CHARLES L. "LEWIS CARROLL" DODGSON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 05/18/1884 - HFSID 68295

CHARLES L. DODGSON (LEWIS CARROLL)
His signed autograph letter from 1884, framed with his picture and commemorative plaques to an overall size of 31x24
ALS: "C.L. Dodgson.", 1 page, 3¾x6. Ch[rist]. Ch[urch]., Oxford, 1884 May 18. To an unnamed recipient. In full: "My old friend, and your brother-in-law, Mr. F.H. Atkinson, tells me your mother & Sister are now in England. Can you tell me how long they are likely to remain, & what is their London address, as I might find some opportunity of calling, & renewing a pleasant acquaintance begun in Jersey last Eastertide." Oxford don and mathematician at Christ Church in Oxford, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898) wrote this letter 19 years after his most famous work, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), was published. A shy, serious-minded young man, he nonetheless had his whimsical side, which he reverted to when around children, and with whom he did not stammer. Urged to pen the imaginative stories that he told to the daughters of Oxford Dean Henry Liddell, Dodgson transposed his name, Charles Lutwidge, to Ludovic Carolus, resulting in the name Lewis Carroll. Because she had pleaded with him to write down the story, ten-year-old Alice Liddell, the youngest of the Dean's girls, was presented with the finished manuscript by Dodgson in December 1864. A fairly accomplished artist, he was nonetheless encouraged to hire a professional illustrator, which he did. Sir John Tenniel illustrated Alice and her curious encounters with the White Rabbit, the Cheshire-Cat, the Queen of Hearts and others in Wonderland. The wide acclaim and immediate success of his tale of Alice prompted a sequel, Through the Looking Glass, in 1872 (also graphically portrayed by Tenniel). Because of his financial success, the unpretentious Dodgson asked that his salary be lowered at Christ Church. Besides Alice's adventures, his mathematical expertise and lectures, he wrote nonsense poems and stories such as Phantasmagoria and Other Poems (1869) and The Hunting of the Snark (1876). Creased at left edge. Tape stains at upper and lower edge, touching some words. Overall, fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 31½23¾.