Description
We are no mathematicians, however, the probability of writing a book which stars young Alice, who was so obviously a virgin (Virgo), where she meets other strange characters such as the twins (Gemini), a lion (Leo), a mock turtle (Taurus), plus many other characters which match a celestial counterpart (father William -Hercules, Humpty Dumpty -The Serpent Holder, White knight – Sagittarius) seems somewhat unusual, unless this of course this is what Carroll/Dodgson secretly intended.
The theory supporting these unusual globes is only available with the globes, because of this we have decided to list most of its content here (less introduction, color illustrations, and additional data*) should it be of interest.
As well as the 12″ version we can now offer you a 33″ diameter version which is hand coloured. Please Email or Call for details.
THE MAKING OF ALICE’S CELESTIAL GLOBE
In parallel to the facsimile globes that we produce, we have published several unusual themed globes. Holbein’s Globe was our first example, here a small terrestrial globe, depicted in Hans Holbein’s 1533 masterpiece ‘The Ambassadors’, was plucked from the canvas. Shakespeare’s Globe is another example, in this case, a 17th Century Globe by Johann Oterschaden (1603), was used as a foundation in order to produce a ‘unique play on words’, this globe depicts 100’s of topographical quotes from Shakespeare’s 37 plays. However, before Shakespeare’s Globe was even conceived, I realised that there was the possibility of making a celestial globe based on Lewis Carroll’s classic two books featuring Alice and the strange characters that she encounters when in Wonderland or journeying through the Looking Glass.
For the production of this globe, I felt it important to ensure that constellations could only be substituted with characters from Alice, when there was a reasonable connection between the original constellation and the proposed Alice counterpart. While it seemed almost uncanny how well some characters could match a known constellation, two of the most predominate constellations, The Great Bear – Ursa Major and The Serpent Holder – Ophiuchus, appeared at first to have no match. There are no bears in Alice and the task of finding a character to portray The Great Bear seemed impossible, the character of The Serpent Holder Ophiuchus was also equally evasive. If no match could be found for either of these, then all of the previous pairings would be in vain, as no discerning critic would consider a celestial globe with these two important constellations absent.
It was only by studying the Myth of the Great Bear that the answer was found. Legend has it that Jupiter, though married, had several lovers, one called Callisto was disguised as a bear, their son was also disguised as the Little Bear – Ursa Minor. Duchess is a colloquial term for a Kings mistress, as several Kings mistresses became Duchesses as a way of incorporating them into the royal court. In Alice, the Duchess has a son; she also has a tryst with the Red Queen that seemed to confirm that the Duchess was well matched for being Ursa Major.
Securing a position for Ursa Major, and her son Ursa Minor, meant that now only Ophiuchus was needed, in order to complete the new heavens inspired by Alice. Humpty Dumpty appeared to be the best candidate for this position, as not only does an egg often hold a serpent, but also because Alice is called a serpent by a pigeon, we have also depicted Humpty Dumpty holding Alice’s hand.
My personal admiration for John Tenniel’s superb artwork, combined with the fine wood engraving executed by the Dalziel brothers, produced the challenge to only use Tenniel’s illustrations. This invariably would cause problems, as several key constellations are mentioned by Carroll, but not illustrated e.g. Corvus (the Crow) or Delphinus (the Dolphin). This I believe I have remedied by replacing them with a suitable image. Other images of Tenniel, we needed to adjust in order to make their appearance as a constellation on the globe successful. The March Hare is an example of this, in Alice his feet are not visible, and because Lepus (the Hare) is a free standing constellation, we manipulated several of Tenniel’s illustrations in order to make a suitable pair of legs for the March Hare. The Hatter holding the teapot which holds the Dormouse is another example.
Greaves & Thomas Alice Globe with Isha
A 33″ light blue Alice globe with Alice look-a-like.
Admittedly, when I first thought that it might be possible to make an Alice Globe, I did feel that it would be on a ‘wing and a prayer’ and if the result was achieved, then it would rely on some poor matching. However it was only when matching proved so easy to undertake, that I did begin to wonder if it was at all possible that Carroll/Dodgson might have used the celestial heavens as inspiration for some of his characters.
Draco & Characters dance around the Pawn Finial . 33″ Diameter version with Beige Background.
It is known that Charles Dodgson was interested in astronomy, it is recorded in one of his letters to his sister Elizabeth, that he visited his Uncle Skeffington, who had acquired a telescope, with which Dodgson observed the Moon and Jupiter1. Charles Dodgson also mentions in his diaries that he had a telescope of his own, although admittedly, the diary entry mentions the use of the telescope for watching the visit to Christ Church of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1863 2. Dodgson also had several books in his library, recorded at the time of his death:
The Constellations and how to find them (1884).
