Centenary Celebrations of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
(AKA Lewis Carroll)

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was born on January 27, 1832 and died on January 14, 1898. He was a true genius as is shown by his accomplishments in the fields of mathematics, logic, religion, photography, and literature. He is most well known as the author of the world famous book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is no surprise that the centenary of his death is being celebrated all over the world.

We will try to keep an up to date listing of scheduled events. Information will be posted as we get it and therefore may not be complete and the dates may be preliminary. Dates are in 1998 unless otherwise noted. It is inevitable that there will be events that elude our watchful eyes.

Events in the UK

Events in the US

  • April 1 - May 29. New York City. Grolier Club. An exhibition of about 75 items from the collection of Jon Lindseth.

  • May 22 - August 30. New York City. Pierpont Morgan Library. Exhibition of items from the Arthur Houghton collection plus some items from the Disney archives.

  • July 15-20. C. S. Lewis Centenary Conference with the annual conference of the Mythopoeic Society, Mythcon 29 to be held 1998, in Wheaton, Illinois.

    The 1998 Mythopoeic Conference will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of C. S. Lewis. Primary focus of the conference will be on Lewis, but there will also be a day of special programming (Thursday, 16 July) on Lewis Carroll in recognition of his centenary as well.

    There is a call for papers in place for anyone interested in presenting a 15-20 minute original paper on any topic relating to Lewis Carroll's works at the Mythlore conference. Special interest will be placed on papers dealing with Lewis Carroll's special knowledge or use of language, his use of puns, and his linguistic riddles. Please send abstracts (200-300 words) or papers (5-10 pages)to fjs129@mail.usask.ca before the 28th of February, 1998.

    The Cheshire Society
    4234 Stone Way North
    Seattle, WA 98103
    Cheshire-soc@geocities.com

    Cheshire Society launches weeklong celebration of the Lewis Carroll Centenary

    Local arts organization evokes Wonderland with original events.

    Seattle, WA: One of the most famous stories in western culture, Alice in Wonderland is springing to new life with a weeklong tribute produced by the Seattle arts group: The Cheshire Society. Alice lovers are invited to join in two events: the Mad Tea/Wonderland Ball and the run of the original stage-play "ALICE: Through the Looking Glass, Darkly".

    The week is anchored around a catered Mad Tea hosted by the Society and starring the Queen of Hearts herself, who will be attended by her costumed court. Watch your head! Performing for your pleasure will be other Wonderland notables as well, cavorting in fantastic costumes. Members of Seattle's art community will also be in attendance, displaying their works and adding to the general excitement. Matthew White, producer of the Wonderland Ball, is pleased to announce the sponsorship of one of the nation's largest wineries: JFJ Bronco, who will be serving a selection of their excellent products.

    Vincent Kovar, author of "ALICE: Through the Looking Glass, Darkly" and Carroll enthusiast, calls the events "a juxtaposition of modern life and Victorian fantasy, reflecting upon just how far we have all gone through the looking glass. With quality of cast we have and the recent surge of interest sparked by the centenary, we are expecting a great show". The play is part commentary and part comedy and will be starring a cast of local actors fresh from stages all over the area.

    The Mad Tea and Wonderland Ball take place in the elegant Century Ballroom on the second floor of Capitol Hill's Oddfellows' Hall 915 E Pine St Seattle, WA 98122 on October 4th, 1998 from 5 pm to 10pm. With the Mad Tea lasting until 7, after which the Wonderland Ball begins. Tickets available starting in September. Admission includes both the Mad Tea & Wonderland Ball.

    "ALICE: Through the Looking Glass Darkly" shows as part of the Cheshire Society's "Wonderland" Festival, Thurs. Oct 1st-Sat. Oct 3rd at 8:00p.m., Sunday Oct. 4th at 3:30 and Thurs. Oct. 8th -Sat. Oct. 10th also at 8:00. Tickets available at the door. Fun interviews and interesting photo calls for all events are easily available to the media!

    Sept. 8 through December 18, 1998. Leeds Gallery (Flawn Academic Center, 4th floor) The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin announces an exhibition titled: "Reflections in a Looking-Glass: A Centenary Exhibition of Lewis Carroll." Included will be materials from the Ransom Center's Weaver and Sewell collections of Lewis Carroll as well as the Gernsheim History of Photography collection.

    Free and open to the public!

    An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Oct. 8, 1998 with guest speaker Morton Cohen. (Location and time to be announced).

    Also, in the afternoon on Oct. 11, 1998 a Mad Hatter's Tea Party will be held for children in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade. Please call (512) 471-8944 for complete reservation and location information.

  • Nov.7-8 Fall meeting of the LCSNA. Meetings at UCLA on Nov 7 and at the Huntington Library on Nov 8. There will be exhibits at both venues. Speakers to be announced.

  • November 22 - March 7, 1999. The show has metamorphosed--Dodgson would have been pleased--into two shows. One will focus largely on Alice (the development of the book, its lasting influence, its illustrators, its collectors/owners, its American 'Rezeption', its educational dimensions, etc.), though many other works (books, letters, etc.) will be shown.

    The original plan to include photographs in this exhibition has been expanded such that we now plan to mount a separate exhibition of Dodgson as a photographer, a show that will feature our own prints but also a number of borrowed images, and will travel in all likelihood to several cities. The show will attempt to delve into the Victorian context of Dodgson's photographs, and will likely also include images by Cameron, Thomson, etc

    Events Elsewhere

    This page provided by the Lewis Carroll Society of North America.