{"id":829,"date":"2020-01-28T11:27:46","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T19:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/?p=829"},"modified":"2026-04-14T13:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:13:16","slug":"a-surreal-spin-on-alice-in-wonderland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/2020\/01\/28\/a-surreal-spin-on-alice-in-wonderland\/","title":{"rendered":"A Surreal Spin on Alice in Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1865, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carrol) wrote Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland<\/em>, a story that follows a young girl named Alice after she falls down a rabbit hole into a fantastical land. The story toys with logic and is one of the best examples of literary nonsense, making it appeal to both children and adults of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

104 years later, Random House Publishing commissioned Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali to create illustrations to accompany the piece. Dali, given his highly imaginative abilities, technical skills, and unusual behavior, was the perfect match to recreate the imagery for Dodgson\u2019s eccentric piece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"One<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"One<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Random House only published 2500 copies, making this edition rare and hard to come by. That\u2019s why I was shocked to discover that Santa Clara University\u2019s Special Collections has a copy of Dali’s illustrated Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland<\/em><\/a>, acquired in 2016 from a rare book dealer. We actually got our copy for a little over $5,300, but another copy went up for auction in September of 2019 in England for \u00a322,000– which is roughly $30,000 (crazy!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The monetary value of the piece begins to make sense once you check out the beauty in the pairing of Dodgson\u2019s playful yet intense story with Dali\u2019s whimsical and colorful illustrations. The frontispiece and each chapter included a heliogravure <\/em>by Dali, resulting in 12 breathtaking pieces of art. Scattered throughout the pages and hidden in the images is a motif of a little girl, Alice, skipping rope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Dali didn\u2019t actually paint each of the editions himself– he created the original images by woodcut and watercolor, then created the heliogravure <\/em>plates for reproduction, like I mentioned previously. Heliogravure<\/em> (sometimes called photogravure) is the oldest technique of reproducing photographic images, originating in France in the 19th century. Traditionally, this is a two step process: using an intense photochemical process to fix and etch the image onto a specially prepared copper plate, then putting this plate on a hand-turned press to print the image onto damp etching paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easier to understand this process by watching it happen, so check out this video: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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