The Stars and the Earth, Thoughts on Space Time and Eternity (1874)
Eclipses Past and Future (1874)
Astronomy by Locker (1876)
The Moon, The Sun, Other Worlds in Ours by Proctor (1872)
Easy star Lessons by Procter (1881)
The Star Atlas for the Library, School, and Observatory (1870)
It should be noted that all of the books listed are published very late in comparison to Looking Glass (1871), however they certainly prove considerable interest on the part of Dodgson. Also as these were books sold in auction, they consequently do not list other books assigned to them making up what is known as a ‘job lot’.
Ann Clark, in her biography on Carroll, states that Richard Anthony Proctor was one of Dodgson’s favourite authors. Proctor (1837-88) a distinguished astronomer and prolific writer, founded the London scientific weekly Knowledge and clashed with the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy, over his papers on the Transit of Venus. Clark also records, that amongst Dodgson’s mathematical papers, is the question (unanswered), “What is the highest point on the moon visible to an observer on the earth?’; but there is no indication of how he proposed to measure lunar height and depth in the absence of a sea level to act as standard. On 8 April 1856 he wrote to The Times in answer to a letter from a Mr Jelinger Symons, who did not believe in the rotation of the moon. Dodgson’s letter, which unfortunately was not published, took the form of an explanation of the reason why rotation was a positive necessity. ‘In considering the subject,’ he wrote, ‘I noticed for the first time the fact that though it only goes 13 times round the earth in the course of the year, it makes 14 revolutions round its own axis, the extra one being due to its rotation round the sun.’
It should also be noted that Charles Dodgson’s college, Christ Church, would have held in it’s library an ample collection of books on Astronomy, Constellations and Mythology etc. The Library itself was finished in 1772. A large quantity of books of scientific nature, were bequeathed by Charles Boyle, the 4th Earl of Orrery (Orrery – a way of describing a planetarium, was derived from his name). It also has a fine pair of Terrestrial and Celestial Globes made by George Adams, made for the library in the latter part of the 18th Century. It is of interest to note that the celestial globe depicts the constellations in their figurative form. Dodgson held the position of Sub Librarian at Christ Church from 1855-1857, and it was because the library overlooked the Liddell gardens, that Dodgson first saw Alice.
Dodgson would have had access to people like William Fishburn Donkin, who held the Savilian Chair of Astronomy at Oxford from 1842-1869. It was his niece, Alice, who married Dodgson’s brother in 1871. Dodgson, as well as being a Don of Mathematics at Oxford, translated Euclid and was totally proficient in geometry. Dodgson’s classical education would have included the works of Aristarchus, Erastosthenes, Hipparchus and Ptolemy’s Almagest, all of these would have been central to the study and application of geometry, trigonometry and astronomy. Dodgson refers to the star Vega in Sylvie and Bruno, Vega is a star that forms part of the constellation Lyra (The Lyre), the known myth surrounding this constellation is for the Lyre made by Hermes, however there is an English legend, which attributes the Lyre to King Arthur. Arthur is the name of Dodgson’s hero, and if this is the reasoning for the choice of name, then it perhaps does show how Dodgson used mythology as reference. 3
Another example is of how Dodgson used early myth for his story line, can be possibly found in the Jabberwocky poem which is thought to be influenced from the epic saga of Beowulf.
There is no black and white evidence to suggest that Dodgson intended to bring to life the heavens in his Alice books, however other analogies have been drawn between his writings and such diverse sources as Judaism and the Tarot etc. but perhaps it should be noted that one of the central messages running through the Alice books, which is repeatedly restated, is that all life is but a dream; when one dreams, all the images that one sees are created by the dreamer, and in the same way many curious meanings and analogies may present themselves in life, if only one allows oneself to be aware of them. 5
Curious that the term ‘Looking Glass’ is an old fashioned way of describing a telescope, curiouser that an astronomical telescope inverts/reverses the image being viewed in the same way that a mirror does. Curiouser still, because of this reversion, celestial globes are published depicting the stars in reverse, enabling the celestial globe to be used in conjunction with the telescope eliminating confusion. I believe that this is why Dodgson settled for ‘Looking Glass’ in his title. I also think it more than coincidence that so many celestial matches are to be found in Looking Glass. Here lies my theory.
For the Making of the Globe, we selected a set of Victorian celestial gores dated 1852, the same year that Alice Liddel was born, the original gores were first published by Charles Copley of New York. We next removed the celestial images, leaving the equatorial (graduated in degrees, hours and minutes), the ecliptic (graduated in days of the month and the houses of the Zodiac), the stars depicted to nine orders of magnitude with nebulae, labelled with numbers corresponding to the astronomer’s catalogue of their source. We then replaced the missing constellations with Alice and her companions. The resulting single printed gores were made to make the 33″ diameter prototype globe, this globe which stands on a white Staunton Queen and has a white pawn finial at the North Pole, in order to depict Alice’s journey. The globe itself is entirely coloured by hand. The same artwork, with a few modifications, will be used to make the colour printed gores for a smaller 12″ diameter globe. Depending on popularity, it is possible that a 33″ version will be produced, but this will only be partially coloured by hand and only produced if the 12” version proves popular.
