Historians of children's literature universally agree that the publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) marks the liberation of children's books from the restraining hands of the moralists (OCCL, 102). Indeed, Harvey Darton went so far as to call it the first unapologetic appearance of "liberty of thought" in children's books. About the pleasures of the text he remarked, "Henceforth fear had gone, and with it shy disquiet. There was to be in hours of pleasure no more dread about the moral value, the ponderable, measured quality and extent, of the pleasure itself. It was to be enjoyed and even promoted with neither forethought nor remorse ."
No small amount of readerly pleasure is provided by the forty-two illustrations done by Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914) who also illustrated the second volume in 1872. By the time he illustrated Alice, he was able to blend a dignified and somewhat archaic earlier formalism (Aesop's Fables - 1848) with the lighter touch of the Punch cartoon artist, which until then had been his main occupation. Tenniel's illustrations are very faithful to the text and have become definitive. Yet they are the fresh, individual expression of his own artistic genius. Carroll pleaded with Tenniel to draw the animals in Alice from life, but Tenniel insisted on his own fanciful creations. In such imaginative creations as the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, and the Jabberwock, we are fortunate that he did so. Tenniel himself was also fortunate in having expert engravers such as the Brothers Dalziel who realized through the technique of wood engraving the precision and delicacy of his drawing. For Alice, Tenniel worked through the proofing stages directly with the engravers. Although proofs were pulled from the wood, these originals were not used for printing Alice. Instead, copper electrotypes were made for printing, ideal for large editions.
The book was really the result of the exacting demands of both writer and illustrator, who disputed often about the relationship of picture to text. Carroll insisted on giving detailed instructions concerning their subject, size, and position on the page, demanding that Tenniel execute his vision precisely. Yet when Carroll took too unreasonable an approach to pictorial content, Tenniel could be equally tyrannical. In fact he is responsible for Carroll's removing of the "Wasp in a Wig" chapter, which he found "altogether beyond the appliances of art (Meyer, 68)." Carroll's obsession with perfection extended to every aspect of the production process, from the selection of the binding (he preferred bright red as most attractive to children) to the packing of the books. He was pleased with the printing of the first edition, but in this domain John Tenniel was again the tyrant. When he heard that the artist was "entirely dissatisfied" with the printing of the pictures, Carroll took the criticism seriously and decided to scrap the entire edition.
