Animals Are Us: Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature; Celebrating the Peter J. Solomon Collection

49A
Silver pocket watch belonging to Charles Dodgson
[Lewis Carroll]
Inscribed on the inner case “Rev. C. L. Dodgson/Christ Church Oxford”
A. Bach of London, hallmarked 1868
5 cm (diameter); 34 cm (chain & fobs)
Loan from Peter J. Solomon
Carroll intended Alice to amuse the young reader while also
satirizing Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. He enlisted
anthropomorphic animals such as the Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter,
and March Hare to enhance the narrative. The author’s pocket
watch, though hallmarked three years after Alice’s publication,
evokes the one the March Hare consults at the book’s outset, and
suggests an animal’s ability to tell time and acknowledge tardiness.
Tenniel’s drawing of “The Lobster Quadrille,” a song recited by the
Mock Turtle, underscores the anthropomorphic sentiments in the
quatrain where the lobster, inspecting himself vainly, turns out his
toes.
The other two items offer insights into the book’s early
history. John Tenniel insisted that the first printing be withdrawn
due to the poor quality of the illustrations and typographical errors.
This is one of just twenty-three copies known to have survived from
a print run of 2000. Carroll copied the woodcuts for Alice
Liddell by hand as a preview of the illustrations in the book
written for her. His adept drawings were mistaken for the
Tenniel originals until the 1980s. Beginning in 1903, a parade
of film adaptations (themselves a testament to its popularity)
kept the book in the public eye, with Disney’s animation in
1951 cementing its mass appeal.
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