Today is Alice "in Wonderland" Liddell's birthday, and by a happy coincidence, it's also the day I scored the most beautiful edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass that I've ever seen. It's one of the Anne Bachelier illustrated editions published by CFM in 2005. The book is an oversized oblong, tall and narrow, with Alice on one side and Looking-Glass on the other — turn the book over to switch.
Alice in Wonderland was the first book I ever read on my own, and I had a fat little school library edition that was reverse-bound with Looking-Glass, just like this one. But this one is really special — Bachelier's luscious illustrations and the marvellous binding make this into more than a book, it's a must-have artifact. I got my copy from Manhattan's Books of Wonder, a really first-rate kids' bookstore.
I've been collecting Alice editions since I was a kid, and I've got some really nice ones, but I've never seen one quite like this. CFM also did a paperback edition, but I haven't been able to find an online bookseller offering it. The publisher also offers a limited editions set of lithos of the Bachelier paintings.
(Thanks, Riko!)
Update: Michael sez, "Here is a link to purchase a paperback and deluxe paperback edition of the Alice book Cory posted."
