Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (Complete in One Volume) by Lewis Carroll, Grosset & Dunlap Photoplay, in Original Dust Jacket

Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (Complete in One Volume). New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [n.d.] c. 1933. Octavo. In the original publisher’s dust jacket and blue cloth boards, with titles stamped in white and Alice illustration stamped in navy and white on the front board. Illustrated with stills throughout. 

Presented is a beautiful photoplay edition of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (Complete in One Volume). Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s books of 1865 and 1871 were issued together in one volume by photoplay publishers Grosset & Dunlap, in concert with the 1933 Paramount Pictures film. The book is presented in its original blue cloth pictorial boards, stamped in navy and white, and the original pictorial dust jacket, which boasts “specially posed illustrations from the great Paramount picture.” 

The film Alice in Wonderland was produced by Paramount Pictures in 1933, directed by Norman Z. McLeod from a screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies. Based on both of Lewis Carroll's books, Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass, the movie was all live action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Harman-Ising Studio. The black and white film starred Charlotte Henry as Alice, Gary Cooper as the White Knight, W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, and many more stars cast as Lewis Carroll’s fantastical characters. 

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (January 1832-1898), better known by his pen name of Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, and mathematician. His famous children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published in July of 1865. Carroll then wrote Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There as its sequel, published in 1871. Through the Looking-Glass was the first of the Alice stories to gain widespread popularity, and prompted a newfound appreciation for its predecessor when it was published. 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass were written as mirrored tales to one another. While Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland begins outside on a warm summer day, uses changes in size as a plot device, and the imagery of playing cards, Through the Looking-Glass begins indoors on a snowy November day, plays with time and spatial directions, and uses the imagery of chess.  

Adept at word play, logic, and fantasy, Carroll’s tales about Alice are prime examples of the literary nonsense genre. Bending logic and emphasizing the peculiar, Carroll often drew parallels between the fictional characters and real people, which created a type of parody of Victorian life and society. The book was beloved by children and adults alike, with readers such as Queen Victoria and Oscar Wilde among Carroll’s fan base. "Alice is, in a word, a book of that extremely rare kind which will belong to all the generations to come until the language becomes obsolete " (Carpenter & Prichard, 102).

Founded in 1898 by Alexander Grosset and George T. Dunlap in New York City, the publishing firm of Grosset & Dunlap helped to shift the focus of the publishing industry from expensive books for the few to inexpensive books for the masses. They sold copious numbers of reprints, photoplays, and original book series throughout much of the 20th century and helped increase readership throughout the US. In 1914, Grosset & Dunlap issued their first "photoplay edition." Photoplay editions were promotional movie tie-in books of the silent film and early sound era and Grosset & Dunlap monopolized this market in the 1920- 1940s. Once a popular book's film rights were sold, Grosset & Dunlap would swoop in immediately to secure the reprint privileges for the book. They would then republish the book close to the movie’s premiere date, with illustrations and stills from the movie or film production. These photoplays allowed readers who couldn’t afford to attend every movie opening to still experience the film, in a way, from home. Meanwhile, wealthier fans of the film could further enhance their fan experience by buying and reading the photoplays.

CONDITION: 

Very good condition. Octavo. Original dust jacket, unclipped. With small loss and chips to top and bottom of the spine of the jacket. Overall toning to jacket. Original blue cloth boards with white titles to the spine and front board, stamped Alice illustration in navy and white to front board. Black and white photographic endpapers with stills from the movie. Illustrated throughout with “specially posed” photographs of the movie. Paper is very healthy and bright. 297 pp. Presented with a new archival slipcase. 

Book Dimensions: 8 3/8" H x 6" W x 1 1/2" D.

Slipcase Dimensions: 8 7/8" H x 6" W x 1 7/8" D.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.