Alice in Wonderland Retold

o, I was out in my favorite old book shop searching for Alice in Wonderland. I found one volume, which I am currently working on...restoring the Antique artwork that we all love.




Then I picked up this little 6 x 8 Antique volume from 1905. I purchased my books and went home to research my finds. The unusual tea party color plate is at the front of the book.



I discovered that this book is a rare edition, and is valuable.

"In the early twentieth century, great books were often “retold in words of one syllable” so that the language would be easier for beginning readers. In this adaptation, Mrs J. C. Gorham hyphenates some longer words that couldn’t be avoided—but the text remains the same enjoyable story retold of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale.

Mrs J. C. Gorham, is known to us only by her married name, the usual practice of the time. Gorham is notable for having written three books in “Burt’s Series of One Syllable Books”, Gulliver’s Travels (1896) and Black Beauty (1905) being her other two, with some eleven other books in this “series of Classics, selected specially for young people’s reading, and told in simple language for youngest readers”.

I usually purchase rare and unusual books for the artwork that they contain. I scan the magnificent illustrations and artwork, and sometimes restore them using my digital paintbox.



When I am finished using the book, I usually put it on sale on my etsy shop, For The Love of Old Books. This book would be a lovely addition to someone's library.



Alice in Wonderland rewritten in words of one syllable to help readers in 1905 read. It contains all the wonderful black and white illustrations that we all have grown to love. Except these are all copyright free, so you can use them to copy and use in your own artwork to sell. I have a little library of Alice in Wonderland treasures, so I thought I would share the wealth, and offer this one for sale.



The wonderful volume was printed in 1905 by A.L. Burt Company. 97 pages long with lots of lovely black and white illustrations inside. The book measures 8 1/2 x 6 inches, hard cover, which is soiled from lots of use.



Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was retold by Mrs. J.C. Gorham, fully illustrated with some words by syllable...



The book is tattered, with a few pencil underlines for the dear child who was trying their hand at learned to ready by syllables.



The binding is coming away a bit in the front, but the illustrations have kept their integrity. I just love using Alice illustrations in my artwork and on my fabrics on Spoonflower Fabrics.



I hope that you enjoy this treasure. I recently saw this edition for sale for $125.00 on ebay. I am not an ebay seller, but if I were I would try my hand at this. Some day I will be a book seller perhaps, but for now I just love the artwork I find inside.



I wonder how many children learned how to read using this precious find.

Painting The Roses Red

Painting the roses red...

I do love painting, but I also love creating cards.






I was working on more Alice's Adventures in Wonderland prints,



And thought they would make lovely cards.



So, I found a very Alice backdrop of aqua cardstock.



I added each print to seven different cards, each one fits perfectly in this red gift box.



I tied a white grosgrain ribbon on top and added a Painting The Roses Red print to a tag on top.



Painting The Roses Red Gift Box is filled with Alice blank note cards. There are seven designs in all, created from an Antique book from 1867 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The box of cards looks just like a book when standing up, the box of seven blank note cards is on my etsy shop.



The song to this post is an instrumental oldie of Alice in Wonderland from 1966. Hmmm, I was just seventeen.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I visited one of my favorite old book shops.



I walked up and down the aisles admiring the old bindings and carefully opening up each treasure to see the beautiful Antique artwork.



Tucked in the corner I spotted a rocking chair, next to shelves and shelves of old children's books. Down at the very bottom shelf was this beautiful book peeking out.



I opened up the cover and could not believe my eyes The Adventures of Alice and Wonderland published in 1867.





Inside this treasure were the black and white illustrations that we often see.



Then there were these other book plates in full color that I had never seen before.



When I went to purchase the book, the shopkeeper remarked at what a beautiful book it was, and how she loved the color plates as well.



I have spent days restoring these beautiful works of art and creating some new designs with them. I do not like taking a book apart, I prefer scanning the images and then restoring them with my digital paintbox.



Several of my creations have been turned into fabrics on Spoonflower Fabrics.



I am just waiting for the swatches to arrive, so that I can approve them for sale.



My idea is to turn some of them into fabric wall hangings.



I have some other ideas for Alice, which I will post about another time.



Until then, I am having so much fun visiting with Alice and all the characters in this beautiful treasure. I feel a bit like Alice myself.