8vo, THE AUTHOR’S OWN COPY AND FROM DODGSON'S OWN LIBRARY, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR WITH HIS MONOGRAM AND DATED THE DAY AFTER PUBLICATION ("CLD. | Mar. 30. 1876.") on half-title, FIRST EDITION, PHOTOGRAPH BY ARTHUR DEBENHAM OF THE DEDICATEE, GERTRUDE CHATAWAY, LAID-DOWN opposite dedicatory poem, 9 wood-engraved illustrations after Henry Holiday, original pictorial red cloth gilt, gilt edges, collector's chemise and slipcase, occasional spotting and browning, lower hinge split, edges worn, chemise and slipcase worn

E.J. Brooks, 10-13 May 1898, lot 710 (sold for £3 10s); Sotheby’s, 17-20 May 1898, lot 144 (sold for £4 16s); The Important Library assembled by the late Robert P. Esty, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 22 October 1963, lot 28 (sold for $30)

Williams, Madan, Green and Crutch 115

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The exact publication date of Lewis Carroll's celebrated 'Odyssey of the Nonsensical' is uncertain. Dodgson asked for it to be published on 1 April 1876 but went to London to write in presentation copies on 29 March. The publishers also record 29 March as the date of publication.

It appears that around ten copies of the book included a photograph inserted by the author. The albumen carte-de-visite photograph shows the dedicatee of the book, Gertrude Chataway, who was a neighbour of Carroll's in Eastbourne. On 7 February 1876 Carroll wrote to Gertrude’s mother about "…those 10 unmounted cartes of Gertie, which with your permission I got from [the Eastbourne photographer] Debenham, to mount in my own copy of the Snark, and in some I intend to give away…"

A different copy (described as "Dodgson’s own copy") was sold by Christie's New York in 1998 for $20,700 as part of 'The Private Collection of Justin G. Schiller'. That copy comprised an inscribed copy to G.G. Woodhouse and his wife. Dodgson had noted 'received Mar. 29. 1876' as part of the inscription which was dated 29 April 1877. This present copy is that recorded as lot 710 in the Catalogue of the Furniture, Personal Effects and Library of the Late "Lewis Carroll" sold by E.J. Brooks in Oxford in May 1898. It was sold again by S🦹otheby's in December 1898 and the photograph is mentioned in the cataloguing. The volume re-surfaced in October 1963 when it was sold as part of the Library assembled by the late Robert P. Esty of Philadelphia by Parke-Bernet Galleries.