James D. Bissell-Thomas
MATCHING THE CONSTELLATIONS
The 12 Zodiac constellations and their Alice counterparts:
Aquarius (He holds a pot, from which water constantly flows) = Mad Hatter holding his teapot. It would appear that Hatters teapot also never seems to stop flowing, there is always tea to be poured, despite that the guests repeatedly change seats and start again.
Pisces = Fish footmen. It should be noted that there are other fish mentioned in Alice. But the fish footmen are the most memorable.
Aries = Sheep from shop. Are we sure it is a ewe? After all the visual difference between a sheep and a ram is the horns and genitals, in both cases Alice cannot see these as they are covered by either hat or coat. It should also be noted that we are after all in the reversed land of the Looking Glass, consequently the reversal of gender should be taken in its stride.
Taurus = Mock Turtle. Victorians used Veal to make Mock Turtle Soup; this is why the Mock Turtle has a calf’s head, tail and hooves. Clearly Victorians were not only content with endangering exotic species, but they were equally keen on inflicting further suffering onto exploited farm animals. It should also be noted that there is also a Buffalo mentioned in the song “A-sitting On A Gate” recited by the White Knight as well as this the Walrus being a male is often referred to as being a ‘Bull’ .*
Gemini = Tweedledum and Tweedledee. It is interesting that signs point Alice towards ‘Tweedledum’s House’ and ‘To the House of Tweedledee’. Alice never gets to see the house, possibly she might have expected a building for dwelling in. If Tweedledee and Tweedledum are intended to represent Gemini then the word ‘House’ is in fact referring to an astrological ‘House’ (Gemini governs the 3rd house), if this is correct, then Alice did in fact visit the House of Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
Cancer = Crab from Caucus race.
Leo = The Lion. From the Lion and the Unicorn.
Virgo (the Virgin) = Alice of course!
Libra = The King of Hearts. He is the judge in the court case and so symbolises the scales of justice. It is interesting to note that astrologically, Venus rules Libra whose symbol is often depicted as the heart.
Scorpio = The Lobster. The only visual difference between a Lobster and a Scorpion is the tail, in Alice; shoes conveniently cover the tail of this carapacious animal. It should also be noted that early depiction’s for Scorpio’s constellation were of a Carapacious (shelled) monster, in other words not only a scorpion, which gives further credence for the lobster, woodlouse, armadillo etc. Lastly, Cancer the Crab is often illustrated as a Lobster on early Celestial Globes from 17th and 18th century globes, made by notable globe makers such as Greuther, Valk, Akerman, Dibold, Habrecht and Blaeu, potentially making another potential home for the lobster should it wish to move.
Sagittarius = The white knight. He is inseparable from his horse. It should be noted that, on a chessboard, the knight symbolises both horse and rider. A knight would have to train in all aspects of warfare; archery would be one of these skills.
Capricorn = The goat in the railway carriage. It is interesting to note that traditionally Capricorn has a fishes tail and no feet, in the carriage you can not see its tail/feet. We have given our Capricorn feet, as the fish footmen and oysters all have human feet.
If the above does seem somewhat plausible, then now you must look outside the zodiac belt, this is where the main body of constellations lie and once again there are very strong similarities between them and characters from Alice:
Andromeda chained = Hatta the queer Anglo-Saxon messenger. Hatta is chained and fortunately for us is wearing a dress! (Albeit Anglo-Saxon!) It should be noted that both Hatta and Andromeda are chained for no fault of their own.
Antila Pneumatica = The Air Pump. This is close to Hydra the water snake, you will see that we have made the Caterpillar as Hydra as he uses a water pipe or hookah. But it is the hookah itself that we have matched for the Air Pump, as air needs to be drawn through it in order to make it work.
Argo Navis the Ship = Sheep and Alice in Rowing Boat. This represents Jason’s ship the Argo; he built the ship to search for the Golden Fleece. Is it mere coincidence that the only boat mentioned in Alice, already has a fleece in it?! Lewis Carroll repeatedly points out that life is but a dream, when one dreams, all the images in front of you are created by you, therefore one does not need to search, as they are potentially there should you be aware. It also should be noted that images of Jason’s ship depict a ram figurehead, is it just coincidence that in the reverse land of the Looking Glass, the sheep this time is at the stern of the boat and is possibly making a figuretail.
Bootes the Herdsman = The Carpenter. While some fools think that a farmer/shepherd or herdsman is kind to their flock, their ultimate motive is to line their pocket or stomach! Here the carpenter displays this sad truth of life with great professionalism! It should be noted that when put to song, “The Walrus and the Carpenter” is in the same metre as the hymn “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night”.
Canis Major the Greater Dog = The Dog.
Canis Minor the Lesser Dog = We have used the same dog as used for Canis Major, but scaled down, this is justifiable as it is Alice’s size which will dictate the size of the dog when she encounters it.
Camelopardalis the Giraffe = Alice with Stretched Neck.
Cassiopeia = White Queen. Legend states that Cassiopeia was placed into the heavens in a compromising position, strange that the White Queen is always showing her petticoat, which in Victorian times was just not done!
