Harry Rountree: Illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1st part

Harry Rountree was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1878. Having studied at Queens College in his home city, he started working in a studio as a lithographer, primarily tasked with the design of labels for a variety of products. Rountree moved to London in 1901 at the age of 21 and attended the Regent Street polytechnic, studying under Percival Gaskell.

Rountree produced well-liked cartoons for the magazine Punch from 1905 to 1939, and also created advertising, posters and book illustrations for writers such as P. G. Wodehouse and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Largely forgotten, and living in poverty, Rountree died in St Ives, Cornwall in 1950.

Harry Rountree created 92 watercolor-illustrations, many of which were full page, for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It was first published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, London, 1901.

 Frontispiece

 "We must burn the house down!"

Down the Rabbit-Hole 

Took a watch out of his waistcoat-pocket.

Hurried on.

She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled "ORANGE MARMELADE", but to her great disappointement it was empty.

The "Antipathies!"

She knelt down, and looked along the passage.

Would not remember the simple rules.

Eaten up by wild beasts.

Cheated herself in a game of croquet.

The Pool of Tears

 The rabbit started violently. dropped the white kid gloves and the fan and...

 ...scurried away into thr darkness.

 "How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

and pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

 Just then she heard something splashing about in the pool a little way off, and she swam nearer to make out what it was. At first she thought it must be a walrus or a hippopotamus; but then she remembered how small she was now, and she soon made out that it was only a Mouse that had slipped in like herself.

The Mouse gave a sudden leap out of the water, and seemed to quiver all over with fright .

 "Our family always HATED cats."

"Swimming away from her as hard as it could go."$

A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale 

 "Ugh!" said the Lory, with a shiver. "I beg your pardon!" said thr Mouse frowning, but very politely. "Did you speak?"

"Not I !" said the Lory hastely.

The next thing was to eat the comfits. this caused some noise and confusion, as the large birds complained that they could not taste theirs, and the small ones choked, and had to be patted on the back.

"Mine is a long and a sad tale," said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing.

"Come away, my dears! It's high time you were allin bed."
 

 One old Magpie began wrapping itself up very carefully, remarking, "I really must be getting home; the night air doesn't suit my throat!"

 On various pretexts they all moved off, Alice was soon left alone.

The Rabbit sends in a Little Bill.

"I've got to watch this mousehole."
 

"Pat! Where are you?"  And then a voice she had never heard before, "Sure then I'm here. Digging for apples, yer honour!"

 

"Now tell me, Pat, what's that in the window?"

"Sure, it's an arm, yer honour."

all  know is, something comes at me like a Jack-in-the-box, and up I goes like a sky-rocket!"

An enormous puppy was looking down at her with large round eyes, and feebly stretching out one paw, trying to touch her.

..at last it sat down a good way off, panting, with its tongue hanging out of its mouth, and its great eyes half shut.

...and her eyes immediately met those of a large blue caterpillar, that was sitting on the top with its arms folded, quietly smoking a long hookah, and taking not the smallest notice of her or anything else.