Periodical Contributions by Lewis Carroll

Sometimes items that one finds are not intrinsically valuable but are rare and desirable even so. Lewis Carroll is no exception. I saw these separate paper-bound issues of Aunt Judy’s Magazine in a catalogue issued by the West Country children’s bookseller Christopher Holtom. The 1867 issue shown contains Castle Croquet, which the author had first published as a pamphlet. When I ordered the item I was told it had been sold. Would I give up at that? Not likely - I asked Chris Holtom if he would forward a letter to the purchaser, which he agreed to do, asking if a swap for some other issues would be possible and, luckily, the purchaser replied in the affirmative as she had no particular collecting interest in Carroll.

The bound volumes of this periodical are not hard to find unlike individual parts. Another has the music and words to The Walrus and the Carpenter.

Many other periodicals exist with Lewis Carroll content and present a challenging quest for the collector. Another example is Notes and Queries, and some individual parts are in my collection. On 23 December 1871 a review of Behind The Looking Glass and What Alice Saw There appeared, remarkable as the book Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There was published at Christmas.

See Charlie Lovett’s excellent and comprehensive book Lewis Carroll And The Press ( Oak Knoll and British Library 1999) for details of Dodgson’s contributions to periodicals.