A celebration of the Jon A. Lindseth Lewis Carroll Collection
It was an enormous pleasure to welcome Jon A. Lindseth and members of his family, descendants of Alice Hargreaves (the real Alice) and a number of Lewis Carroll scholars and specialists to Christ Church’s historic Upper Library on Tuesday 18 February to celebrate the donation of the Jon A. Lindseth Lewis Carroll Collection to the College.
The event was an opportunity to thank Jon for his enormous generosity to Christ Church, where The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – better known by his pen name 'Lewis Carroll' – taught Mathematics from 1855 to 1881.
In 1856 Dodgson became friends with Henry Liddell, the new Dean of the College, and his family. His friendship with the Liddell children led him to create one of the most famous and enduring children's stories, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
It was wonderful to bring together Jon and some of his family and friends, Carroll scholars, collectors and experts to hear about Jon’s collecting and scholarship.
It was wonderful to bring together Jon and some of his family and friends, Carroll scholars, collectors and experts to hear about Jon’s collecting and scholarship.
The Jon A. Lindseth Lewis Carroll Collection is outstanding and it goes far beyond Alice. Carroll's whole output is represented in the donation: manuscripts, photographs; special editions of Carroll’s many works; manuscripts and a very significant collection of translations of the Alice books from the very first German translation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland of 1869 through to much more recent publications. The translations are a testament to Jon’s editorship of the monumental Alice in a World of Wonderlands: The Translation of Lewis Carroll’s Masterpiece, which traces the history of the translation of Alice into more than 170 languages in more than 7,600 editions.
Speaking after the event, Gabriel Sewell, Librarian of Christ Church, remarked: 'It was wonderful to bring together Jon and some of his family and friends, Carroll scholars, collectors and experts to hear about Jon’s collecting and scholarship, and to enjoy a first look at the exhibition of highlights of a collection which is new to the UK and makes Christ Church the largest institutional Carroll collection in the UK.'
The Christ Church Library team is currently working on making this precious collection accessible and available for research, and welcomes enquiries about its contents. Further exhibitions and a programme of events are planned.
An exhibition displaying some of the most exceptional items in the Jon A. Lindseth Lewis Carroll Collection has begun and runs until 17 April. Learn more about the display here.
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