Centaurus the Centaur = The Red Knight
Cepheus = White King. Queen Cassiopia and King Cepheus were married to each other as are the White King and Queen in Alice.
Cetus the Sea Monster = The Walrus. Cetes is a sea monster, the walrus is both this in appearance and behaviour.
Chamaeleon the Chameleon = The Tove. I believe this strange creature is the best candidate as it is changing from a badger to a lizard to a corkscrew. I can only presume that a chameleon once passed a badger a mirror and a corkscrew in a wine bar close to where Charles Dodgson was sitting!
Corvus the Crow or Raven = The Crow. Though not illustrated by Tenniel, both are mentioned in Alice; the Raven in the Hatters riddle and The Crow menacingly appears in poem and presence with Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Sadly as this character is not illustrated by Tenniel, we have therefore depicted it as one of the birdlike items formed from a decanter and two plates (when Alice pulls away the tablecloth).
Crater the Crater = A Teacup. The Crater symbolised an object of desire, thousands of addicted tea drinkers world-wide will verify this!
Cygnus the Swan = The Dodo. Cygnus before it was depicted as a swan was described as a large bird. In Arabia it was depicted as a chicken therefore it is possibly safe to presume that in Mauritius it would be the Dodo. I hope there is agreement with this choice as by way of including the Dodo we include Dodgson himself (Dodgson was called Do-Do because of his stammer).
Delphinus the dolphin = The mouse from the pool of tears. This may seem somewhat vague, until one remembers that when Alice first encounters the mouse, when swimming, she believes it to be something else (walrus or hippopotamus) until she remembers her size and then rethinks what it could be, and then makes it out to be a mouse (see dream section of Argo Navis). A Dolphin/Porpoise is also mentioned in the Mock Turtle’s poem, the Mock Turtle also says ‘porpoise’ as a play on words for ‘purpose’, needless to say we would have used this porpoise had Tenniel illustrated it.
Draco the Dragon = The Jabberwock! Who else could be this?
Equuleus the little Horse = The White Knight. Depicted by Tenniel sliding down a banister, we have positioned this sliding down one of Pegasus’ rockers.
Fiume Giordano the Milky Way. What is the Milky Way? It is stars so dense that individual ones are hard to discern. Groups of stars make constellations, so potentially, the Milky Way is numerous constellations. Here we have depicted in lesser characters and objects from Alice, in order to differentiate this group from the main constellations, we have left them black and white.
Fornax the Furnace = The Furnace Fly.
Hercules = Father William, Hercules is known for undertaking numerous challenges in order to prove himself. There can be no better candidate for this than Father William (One of Hercules’ greatest tasks is to hold the sky up and give Atlas a break, this I tell you is no trick at all as anyone can do it by placing ones hands it the air. Likewise one can hold up the World by standing on ones head! I believe Father William goes one better; he balances an eel on the end of his nose, a far harder task!).
Heritonius the Charioteer = Red Queen carrying Alice. The Red Queen moves like Queen Boudicia in her chariot when she moves Alice through time and space, albeit to nowhere! Which is precisely what happens when journeying in any form of transport, as when you arrive at your destination, the item of transport that surrounds you is still unchanged. Which means that the transport device used is utter rubbish! It is only by removing oneself from your chosen mode of transport, that can you actually change the surroundings and consequently make the journey. One day some bright spark will tell us that we can do all of the above without using a chariot or its modern day equivalent.
Horologium the pendulum clock = The Looking Glass Clock would certainly have a pendulum in its movement.
Hydra the Water Snake = The Caterpillar. Combined with his water pipe or hookah.
Hydrus the lesser water snake = The eel from Father William.
Indus the Indian = the man in the railway carriage, he looks like an Indian especially as Indian is an old fashioned way of describing an indigenous person.
Lacerta the liazrd = Bill the Lizard.
Lepus the Hare = March Hare.
Lupus the wild animal = The black kitten. Since the Renaissance this constellation has been depicted as a wolf, however before then it was an unspecified wild beast. The Black Kitten fits this description and is briefly in the land of the Looking Glass before Alice returns. A panther is mentioned by Alice when she recites the poem ‘Tis the voice of the sluggard’, had Tenniel illustrated this we would have used it in preference to the black kitten.
Lynx = The Cheshire Cat. The constellation for the Lynx is so named, as you have to be lynx eyed in order to see it, as it is barely visible ‹ like the Cheshire cat is at times.
Lyra = The Lyre. There are only two musical instruments depicted by Tenniel, the drums in the Lion and The Unicorn, and the White Rabbit, with a horn when dressed as a herald. Here we have depicted the White Rabbit. It should be noted that Lyra represents the Lyre made by Hermes out of a tortoise shell and cattle sinew, the Mock turtle would possibly be the best candidate for this, it’s singing confirms this, but we offered him the more prestigious constellation of Taurus which he wisely accepted!
