Sir John Tenniel : Alice's White Knight

Education & Reference Art, Design & Photography Biography & Memoir

Rodney Engen’s Sir John Tenniel: Alice’s White Knight is the first-edition biography that finally gives the celebrated Alice in Wonderland illustrator his due. This 1991 hardcover traces Tenniel’s journey from shy Victorian cartoonist to the visual genius who defined Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland for generations of readers.

Collectors prize this 234-page Lund Humphries volume for its generous reproductions of Tenniel’s crisp line work and rare preliminary sketches. Engen balances scholarly detail with lively anecdotes, showing how political caricatures for Punch magazine honed the wit that would breathe life into the White Knight, the Cheshire Cat, and other beloved characters.

The sturdy hardback arrives in very good shape: pages are clean and bright, while the unclipped dust jacket shows only light shelf scuffing. A vintage find that looks smart on shelf or coffee table, it invites hours of browsing for fans of classic children’s illustration, Victorian art, or Alice collectibles.

First editions in such tidy condition are increasingly scarce; grab this one before it disappears down the rabbit hole.