Sylvie and Bruno – Lewis Carroll – 1889 | First Edition, Illustrated

Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll was printed in London in 1889 by Macmillan and Co. This first edition combines a dream-like fairy world with parts set in the real world. Carroll, best known for his Alice stories, took a different path in this later book. It follows two young characters across scenes that shift between imagined places and Victorian England. The illustrations by Harry Furniss, forty-six in total, include a frontispiece and full-page images throughout the book. The pages contain short poems, conversations, and shifting scenes.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sylvie and Bruno
• Author(s): Lewis Carroll
• Illustrator(s): Harry Furniss
• Publisher: London: Macmillan and Co.
• Edition: First Edition, 1889
• Format: Duodecimo (12mo), single volume
• Binding: Green cloth, gilt title and design on boards and spine
• Size:  7.5in x 5.5in (19 cm x 13.5 cm)
• Collation: xxiii, [1], 400 pp
• Illustrations: 46 illustrations by Harry Furniss
• Contents Include:
  • Scenes set in both imaginary and real settings
  • Chapters with poems and dialogue
• Provenance: Bookplate/Signature of Sargent Holbrook Wellman, 1914
  • Sargent H. Wellman (1892-1961) was an American soldier and politician, serving as a captain in the Army Service Corps after being shipped to France during World War I. He was later elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1925.
• Reference(s): references

Condition:

Very Good. Binding is secure; cloth shows light wear at corners and spine ends, and spotting mainly across the front board. Gilt remains bright. Pages are mostly clean with some mild foxing on the early leaves, and mild age toning throughout. All illustrations present. Hinges are secure.

Why Collect This?

• True first printing from 1889
• Original Macmillan binding with gold-stamped design
• Illustrated by Harry Furniss throughout
• One of Carroll’s lesser-seen narrative works

Item Number: # 28813