"I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PICTURE OF LITTLE BRIDGET RUNNING HOME. IT IS VERY NICELY COPIED, AND I AM VERY GLAD TO HAVE IT…"

CARROLL, Lewis. Autograph letter signed. Oxford, December 17, 1892. One leaf, 3-1/2 by 4 inches, folded, with original envelope. $4500.

Charming autograph letter signed by Lewis Carroll with his real name C.L. Dodgson, thanking a small child for sending him a drawing of her sister.

The charmingly tiny letter reads: "Ch. Ch. Oxford, Dec. 17, 1892. My dear Gladys, I thank you very much for the picture of little Bridget running home. It is very nicely copied, and I am very glad to have it. Your very affectionate friend, C. L. Dodgson. I wish you, & your little sister, a very happy Christmas."

As a mathematics instructor at Christ Church, Oxford, Carroll spent his time writing, researching math and logic problems or pursuing his passion for photography that included taking pictures of young girls. Alice, Liddell, the daughter of Oxford's Dean Liddell, became his most famous subject and was the heroine of Alice in Wonderland. Liddell, however, was by no means Carroll's only child acquaintance, and the recipient of this letter was among the many youngsters he befriended. Dodgson met Baly while vacationing in Eastbourne in 1891 where he encouraged her interest in drawing, referred to in the letter. Although this letter is unpublished, Baly's account of meeting Dodgson is included in Morton N. Cohen's Lewis Carroll—A Biography: "I was six years old… when a letter arrived addressed to me. It bore no postage stamp and it was typewritten, at a time when few people used typewriters… It was an invitation to tea from the gentleman staying in the room above ours… Next day, I was dressed in my best and sent upstairs to my party. I was shy, and he teased me about my funny little mannerisms, but all in the kindest way. I was a tiny bit afraid of the tall, thin gentleman, with halo of grayish hair round a not too handsome face, yet I recollect him best as someone who really understood my feelings when grown-ups told me that I could not, or must not, do certain things… Happy engrossing hours were those I spent with Mr. Dodgson, when he showed me tricks and puzzles and showed me how to make a paper pistol that would go off with a bang… I quite recollect him taking Through the Looking Glass out of a box of new books and giving it to me with his name written inside. He wrote to me many time after I left Eastbourne, although I never saw him again. In return I always sent him drawings of ships and horses which, at that time, I was fond of making." Accompanied by the matching envelope, likely handmade by Carroll, both resembling objects that could only have been found in Wonderland. Probably the smallest letter he ever wrote using his given name—although his "fairy" letter are smaller, they were signed "Sylvie."

In excellent condition. A delightful and charming piece.