Macmillan issued the first edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Macmillan and Co. published the book in London in 1865, with forty-two illustrations by John Tenniel. The first printing consisted of about 2,000 copies, but Carroll and Tenniel objected to the quality of the illustrations and the edition was withdrawn from ordinary sale.
That withdrawal creates a frequent bibliographical confusion. The 1865 printing is still the first edition and first issue, even though the more commonly encountered first English edition bears the date 1866 after a revised printing. The discarded 1865 copies are now exceptionally valuable.
The book’s publishing history is part of its larger legacy. It introduced readers to Alice’s fall down the rabbit hole, Carroll’s playful assaults on logic, and Tenniel’s defining visual designs. Macmillan continued publishing the work through numerous later editions and helped establish it as a Victorian classic.