Sir John Tenniel (1820 –1914) was an illustrator and satirical cartoonist whose work was highly celebrated during  the Victorian Era.  Tenniel is best remembered today as the first published  illustrator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871).

Lewis Carroll made his own sketches, but did not believe that they were good enough for publication and so the illustrations that Tenniel produced took into account what Carroll intended but with the added inventiveness of Tenniel.  They are regarded as classics today.

An additional element of their appearance is was made by the contribution of the highly skilled craftsmen engravers, the  Dalziel brothers, who were the wood engravers on the project.  The Dalziel brothers were highly renowned top craftsmen also employed as engravers for JE Millais, Edward Lear and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Tenniel also created cartoons for Punch Magazine for fifty years.  Tenniel was knighted by Queen Victoria for his artistic achievements in 1893.

From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 1865