A photo of the girl who inspired Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s novel Alice in Wonderland has sold for £1,625 after being discovered in a 150-year-old family photo album.
The photo, which shows a stern-looking young Alice Liddell in a smart dress stood next to her younger sister Edith, was unearthed in a Scottish family’s photo album from the 1860s.
McCorquodale, whose family name can be traced back at Argyll and the Highlands, owned the album.
In the early 20th century, descendants of McCorquodales were united with the Prince Diana family.
After an intense bidding war, Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts purchased the album from Chiswick Auctions in London.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas has purchased a photo of Alice in Wonderland’s inspiration girl.
This photo was found in a photo album of a Scottish family from the 1860s. It is attributed the ‘McCorquodales, a name which originates in Argyll in Highlands.
It was valued at £600, but fetched a hammer price of £1,300, with extra fees taking the final figure to £1,625.
Carroll was actually Charles Dodgson. He was a pioneer in photography and mathematician, and grew up very close with the Liddells.
Before he wrote The Hunting of the Shark in the 1876, his most famous book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in the year 1865.
Writer Alice Liddell is often seen in photographs and was believed to be the one who took them. the heroine the name ‘Alice’ in his 1865 book after the young girl – but scholars disagree about the extent to which the character was based upon her.
From 1858 to 1862, Carroll’s interest in Alice Liddell also become the subject of intense gossip, with suggestions that he had even proposed marriage.
Austin Farahar of Chiswick Auctions is an expert and said, “Images by Edith Liddell or Alice Liddell can be very difficult to find.
“The fascinating relationship that Carroll and Liddell have with the larger network of artists, scholars and writers from the 19th century is remarkable.
The album was valued at £600, but fetched a hammer price of £1,300, with extra fees taking the final figure to £1,625. Pictured is a young boy posing at different stages of his childhood.
Austin Farahar, specialist at Chiswick Auctions, said images of Alice and Edith Liddell are always very rare to find. Pictured are members of the extended family posing with horses
Pictured: Alice and Edith Liddell’s names are written in the photo album which has now sold for £1,625
Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland was an early pioneer in photography and lived very closely with the Liddell family.
“Carroll’s most famous work, Alice in Wonderland captured the imagination of many with its enduring appeal. This story was originally read to the Liddell siblings during an 1862 boating trip in Oxford.
“To see the photograph of the girl in the original inspiration is always going be appealing to an enormous number of photographic and literary collectors.
It is noteworthy, too that the album was owned by the McCorquodales and Lady Diana Spencer’s descendants were married to it during the 20th century.
“This album was compiled from an extensive cache of brand-new material that came to market from a private British collection, which has been built over 50 years.”
This album contains photos taken in late 19th century by members of the British Royal Family.