Lewis Carroll, Photographer

by Helmut Gernsheim

Carroll’s forgotten hobby was not rediscovered until 1949, 50 years after his death, when collector Helmut Gernsheim was offered an original album of photographs taken by Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Dodgson, of course, was the same man who published under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Gernsheim poured his energy into discovering more of the photographer, “for quite frankly” as Gernsheim recalled “until then, Lewis Carroll, photographer, had been a stranger to me.”

The rediscovery of an essentially forgotten nineteenth-century photographer introduced novel and entirely visual insights of the renowned author and eventually led to Gernsheim’s publication Lewis Carroll, Photographer.

Genres: Photography, 19th Century, Art

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[Howard Frisk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows Lewis Carroll as the English author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and his poems Jabberwocky and The Hunting of the Snark. But I did not know he was also a mathematician and a photographer. The book recounts the fascinating life story of Lewis Carroll and how he got started in photography, which was quite a new endeavor back in the 1850's.

The book includes a good sampling of his photographs, including his most well known subject, Alice Liddell, who some say was the inspiration behind the his Alice in Wonderland book.

Overall this is a very enjoyable read.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty thorough discussion on Carroll's photographic forays. Sheds light on his relationships and the controversy of hide nude studies of children. It appears most if not all photos were taken in the presence of an adult and the children retained fond memories of the author and remained his friends later in life. Harldy an abusive relationship it seems.

The author sheds light on information regarding the missing diary pages. Information directly from Alice Liddell's (later Hargreaves) son indicated Carroll did indeed propose to marry Alice once she was of age. This proposal apparently was deemed undesirable by her parents and their relationship all but ceased from this point onward.