In 1865, Charles Lulwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, wrote "Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland." Accompanying the prose were twenty-six black-and-white illustrations created
by Sir John Tenniel, the then renowned political cartoonist for the satirical British magazine,
Punch. The abridged, but colored, edition of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" was published
in 1890 and contained twenty color plates by Tenniel.
Tenniel first made a name for himself as an illustrator of the 1848 edition of "Aesop's
Fables." This acclaim brought him to the attention of Punch magazine where he was hired as
second cartoonist in 1851. He was promoted to principal cartoonist in 1864.
Tenniel was a superb illustrator of creatures of whimsy and fantasy. He refused to use
live models or draw from nature saying that he had "a wonderful memory of observation." It is
said that Tenniel somewhat resembled his own drawing of the White Knight of "Alice" fame.
BIRTHPLACE: London, England
EDUCATION: RA Schools
Clipstone Street Life Academy
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