The Rosenbach Celebrates 150 Years Of Alice In Wonderland
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Rosenbach Museum and Library is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Alice in Wonderland with a very special display.
Rosenbach Curator Judith Guston peered into the display case and read an excerpt from Lewis Carroll's original manuscript of what he called Alice's Adventures Underground. Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, wrote it for Alice Liddell after making up the story during a boat trip.
"A teacher at Oxford who had just befriended a little girl. So this is where it all started. And she demanded that he write it down for her. And two years later he presented it to her as a Christmas present," Guston explained.
Guston says Alice Liddell hung on to the book until 1928 when she sold it to A.S.W Rosenbach.
"It was really a part of his life. When he purchased this at auction in 1928 it made him world famous. He was a headline on the NY Times. On the front page," she explained.
The manuscript will be on display at the Rosenbach from October 14-21.
The Rosenbach sold the manuscript, bought it back then gifted it to the British Museum in 1948, where it has remained until this year. This is somewhat of a homecoming for Alice. Guston says it's awe-inspiring to be near something that is one of a kind and so culturally important.