[GREAVES & THOMAS]. Alice’s Celestial Globe Depicting the Red Kings dream as witnessed by Alice, recalled by Lewis Carroll and illustrated using the artwork of John Tenniel. Pre-publication proof 1/1. London: Greaves & Thomas, [2001].
A unique prototype celestial globe, replacing the familiar constellations with characters or objects from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The gores on this globe were hand-done in watercolor and not printed. Approximately 33” in diameter. Globe is on manufacturer’s original custom-made chess-piece stand (stand is wooden and metal, and hand-painted with manufacturer’s hallmark on base). Total height with stand: approximately 72”.
This beautiful and grand globe was made by the venerable globe-makers, Greaves & Thomas, as a prototype for future, smaller globes (although they have recently begun to make larger versions). This globe re-creates the dream-like features in Carroll’s Alice books. Some of the substituted constellations include: Aquarius is now the Mad Hatter holding his teapot, Pisces are the Fish Footmen, Taurus is the Mock Turtle, Aries is the sheep from the shop, Gemini are Tweedledee and Tweedledum (naturally), Cancer is the crab from the Caucus Race, Leo is the Lion (again, naturally), Virgo (the virgin) is Alice, Libra is the King of Hearts, Scorpio is the lobster, Sagittarius is the White Knight on his horse, and Capricorn is the goat from the railway carriage, and many others.
[With:] GREAVES & THOMAS. Alice’s Celestial Globe. London: Greaves & Thomas, [2000]. 4to. Illustrated with one leaf of black and white photos, and several intertextual black and white illustrations after Tenniel. Original green cloth over printed boards, pictorial endleaves (some light rubbing, occasional soiling). PRE-PUBLICATION EDITION, LIMITED ISSUE, number 1 of 42 copies SIGNED BY THE PUBLISHER. Outlines the plan and design of the globe.