# Is "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson) (Macmillan and Co., 1865 (suppressed); 1866 (first published)) is identified by: The 1865 first printing of 2,000 copies, with the text printed at the Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), was suppressed at Tenniel's insistence because he was dissatisfied with the impression of his illustrations (the pictures showed through the leaf). True first = the suppressed 1865 Macmillan with the Oxford-printed text, an extreme rarity (about 23 known).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The 1865 first printing of 2,000 copies, with the text printed at the Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), was suppressed at Tenniel's insistence because he was dissatisfied with the impression of his illustrations (the pictures showed through the leaf)
- Only about 50 copies had been bound before withdrawal, and roughly 23 are recorded today — the true first
- Point: title page dated 1865, over the Oxford-printed text block; bound (like the 1866) in red cloth, all edges gilt
- The first published edition is dated 1866 (ready November 1865 for the Christmas trade), entirely reset and printed by Richard Clay
- Carroll sold the ~1,952 suppressed 1865 sheets to D. Appleton of New York, who issued them with a cancel title leaf dated 1866 and the Appleton imprint at the foot of the spine (the 'Appleton Alice')
- Publisher imprint reads Macmillan and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson) |
| Publisher | Macmillan and Co. |
| Year | 1865 (suppressed); 1866 (first published) |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The 1865 first printing of 2,000 copies, with the text printed at the Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), was suppressed at… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The 1865 first printing of 2,000 copies, with the text printed at the Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), was suppressed at Tenniel's insistence because he was dissatisfied with the impression of his illustrations (the pictures showed through the leaf). Only about 50 copies had been bound before withdrawal, and roughly 23 are recorded today — the true first. Point: title page dated 1865, over the Oxford-printed text block; bound (like the 1866) in red cloth, all edges gilt. The first published edition is dated 1866 (ready November 1865 for the Christmas trade), entirely reset and printed by Richard Clay. Carroll sold the ~1,952 suppressed 1865 sheets to D. Appleton of New York, who issued them with a cancel title leaf dated 1866 and the Appleton imprint at the foot of the spine (the 'Appleton Alice').

## Is this the true first?
True first = the suppressed 1865 Macmillan with the Oxford-printed text, an extreme rarity (about 23 known). First obtainable = the reset 1866 Macmillan printed by Richard Clay. The 'Appleton Alice' (New York, 1866) is made from the original suppressed 1865 Oxford sheets fitted with a cancel title leaf, so it is a variant issue of the true first printing rather than a later reprint. Author-inscribed copies are the association apex.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The reset 1866 Macmillan and all later Macmillan printings are not the suppressed 1865 first; a copy dated 1866 with the Richard Clay text is the first published edition, not the true first. Facsimiles of the 1865 exist.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/alices-adventures-in-wonderland
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.