “Sixpenny” edition
Published by Macmillan and Co Limited, London 1898
Lewis Carroll: First Sixpenny editions of Alice in Wonderland, and Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There.
The first paperback editions of these Lewis Carroll classics appeared more than 30 years after the book’s first publication, often called the “Sixpenny Editions.” By the 1890s, publishers began issuing cheaper mass-market formats so children and schools could buy classics at low prices, which led to the 1898 Macmillan sixpenny paperbacks.
Two volumes were issued simultaneously by Macmillan with paper wrappers and containing the original John Tenniel illustrations, 42 in Wonderland and 50 in Looking-Glass. The 1898 issues are historically significant not only because they were the first widely distributed paperback versions of the Alice books but also because they were among the earliest examples of mass-market children’s literature in paperback form and part of a late-Victorian movement toward cheap popular editions.They helped transform Alice from a well-known Victorian children’s book into a truly mass-read classic. Surviving copies in original wrappers are scarce because the cheap paper bindings deteriorated easily.
Both editions are rare to find with spine in place albiet some loss on the Alice. Former sellotape residue on Alice, professionally removed as much as possible without damaging the book. Previous owner’s name on the front cover of Alice. Clean and toned contents. Housed in custom made box for the pair. 8vo
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