Some people are born storytellers, and Lewis Carroll is among them. Carroll was the pen name of Charles L. Dodgson, born in Daresbury, England on January 27, 1832. Carroll was the oldest child of 11 and entertained his younger siblings on a regular basis.

Carroll was great at math and won academic prizes during his school days. He earned a scholarship to Christ College when he was 20 years old. He served as a lecturer in math, was a photographer, and wrote essays, poetry, and political pieces.

He connected well with children and Alice, the daughter of Henry George Liddell, has been credited as his inspiration. Later in life Alice Liddell commented that she remembered spending many hours with Carroll, hearing him tell fantastical stories. It was during an afternoon picnic that he created his first version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice quickly asked him to write down the story.

Novelist Henry Kingsley read the imaginative story and encouraged Carroll to publish it. In 1865 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was released. After the book built a popular following he wrote the sequel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. When he died Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was the most popular children’s book in England and in 1932 it was the most popular book in the world.

In their current auction, Hake’s Americana & Collectibles is offering eight lots of Alice in Wonderland collectibles. Among them is a Mad Hatter Regal china prototype teapot. The figural teapot measures 6” x 8” x 7-3/4”, circa 1951, and is in a more classical teapot shape as opposed to the finished piece. They have a rare Regal china figural cookie jar, which is 8” x 9” x 13-1/2”, circa 1951. Another great Alice in Wonderland piece in the auction is a White Rabbit Regal china sugar bowl. The two-piece lidded figural sugar bowl features a large raised heart on the front of the bowl with the White Rabbit’s head as the lid.