Medusa’s Head = The Cheshire Cat’s Head when it makes its body invisible. This imagery is part of the constellation of Perseus.
Mensa the Table Mountain = The Glass table. Mensa is so named after Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Hope, when Alice encounters the glass table, it soon appears like a mountain to her. It also does seem somewhat strange that the glass table is a test for Alice and that Mensa is now used as a select club for those with high IQ’s!
Microscopium the Microscope = the Guard with binoculars. He is clearly using them as a microscope because he is looking at Alice from a distance of just a few inches!
Monoceros the Unicorn = Unicorn. Is the real crown that they fight over, none other than the zodiac belt? Because the Lion won the fight, there he now sits. The Unicorn being the looser remains banished outside and has no astrological influence as the Sun does not travel in between it and the Earth (or in the case of Alice, the land she is on). Does the kings crown have 12 points to symbolise this? If so then the large orb in the centre of the crown is surely the Sun, proving that Looking Glass land is free of any interfering church and that they also believe in Copernicus’ theory!
Musca the Fly = The Bread and Butter Fly. This position also could be taken by the Gnat.
Ophiuchus the Serpent Holder = Humpty Dumpty. Why do you ask? Well, what does an egg hold? Often none other than a Serpent! Not only this but Humpty also holds Alice’s hand – as Alice is called a serpent by a pigeon when she protrudes from the treetops.
Orion the Hunter = The Old Man on the Fence. He hunts for haddocks’ eyes, crabs and butterflies! We have also positioned his waist where the stars that make up Orion’s Belt are found.
Pavo the Peacock = Who else but the Knave of Hearts. Here you will see him ‘strutting like a peacock’; we have also positioned the Tray of Tarts behind him, so that the two figures combined make the shape of a peacock with fanned tail.
Pegasus the winged horse = Rocking Horse Fly. This weird fly also has wings.
Perseus = The Executioner. Perseus is famed for cutting off the Medusa’s head. In Alice, this is the executioners’ sole job in life and is ordered by the red queen to execute the Cheshire Cat, Alice, the Cards, Duchess and croquet playersŠ..
Phoenix = The Gryphon. This was not the first choice, the first being the Plum Cake (Lion and Unicorn) as it rises in a fire (oven) and miraculously transforms from mixed ingredients to a cake. However early depictions of this constellation also depicted a gryphon/griffin, which being a more important character in Alice won the space!
Pixis Nautica = The Compass. We selected the White Rabbit for this constellation. He seems to turn up when Alice is either lost, stuck or bored and influences Alice’s direction.
Recticulum = The Net. A net is depicted clearly in Alice, the White Queen uses a hair net in an attempt to tidy her hair. This is what you will find when looking for Recticulum on Alice’s Globe.
Sculptor = The Sculptor. Despite that this constellation refers to a sculptor, it always depicts a sculptors tools or workshop. Here we have made a stool support a piece of white stone. Dodgson denoted exceptional days in his diaries by marking the page with a metaphoric white stone.
Telescopium the Telescope = Drink Me bottle. Alice says herself that she feels like a Telescope when she drinks from it.
Triangulum = there are two triangular constellations, for one we used the Kings sandwich and the other the Paperman’s triangular Hat.
Tucana the Toucan = The Borogrove bird. This has a large beak like the toucan.
Ursa Major the Great Bear = This at first was a hard one as there are no bears in Alice. However if you look into the myth of the Great Bear, you will learn that though Jupiter was married, he had several lovers. His lover Callisto was disguised as the bear in order that she would not be found. Their son was also disguised as the constellation the Little Bear. ‘Duchess’ is a colloquial term for a king’s mistress as several mistresses to kings became duchesses as a way of incorporating them into the royal court. In Alice the duchess also has a son and also has a tryst with the queen, which seems to confirm all of the above so making remarks that the duchess has to bear her ugly face unnecessary!
Vulpecula cum Anser the Fox and Goose = Bishop and Pawn, The reasoning for this might seem odd until one recalls that there is a game played using a chess board which involves a fox trying to catch a goose, to play this game one uses a bishop and 4 pawns. I presume these figures are selected to imply that the church is the sly fox that survives by catching geese (pawns) in order to survive in this reality with very little effort.
There are several constellations with which we have matched with an Alice counterpart, but are not listed above, they are included on the globe and we have left them unlisted in order to give you the opportunity to find them. Here you will find the Queen of Hearts, Hatta and Haigha to name but a few. Also it might be of interest to note that in the 18th century, located near the North Pole, the constellation of La Renna = The Deer was depicted, by the 19th century this was removed. By coincidence Alice finds a fawn that has lost its name. This we have placed back into the heavens. It is similarities such as this, and Mensa, that compound the possibility of this theory, but in the mean time we must all try to stop bridges from rusting and witness this dream of life float by.
