WIKIPEDIA
TAlice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an
1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis
Carroll It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a
fantasy world (the Wonderland of the title) populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic
creatures. The tale plays with logic in ways that have given the story lasting popularity
with adults as well as children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the
literary nonsense genre, and its narrative course and structure have been enormously
influential, especially in the fantasy genre.
Alice was published in 1865, three years after the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and
the Reverend Robinson Duckworth rowed in a boat, on 4 July 1862, up the River Thames with
the three young daughters of Henry Liddell, (the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and
Dean of Christ Church) : Lorina Charlotte Liddell (aged 13, born 1849) ("Prima"
in the book's prefatory verse); Alice Pleasance Liddell (aged 10, born 1852)
("Secunda" in the prefatory verse); Edith Mary Liddell (aged 8, born 1853)
("Tertia" in the prefatory verse).
The journey began at Folly Bridge near Oxford and ended five miles away in the village of
Godstow. To while away time the Reverend Dodgson told the girls a story that, not so
coincidentally, featured a bored little girl named Alice who goes looking for an
adventure. The girls loved it, and Alice Liddell asked Dodgson to write it down for her.
After a lengthy delay—over two years—he eventually did so and on 26 November
1864 gave Alice the handwritten manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, with
illustrations by Dodgson himself. Some, including Martin Gardner, speculate there was an
earlier version that was destroyed later by Dodgson when he printed a more elaborate copy
by hand, but there is no known prima facie evidence to support this.
But before Alice received her copy, Dodgson was already preparing it for publication and
expanding the 15,500-word original to 27,500 words, most notably adding the episodes about
the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Tea-Party. In 1865, Dodgson's tale was published as Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland by "Lewis Carroll" with illustrations by John Tenniel.
The first print run of 2,000 was held back because Tenniel objected to the print quality.
A new edition, released in December of the same year, but carrying an 1866 date, was
quickly printed. As it turned out, the original edition was sold with Dodgson's permission
to the New York publishing house of Appleton. The binding for the Appleton Alice was
virtually identical to the 1866 Macmillan Alice, except for the publisher's name at the
foot of the spine. The title page of the Appleton Alice was an insert canceling the
original Macmillan title page of 1865, and bearing the New York publisher's imprint and
the date 1866.
The entire print run sold out quickly. Alice was a publishing sensation, beloved by
children and adults alike. Among its first avid readers were Queen Victoria and the young
Oscar Wilde. The book has never been out of print. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has
been translated into 125 languages. There have now been over a hundred editions of the
book, as well as countless adaptations in other media, especially theater and film.
The book is commonly referred to by the abbreviated title Alice in Wonderland, an
alternative title popularized by the numerous stage, film and television adaptations of
the story produced over the years. Some printings of this title contain both Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, and, What Alice Found
There.
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1955
salesmen of U.S. Time Corp. use a surprising trick to sell the company's watches. They
take the watches off their wrists and calmly throw them on customers' floors to show how
shock-resistant the watches are.
The toughness comes partly from bearings of Armalloy, an extremely hard alloy that U.S.
Time uses in place of jewels.
Says President Joakim Lehmkuhl:
"A jeweled watch can be a piece of junk just as a non-jeweled watch can. With the
modern metal alloys available, the role of jewels is much overemphasized.
Last week U.S. Time, the world's biggest producer of watches, announced a new line of
self-winding, Armalloy-bearing watches that can be thrown not only on floors but also
against Swiss competition
With its new line, U.S. Time, which grossed about $60 million for the year ended April 30,
1955, will swell production to well over 4,000,000 wrist watches this year, including
Timex and Ingersoll brands, Davy Crockett and Mickey Mouse watches, all Sears,
Roebuck's Tower brand and all Girl/Boy Scout watches. U.S. Time watches sell for $22.95 or
under because, says Lehmkuhl, "since there are more Chevvies and Fords on the road
than Cadillacs and Lincolns, the well-made, low-priced watch will be dominating the market
for some years."
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