ALICE IN WONDERLAND – [TENNIEL, John (1820-1914).] Six porcelain menu cards, each hand-painted in ink and watercolor with a character from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass.

Hand-painted menu cards from the family of the original illustrator of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. These charming cards feature the White Rabbit with his watch, the Mock Turtle, the Walrus, the Fish-Footman, Mutton, and the old Frog. Until they were sold at auction in 1998, they were passed down in the family of John Tenniel with the understanding that they were painted by the master himself.

Six porcelain plaques, 129 x 87mm each, with characters in the lower right and headed “Menu” in brown ink (the heading rubbed off on four cards, as well as the White Rabbit’s ears, other rubbing). With, six decorative metal stands and an old storage box. Provenance: The Family of John Tenniel, by descent (named auction sale, Sotheby’s, 7 May 1998, lot 369).