The 1907 new editions

Charles Robinson

Robinson’s Alice was printed in 1907 when Carroll’s text came into the public domain. Along with it, two full hands of other Alice versions were also published in 1907, contributing to justify why this was the “Golden Age of Illustration”. Robison was a creative illustrator, almost every page of his Alice in the Wonderland contains fascinating full-page drawings or beautiful colour plates, showing unusual inventive page layouts. I am not sure what is more impressive in this book… the colour plates, the black-and-white work, or the many narrow vignettes running through the text.

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Charles Robinson was born in London (Islington) in 1870, he took night lessons in illustration, while working during the day. Due to his early unfortunate financial condition, he was not able to accept a place at the Royal Academy. However, his highly productive career granted him a place at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists (Mall Galleries, London).

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Alice in the Wonderland, illustrated by Charles Robinson, printed in 1907 by Cassel (there is also a recent edition from Pook Press, 2013).

Millicent Sowerby

Amy Millicent Sowerby was one of the first illustrators of Carroll’ book. Sowerby’s artwork was among the 1907/08 many new versions of Alice. Interestingly, at the time it was not very well received, and in a collective review of the 1907 editions it was said that “Sowerby attempts work rather too difficult for her, and she has not much imagination”. In 2012, Barry Moser in his Alice Illustrated: 120 Images from the Classic Tales of Lewis Carroll devoted a full chapter to Millicent Sowerby illustrations.

This book was first published by Chatto & Windus in 1907, and later (in 1913) by Hodder & Stoughton (displaying a new set of illustrations).

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Arthur Rackham

Fairly considered one of the best Alice illustrators, Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is on of the most preeminent illustrators ever. Rackham’s Alice was published in 1907, when the original copyright expired and many publishers commissioned new versions of the tale (several other versions were published that year).

“For the next seven years or so I worked as hard as I could out of business hours (9–5) to equip myself as an artist — not being able to embark on a professional career till I was nearly twenty-five, and then for many years getting the barest living from my profession and having to do much distasteful hack work.” – quoted from his biography

arthur rackham cards