Alice in Wonderland cards

When Bridget Austin came to live in New Zealand in 1957, she chose to bring a small selection of items from her childhood. Amongst her most prized possessions was this set of Alice in Wonderland cards.

The cards were published about 1889/90 and were based on Sir John Tenniel's illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Dodgson). The illustrations from the 1896 edition of the book were used for this De la Rue card game after being adapted by artist Emily Gertrude Thomson (1850-1929) who was a good friend of Dodgson's. She also illustrated the covers of The Nursery "Alice" (1890) which is a shortened version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.