Phantasmagoria
- London: Macmillan and Co., 1869
London: Macmillan and Co., 1869. Ghosts and Comets: An Excellent First Edition of Phantasmagoria
CARROLL, Lewis [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]. Phantasmagoria and Other Poems. London: Macmillan and Co., 1869.
First edition, first issue.
Small octavo (6 3/4 x 4 5/8 inches; 172 x 117 mm.). viii, [1-3], 4-202, [2, blank] pp.
Publisher's blue cloth over boards, covers double-ruled in gilt, upper cover elaborately blocked in gilt with the Crab Nebula, the lower cover with Donati's Comet, spine decoratively lettered in gilt, coated chocolate-brown endpapers, all edges gilt.
Armorial bookplate of Ellen Bibby on the front pastedown, small diamond-shaped binder's ticket of Burn & Co. on the rear pastedown. Inner hinges expertly and almost invisibly strengthened, spine slightly darkened. Housed in a handsome full blue morocco pull-off case, spine with five raised bands, ruled and lettered in gilt in compartments.
An exceptionally appealing copy of one of Lewis Carroll's most attractive and symbolically designed books.
Issued in the same year as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland first appeared in French, Phantasmagoria gathers a series of whimsical, macabre, and often deeply playful poems that reveal another facet of Carroll's imagination - more overtly Gothic, yet still infused with his characteristic wit and logical absurdity. The title poem, a dialogue between a timid narrator and a well-mannered ghost, exemplifies Carroll's ability to invert the supernatural into the politely ridiculous.
The binding is of particular note: the celestial motifs of the Crab Nebula and Donati's Comet reflect Carroll's lifelong fascination with mathematics, astronomy, and the broader scientific curiosities of the Victorian age, making this one of the most visually and intellectually engaging cloth designs of the period.
A superior copy, uncommon in such well-preserved condition.
Williams, Madan, Green & Crutch 68.
CARROLL, Lewis [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]. Phantasmagoria and Other Poems. London: Macmillan and Co., 1869.
First edition, first issue.
Small octavo (6 3/4 x 4 5/8 inches; 172 x 117 mm.). viii, [1-3], 4-202, [2, blank] pp.
Publisher's blue cloth over boards, covers double-ruled in gilt, upper cover elaborately blocked in gilt with the Crab Nebula, the lower cover with Donati's Comet, spine decoratively lettered in gilt, coated chocolate-brown endpapers, all edges gilt.
Armorial bookplate of Ellen Bibby on the front pastedown, small diamond-shaped binder's ticket of Burn & Co. on the rear pastedown. Inner hinges expertly and almost invisibly strengthened, spine slightly darkened. Housed in a handsome full blue morocco pull-off case, spine with five raised bands, ruled and lettered in gilt in compartments.
An exceptionally appealing copy of one of Lewis Carroll's most attractive and symbolically designed books.
Issued in the same year as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland first appeared in French, Phantasmagoria gathers a series of whimsical, macabre, and often deeply playful poems that reveal another facet of Carroll's imagination - more overtly Gothic, yet still infused with his characteristic wit and logical absurdity. The title poem, a dialogue between a timid narrator and a well-mannered ghost, exemplifies Carroll's ability to invert the supernatural into the politely ridiculous.
The binding is of particular note: the celestial motifs of the Crab Nebula and Donati's Comet reflect Carroll's lifelong fascination with mathematics, astronomy, and the broader scientific curiosities of the Victorian age, making this one of the most visually and intellectually engaging cloth designs of the period.
A superior copy, uncommon in such well-preserved condition.
Williams, Madan, Green & Crutch 68.
Details
Title
Phantasmagoria
Author
CARROLL, Lewis; DODGSON, Charles Lutwidge
Condition
Unknown
Publisher
London: Macmillan and Co., 1869