Walter Hawes – Subtle Alice

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Walter Hawes, of which I cannot find anything online, had his edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published at 1908, making him one of the earliest Alice illustrators. I find his style of illustrations subtle, with a touch of whimsy. While Hawes’s method of illustrations resonates Tenniel’s, his has a lighter feel to them.
I’m no expert, so this is my personal take of these. I’d love to know anything about Walter Hawes, if anyone knows anything, please leave a comment below.
I do have the 1908, 1st edition, but the cover is quite worn out as you can see. Since it’s a rather rare book, and one that I don’t come across often, I bought it despite its condition. I know usually people want to go by quality rather than quantity, but let me make the case for the latter. While I wouldn’t buy a book in poor condition, I would go for one that’s in ok/good condition. If I would only spend my money on good+ condition books, my collection would shrink down to a third of its size. Another argument, is that these books, like the one here, are over 100 years old, and have been read over and over again. It’s difficult to find these old, rare books in any condition, there’s always the option of buying a better copy, and selling the other one. Well, enough about that, Let’s dive into the Walter Hawes Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
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Front hard cover, with a gilded, faded, image of Alice and the White Rabbit.

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The trial, this illustration is positioned by the title page

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Title page, published by The Walter Scott publishing co., ltd

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All in a golden afternoon poem, with a lovely illustration of Dodgson and the Liddell sisters, surrounded by Wonderland characters

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Alice watching the White rabbit go by

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Alice falling down the rabbits hole

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Entering Wonderland

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Drink me

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Alice crying

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How doth the little crocodile

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Alice using the rabbit’s fan to change size

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Alice and the animals swimming in her pool of tears

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The caucus race

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Old Magpie

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The White rabbit falling into a cucumber frame

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Alice filling out the White Rabbit’s house

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Alice fleeing the White rabbit’s house, after causing much distress to everyone

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Alice and the Caterpillar

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Father William

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Alice and the pigeon

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Alice and the footman

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Alice, Duchess, baby, cook, and the Cheshire cat

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Alice and the pig baby

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The house of the March Hare

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A Mad Tea Party

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March Hare and Dormouse

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The Hatter tormenting the poor Dormouse

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Three sisters down the treacle well

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Alice going through the door in the tree

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The Queen with the frightened gardners

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Alice hiding the gardners in a flower pot

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The White Rabbit walking by Alice. This is the gilded image that’s on the hard cover

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The King offers the Cheshire cat to kiss his hand

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the Queen, Alice and the Duchess

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The Gryphon takes Alice to the Mock Turtle

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The Lobster Quadrille

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The Whiting

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Gryphon, Alice and the Mock Turtle

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Turtle reciting his poem

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The March Hare and Dormouse, at the Trial

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The Hatter gives his testimony

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The cook’s evidence

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Chaos at the trial

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Alice wakes up from her dream
















4 comments

  1. Hi, I have a similar copy of this version. But, like yourself, cannot find anything online about its value. Any idea how I could go about getting a valuation for it?
    PS Love your blog ❣️❤️❣️

    1. Thank you for the kind words, it means a lot!
      As for the value fo this one, on one hand, I hardly ever see this one come online, so I do believe its rather rare.
      Although its scarce, it’s also not widely known and seeked after (Like Rackham for example).
      I can tell you that I paid about $50 USD for my copy on ebay a couple of years ago, and would assume that a good+ quality edition should go for
      $100-$150.

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