But where might you ask is the Red King? For he holds all together! The Red King in Alice appears to illustrate Bishop Berkeley’s theory that all is perception and that there is nothing material beyond it. Alice dreams of the Red King, who is dreaming about her and the land of Looking Glass. Berkeley sought to show that this theory leads directly to an awareness of all of us and the world itself being an idea in the mind of God. Consequently, like Alice, we all have the opportunity to determine this dream we perceive. On a similar vein the Bible states that Adam goes to sleep, but it has not been written anywhere that he has yet woken, implying that we are just part of Adam’s dream. Taking this further, Adam created by God substitutes himself for God by perceiving/dreaming this world we now find ourselves in. We are part of this, witnessing it and being in it as Adam continues to dream it. So life continues, bridges rust and sadly pawns will become Queens. But suppose Adam or God wished to be part of the new perception, then they would appear in it the same way that Alice does. Alice is told of this by Tweedledum and Tweedledee, likewise, this paragraph is reiterating the Tweedle’s point for you, reminding you that you are part of this dream which you have helped perceive. This can be likened to Christ’s parable of the Prodigal Son; the Prodigal is Adam going out and making his own world/perception. But Christ says that ultimately the Prodigal fails. Has Adam failed? Is war, strife, sickness and death a reflection of Adam’s perception/dreaming or is it something that we are now instigating? Whatever the reason, we need to remember that we also hold the dream, so we can help change failure to success….. In the meantime, you will find we have positioned the sleeping Red King on the Globes cartouche, perched above him is the Gryphon also dreaming, possibly of you reading this.
There is a constellation situated close to the Red King. Here you will find the Queen of hearts, holding the King of Hearts crown. Despite her bossy dominating behaviour it is actually the king who is the ruling monarch, consequently she cannot wear the crown, only hold it. We have positioned her pointing vehemently at the cartouche, presumably in utter disgust as the inscription proclaims the globe to be Alice’s and not hers.
As for Alice, she had been observing this with vague interest all along, but she was now beginning to get very tired of the whole idea. So Alice started to her feet and walked away, muttering to herself…….
James Bissell-Thomas
Text and Artwork Copyright © 2000 Greaves & Thomas. London
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Alice’s Globe
£180.00 – £350.00
Alice’s Globe – where the characters of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass’ match a known constellation in the heavens.
Curiouser and curiouser we thought, we read the books and realised that there is a strong possibility that Lewis Carroll’s famous two stories of Alice did appear to match the Celestial Heavens.
Description
We are no mathematicians, however, the probability of writing a book which stars young Alice, who was so obviously a virgin (Virgo), where she meets other strange characters such as the twins (Gemini), a lion (Leo), a mock turtle (Taurus), plus many other characters which match a celestial counterpart (father William -Hercules, Humpty Dumpty -The Serpent Holder, White knight – Sagittarius) seems somewhat unusual, unless this of course this is what Carroll/Dodgson secretly intended.
The theory supporting these unusual globes is only available with the globes, because of this we have decided to list most of its content here (less introduction, color illustrations, and additional data*) should it be of interest.
As well as the 12″ version we can now offer you a 33″ diameter version which is hand coloured. Please Email or Call for details.
THE MAKING OF ALICE’S CELESTIAL GLOBE
In parallel to the facsimile globes that we produce, we have published several unusual themed globes. Holbein’s Globe was our first example, here a small terrestrial globe, depicted in Hans Holbein’s 1533 masterpiece ‘The Ambassadors’, was plucked from the canvas. Shakespeare’s Globe is another example, in this case, a 17th Century Globe by Johann Oterschaden (1603), was used as a foundation in order to produce a ‘unique play on words’, this globe depicts 100’s of topographical quotes from Shakespeare’s 37 plays. However, before Shakespeare’s Globe was even conceived, I realised that there was the possibility of making a celestial globe based on Lewis Carroll’s classic two books featuring Alice and the strange characters that she encounters when in Wonderland or journeying through the Looking Glass.
For the production of this globe, I felt it important to ensure that constellations could only be substituted with characters from Alice, when there was a reasonable connection between the original constellation and the proposed Alice counterpart. While it seemed almost uncanny how well some characters could match a known constellation, two of the most predominate constellations, The Great Bear – Ursa Major and The Serpent Holder – Ophiuchus, appeared at first to have no match. There are no bears in Alice and the task of finding a character to portray The Great Bear seemed impossible, the character of The Serpent Holder Ophiuchus was also equally evasive. If no match could be found for either of these, then all of the previous pairings would be in vain, as no discerning critic would consider a celestial globe with these two important constellations absent.
It was only by studying the Myth of the Great Bear that the answer was found. Legend has it that Jupiter, though married, had several lovers, one called Callisto was disguised as a bear, their son was also disguised as the Little Bear – Ursa Minor. Duchess is a colloquial term for a Kings mistress, as several Kings mistresses became Duchesses as a way of incorporating them into the royal court. In Alice, the Duchess has a son; she also has a tryst with the Red Queen that seemed to confirm that the Duchess was well matched for being Ursa Major.
