How to Sell Your Lewis Carroll Autograph
To auction, sell or consign your Lewis Carroll autograph, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
Lewis Carroll Autographs
It is rare to find a Lewis Carroll autograph aka Charles Dodgson autograph in an Alice in Wonderland book and when Carroll did inscribe a copy, he would usually sign it “By the Author.” We at Nate D. Sanders Auctions, sold a Lewis Carroll autograph inside an Alice in Wonderland book — actually, much more than a Lewis Carroll autograph. Take a look:
Signed Poem Signed in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” — Sold for $16,800
Original Lewis Carroll autograph poem signed by Lewis Carroll, dedicated to the sister of an “Alice” who died in infancy. Carroll composes the tender poem inside a presentation copy of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (London: MacMillan and Co., 1874), inscribed on the half-title page in Carroll’s signature purple ink, “Presented to Jessie Howard Clark, in remembrance of her sister Alice, by the Author / July 15, 1875”. Young Jessie lived in Australia which served as the basis for the poem, alongside the themes of death and the connected experience of childhood across the world. The poem is additionally constructed so that the letters of the first words of each line form the recipient’s name, “Jessie Howard Clark”. Written on the page opposite the table of contents, poem reads in full,
“Just half a world to travel o’er,
E’re this may reach its Southern home:
Such waters wide between us roare
So many a league of barren foam.
In vain the trackless interspace –
England’s white ships can cleave the flood,
Hailing as brethren every race
Of English speech & English blood.
Wherever English childhood dwells
‘Alice’ may hope to find a band
Ready to listen while she tells
Dreams of the shadowy ‘Wonderland.’
Child-friend, whom I shall never see!
Let me in fancy feel thee nigh,
And trust in other lands to be
Remembered as the years go by –
Kind thoughts will live, though we may die.
Lewis Carroll autograph
July 15, 1875.”
Jessie’s father was author John Howard Clark, who originally wrote Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, regarding his own book “Bertie and the Bullfrogs”, inspired by “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Upon learning that Clark had a daughter Alice who died in infancy, Carroll kindly composed this poem and gifted it to Clark’s other daughter Jessie. Book measures 5″ x 7.25″, bound in publisher’s red boards with gilt titling. With original black endpapers and all edges gilt. Separation starting to front and rear joints, and scuffing to boards. Interior is clean, including manuscript pages. Overall in very good condition, with a dramatic presentation. Sold for $16,800.
Autograph Letter Twice-Signed — Sold for $3,400
Charles Dodgson autograph letter twice-signed, datelined Christ Church on 29 July 1875. Dodgson writes to a man whose daughter had enjoyed “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and apparently requested a signed copy from Dodgson. The letter also references Dodgson’s controversial preference for photos of young girls, as he requests one of the girl. Penned in his signature purple ink, Dodgson writes in full, “My dear Sir, I have much pleasure in sending a presentation-copy of ‘Alice’ for your daughter, inscribed as you suggest: & I have also ventured to inscribe some acrostic-verses on her name, hoping that she is still enough of a child to allow such a composition to be addressed to her. Perhaps you will kindly tell me her age when next you write (in fact the names & ages of the family would be of interest to me), & if the art of photography is as rife with you as it is here, & she would kindly give me a likeness of herself, it would be some consolation for the fact that in all human probability ‘I shall never see’ herself. / You need not trouble yourself very particularly to keep my name a secret. I do not make a secret of it here, & no doubt many have been told it – but I don’t want it printed, as I wish the book to retain its present anonymous character. / Thank you for the next copy of verses in the Transit of Venus – which I presume are your own. You lose something of effect, I think, in [?] the ‘Don Juan’ stanza of two lines; one fancies that the ear rather needs the dis-alternating lines, in order to rest comfortably on the final couplet. / You will observe a [?] in the last of my verses: the last line but one ought to have been ‘indented’, since it rhymes with the last line – / Hoping that the book will reach its destination safely, I remain very truly yours / CL Dodgson / P.S. My address is simply ‘Rev. C.L. Dodgson / Ch. Ch. Oxford’ – I have no other titles. We don’t usually append the academical ‘M.A.’”. Four-page letter on card-style stationery measures 4.5″ x 7″. Folds and light creasing, otherwise near fine condition with bold handwriting. Sold for $3,400.
Autograph Letter Signed From 1880 — Sold for $2,024
Lewis Carroll autograph letter signed. Dated 27 December 1880, he writes to “Mab”, reverting to his real name, Charles Dodgson, to sign: “Always affectionately, yours, C Dodgson.” The Alice in Wonderland author says: “…I liked getting your letter very much, though I have been so lazy about answering it – and now I have to thank you for a card as well – I am just off to Brighton, so must stop.” Carroll was teaching at Christ Church at the time this was written. 2pp. in his customary purple ink on a single sheet of mourning stationery. Toning and creasing, else near fine. Sold for $2,024.
“Rhyme? and Reason?” First Edition & ALS — Sold for $1,848
Rare Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, autograph letter signed and poem collection, “Rhyme? and Reason?” first edition published by MacMillan: London: 1883. The “Alice in Wonderland” creator writes to Charlotte Yonge, editor of “The Monthly Packet.” In this 3pp. card-style letter dated 5 May 1880, penned in Dodgson’s typical purple ink on his Christ Church stationery, Carroll writes: “My dear Miss Yonge, Here is the summary of the 27 replies. If you haven’t room for it, please return it & tell me how much it must be abridged. I have treated the poet as one person, & ignored the second name ‘Money Spinner.’ You can correct this, if necessary, before sending it to your printer. Please ask him to send me 2 proofs, and the M.S. [manuscript] — I will return him one proof corrected for Press — when I do this, may I ask him to work me off a dozen proofs of the slip, before he sets it up in pages with the rest of the ‘M.P.’ [Monthly Packet]? C L Dodgson”. The periodical published the short stories of Carroll that were ultimately compiled into his “A Tangled Tale” (1885). Carroll’s “Rhyme? and Reason?” is a collection of poems in his literary nonsense style and includes his longest poem, the celebrated “Phantasmagoria.” The 3.25″ x 5.25″ letter is taped to the fly-leaf of the book measuring 4.75″ x 7.25″ and running 214pp. The volume, in original pictorial cloth, is housed in a turquoise case. Slight soiling to green cloth boards and some cracking to endpapers at hinges. Moderate fading and wear to case. Overall very good condition. Sold for $1,848.
Autograph Letter Signed “C.L. Dodgson” — Sold for $1,664
Autograph letter signed by famed children’s author Lewis Carroll, signed using his given name of C.L. Dodgson. Letter, dated 10 November 1891 from Christ Church, reads in full: ”Dear Harvey / In accordance with a Resolution of C.R., I enclose along with the 4 interest now due to you, the 200 principal, with many thanks for having lent it to us 2 1/2 years ago. Sincerely yours, C.L. Dodgson”. Measures 3.5” x 5.5”. One mail fold and small water spot to upper left. Very good. Sold for $1,664.
To auction, sell or consign your Lewis Carroll autograph, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
FAQs
How do I consign or sell my Lewis Carroll autograph?
It’s never been easier to sell your Lewis Carroll autograph at Nate D. Sanders Auctions. Email a description and photos of your item to [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible with a free estimate.
This sounds great and I’d like to move forward. What’s the consignment process like at Nate D. Sanders Auctions?
We’ll send you more information about our auction house along with an agreement for your review. Your item will appear in our next auction. Unlike many auction houses, we hold monthly auctions and pay you within an industry-leading 45 days post auction.
What factors determine the value of Lewis Carroll autograph?
The value of your autograph can vary based on condition and subject matter.