Slide show of Alice’s adventures

Lot 5, 32 slides, Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, hand drawn and coloured

HAT is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’ With the possible exception of Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh, there can be fewer more culturally iconic children’s stories than Lewis Carroll’s beloved Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Published in 1865, Alice’s absurd adventures have delighted children and adults alike for well over 150 years.

A large part of the success of Lewis Carroll’s fantastical story was the wonderful illustrations by Sir John Tenniel, who was a well-known political satirist and cartoonist for Punch magazine. Tenniel seems an unlikely choice to illustrate a children’s book, but Carroll was an admirer of his work and if we consider that Carroll’s great gift with children was to communicate with them as equals and not ‘baby’ them, then the choice of Tenniel was rather apt.

In Lay’s Auctioneers May 2 and 3 antique and interiors sale at their Penzance saleroom they have not one, but two fabulous sets of magic lantern slides illustrating Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Hailing from the 1870s and 80s, they were designed to be projected onto a wall whilst enjoying a rendition of the story.

Magic lanterns were hugely popular and a precursor to modern cinema. Sets of all kinds could be purchased, which were shown in village halls up and down the country. Some wealthier families with budding photographers would have been lucky enough to have a magic lantern at home with which to view their own images. We can imagine how charming it would have been to view these wonderful slides as a child in Victorian Britain whilst a fond parent recited Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary story.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was enormously popular and there must have been many sets made of the children’s classic, yet glass slides, by their very nature, are delicate and fragile and have not stood the test of > Lot 6, 42 slides, Alice in Wonderland illustrated by Tenniel, printed and hand coloured time. One of the sets in Lay’s auction is a complete set of all 42 of Tenniel’s illustrations, it is incredibly rare and possibly the only known complete set in existence.

The second set is intriguing as it is completely hand painted, by a highly accomplished hand, based on the designs of Tenniel’s illustrations. Colourful and engaging, these slides must have brought enormous pleasure to many Victorian children; they are delightful historical documents that still have the power to enchant us today.

Lots five and six can be viewed in person, along with the many other exciting items of ceramics, furniture, curiosities and much more, in Penzance

today between 9am to 1pm, and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday between 9am to 5pm.

Alternatively, lots for the auction on Thursday and Friday can be viewed at www.davidlay.co.uk.

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