Securing a position for Ursa Major, and her son Ursa Minor, meant that now only Ophiuchus was needed, in order to complete the new heavens inspired by Alice. Humpty Dumpty appeared to be the best candidate for this position, as not only does an egg often hold a serpent, but also because Alice is called a serpent by a pigeon, we have also depicted Humpty Dumpty holding Alice’s hand.
My personal admiration for John Tenniel’s superb artwork, combined with the fine wood engraving executed by the Dalziel brothers, produced the challenge to only use Tenniel’s illustrations. This invariably would cause problems, as several key constellations are mentioned by Carroll, but not illustrated e.g. Corvus (the Crow) or Delphinus (the Dolphin). This I believe I have remedied by replacing them with a suitable image. Other images of Tenniel, we needed to adjust in order to make their appearance as a constellation on the globe successful. The March Hare is an example of this, in Alice his feet are not visible, and because Lepus (the Hare) is a free standing constellation, we manipulated several of Tenniel’s illustrations in order to make a suitable pair of legs for the March Hare. The Hatter holding the teapot which holds the Dormouse is another example.
Greaves & Thomas Alice Globe with Isha
A 33″ light blue Alice globe with Alice look-a-like.
Admittedly, when I first thought that it might be possible to make an Alice Globe, I did feel that it would be on a ‘wing and a prayer’ and if the result was achieved, then it would rely on some poor matching. However it was only when matching proved so easy to undertake, that I did begin to wonder if it was at all possible that Carroll/Dodgson might have used the celestial heavens as inspiration for some of his characters.
Draco & Characters dance around the Pawn Finial . 33″ Diameter version with Beige Background.
It is known that Charles Dodgson was interested in astronomy, it is recorded in one of his letters to his sister Elizabeth, that he visited his Uncle Skeffington, who had acquired a telescope, with which Dodgson observed the Moon and Jupiter1. Charles Dodgson also mentions in his diaries that he had a telescope of his own, although admittedly, the diary entry mentions the use of the telescope for watching the visit to Christ Church of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1863 2. Dodgson also had several books in his library, recorded at the time of his death:
The Constellations and how to find them (1884).
The Stars and the Earth, Thoughts on Space Time and Eternity (1874)
Eclipses Past and Future (1874)
Astronomy by Locker (1876)
The Moon, The Sun, Other Worlds in Ours by Proctor (1872)
Easy star Lessons by Procter (1881)
The Star Atlas for the Library, School, and Observatory (1870)
It should be noted that all of the books listed are published very late in comparison to Looking Glass (1871), however they certainly prove considerable interest on the part of Dodgson. Also as these were books sold in auction, they consequently do not list other books assigned to them making up what is known as a ‘job lot’.
Ann Clark, in her biography on Carroll, states that Richard Anthony Proctor was one of Dodgson’s favourite authors. Proctor (1837-88) a distinguished astronomer and prolific writer, founded the London scientific weekly Knowledge and clashed with the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy, over his papers on the Transit of Venus. Clark also records, that amongst Dodgson’s mathematical papers, is the question (unanswered), “What is the highest point on the moon visible to an observer on the earth?’; but there is no indication of how he proposed to measure lunar height and depth in the absence of a sea level to act as standard. On 8 April 1856 he wrote to The Times in answer to a letter from a Mr Jelinger Symons, who did not believe in the rotation of the moon. Dodgson’s letter, which unfortunately was not published, took the form of an explanation of the reason why rotation was a positive necessity. ‘In considering the subject,’ he wrote, ‘I noticed for the first time the fact that though it only goes 13 times round the earth in the course of the year, it makes 14 revolutions round its own axis, the extra one being due to its rotation round the sun.’
It should also be noted that Charles Dodgson’s college, Christ Church, would have held in it’s library an ample collection of books on Astronomy, Constellations and Mythology etc. The Library itself was finished in 1772. A large quantity of books of scientific nature, were bequeathed by Charles Boyle, the 4th Earl of Orrery (Orrery – a way of describing a planetarium, was derived from his name). It also has a fine pair of Terrestrial and Celestial Globes made by George Adams, made for the library in the latter part of the 18th Century. It is of interest to note that the celestial globe depicts the constellations in their figurative form. Dodgson held the position of Sub Librarian at Christ Church from 1855-1857, and it was because the library overlooked the Liddell gardens, that Dodgson first saw Alice.
Dodgson would have had access to people like William Fishburn Donkin, who held the Savilian Chair of Astronomy at Oxford from 1842-1869. It was his niece, Alice, who married Dodgson’s brother in 1871. Dodgson, as well as being a Don of Mathematics at Oxford, translated Euclid and was totally proficient in geometry. Dodgson’s classical education would have included the works of Aristarchus, Erastosthenes, Hipparchus and Ptolemy’s Almagest, all of these would have been central to the study and application of geometry, trigonometry and astronomy. Dodgson refers to the star Vega in Sylvie and Bruno, Vega is a star that forms part of the constellation Lyra (The Lyre), the known myth surrounding this constellation is for the Lyre made by Hermes, however there is an English legend, which attributes the Lyre to King Arthur. Arthur is the name of Dodgson’s hero, and if this is the reasoning for the choice of name, then it perhaps does show how Dodgson used mythology as reference. 3
Another example is of how Dodgson used early myth for his story line, can be possibly found in the Jabberwocky poem which is thought to be influenced from the epic saga of Beowulf.
