Lewis Carroll

albumen print, numbered '1677' by the photographer in violet ink and numbered '1677' in an unidentified contemporary hand in pencil on the reverse, matted, framed, circa 1868

Christie's New York, 30 October 1989, Sale 6906, Lot 192

Acquired by Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, from the above

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1990

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 5 (this print)

Another print of this image:

Douglas R. Nickel, Dreaming in Pictures: The Photography of Lewis Carroll (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2002, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 3

73 Photographs from David and Mary Robinson at the National Gallery of Art (San Francisco, Fraenkel Gallery, 2007), pl. 11

Grading this albumen print on a scale of 1 to 10 - 10 being an albumen print that has deep brown dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail - this print surpasses the high grade of 10. The tones are deep brown, bordering on black, and the highlights are an unsullied cream color. This contact print is untrimmed, and the edges of the negative are visible in the border. The print is essentially in excellent condition. A soft diagonal crease in the lower left quadrant is visible when the print is examined in raking light, as are a number of insignificant handling creases. A 1-cm. tear has been skillfully and unobtrusively repaired just below the center of the left edge, as has a 2-cm. tear in the center of the right edge. Both of these repairs have been effectively retouched. None of these issues is immediately apparent, and they do not diminish the quality of this remarkable print.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Alexandra (Xie) Kitchin, the young daughter of Carroll's friend and colleague Rev. George W. Kitchin, was one of Lewis Carroll's most frequent sitters.  So enamored of his subject was Carroll that, when asked how to obtain an excellent photograph, he replied, 'Take a lens and put Xie before it' (quoted in Masterpieces of Photography, p. 100).  This particular print of Alexandra Kitchin is one of few extant examples of the image.  Another print is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.  A similar photograph of Kitchen on the same couch, in different attire and pose, was offered by Sotheby's London in 2001 (Sale LO1276, Lot 98).

Carroll was often uncomfortable in the presence of adults, preferring the company of children, who he referred to as 'child-friends.'  He possessed a rare ability to put children at ease, perhaps due to his vivid imagination and penchant for storytelling.  Throughout his twenty-five years taking photographs, Carroll photographed children often.  They are posed simply, in their everyday dress, without the costumes and literary references favored by his Victorian contemporaries--Julia Margaret Cameron, Oscar Gustave Rejlander, and Henry Peach Robinson among them.

Best known as the author of such children's books as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was also a lecturer in Mathematics at Oxford University and an ordained deacon.  Carroll took up photography in 1856, working primarily in portraiture, often photographing those closest to him.  Like his contemporary Julia Margaret Cameron (Lot 35), Carroll photographed the artists and elite of the day, including Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and John Ruskin.  Both Carroll and Cameron shared an affinity for portraiture and photographing children, frequently using the children of friends and relatives as their subjects.