There is no black and white evidence to suggest that Dodgson intended to bring to life the heavens in his Alice books, however other analogies have been drawn between his writings and such diverse sources as Judaism and the Tarot etc. but perhaps it should be noted that one of the central messages running through the Alice books, which is repeatedly restated, is that all life is but a dream; when one dreams, all the images that one sees are created by the dreamer, and in the same way many curious meanings and analogies may present themselves in life, if only one allows oneself to be aware of them. 5
Curious that the term ‘Looking Glass’ is an old fashioned way of describing a telescope, curiouser that an astronomical telescope inverts/reverses the image being viewed in the same way that a mirror does. Curiouser still, because of this reversion, celestial globes are published depicting the stars in reverse, enabling the celestial globe to be used in conjunction with the telescope eliminating confusion. I believe that this is why Dodgson settled for ‘Looking Glass’ in his title. I also think it more than coincidence that so many celestial matches are to be found in Looking Glass. Here lies my theory.
For the Making of the Globe, we selected a set of Victorian celestial gores dated 1852, the same year that Alice Liddel was born, the original gores were first published by Charles Copley of New York. We next removed the celestial images, leaving the equatorial (graduated in degrees, hours and minutes), the ecliptic (graduated in days of the month and the houses of the Zodiac), the stars depicted to nine orders of magnitude with nebulae, labelled with numbers corresponding to the astronomer’s catalogue of their source. We then replaced the missing constellations with Alice and her companions. The resulting single printed gores were made to make the 33″ diameter prototype globe, this globe which stands on a white Staunton Queen and has a white pawn finial at the North Pole, in order to depict Alice’s journey. The globe itself is entirely coloured by hand. The same artwork, with a few modifications, will be used to make the colour printed gores for a smaller 12″ diameter globe. Depending on popularity, it is possible that a 33″ version will be produced, but this will only be partially coloured by hand and only produced if the 12” version proves popular.
James D. Bissell-Thomas
MATCHING THE CONSTELLATIONS
The 12 Zodiac constellations and their Alice counterparts:
Aquarius (He holds a pot, from which water constantly flows) = Mad Hatter holding his teapot. It would appear that Hatters teapot also never seems to stop flowing, there is always tea to be poured, despite that the guests repeatedly change seats and start again.
Pisces = Fish footmen. It should be noted that there are other fish mentioned in Alice. But the fish footmen are the most memorable.
Aries = Sheep from shop. Are we sure it is a ewe? After all the visual difference between a sheep and a ram is the horns and genitals, in both cases Alice cannot see these as they are covered by either hat or coat. It should also be noted that we are after all in the reversed land of the Looking Glass, consequently the reversal of gender should be taken in its stride.
Taurus = Mock Turtle. Victorians used Veal to make Mock Turtle Soup; this is why the Mock Turtle has a calf’s head, tail and hooves. Clearly Victorians were not only content with endangering exotic species, but they were equally keen on inflicting further suffering onto exploited farm animals. It should also be noted that there is also a Buffalo mentioned in the song “A-sitting On A Gate” recited by the White Knight as well as this the Walrus being a male is often referred to as being a ‘Bull’ .*
Gemini = Tweedledum and Tweedledee. It is interesting that signs point Alice towards ‘Tweedledum’s House’ and ‘To the House of Tweedledee’. Alice never gets to see the house, possibly she might have expected a building for dwelling in. If Tweedledee and Tweedledum are intended to represent Gemini then the word ‘House’ is in fact referring to an astrological ‘House’ (Gemini governs the 3rd house), if this is correct, then Alice did in fact visit the House of Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
Cancer = Crab from Caucus race.
Leo = The Lion. From the Lion and the Unicorn.
Virgo (the Virgin) = Alice of course!
Libra = The King of Hearts. He is the judge in the court case and so symbolises the scales of justice. It is interesting to note that astrologically, Venus rules Libra whose symbol is often depicted as the heart.
Scorpio = The Lobster. The only visual difference between a Lobster and a Scorpion is the tail, in Alice; shoes conveniently cover the tail of this carapacious animal. It should also be noted that early depiction’s for Scorpio’s constellation were of a Carapacious (shelled) monster, in other words not only a scorpion, which gives further credence for the lobster, woodlouse, armadillo etc. Lastly, Cancer the Crab is often illustrated as a Lobster on early Celestial Globes from 17th and 18th century globes, made by notable globe makers such as Greuther, Valk, Akerman, Dibold, Habrecht and Blaeu, potentially making another potential home for the lobster should it wish to move.
Sagittarius = The white knight. He is inseparable from his horse. It should be noted that, on a chessboard, the knight symbolises both horse and rider. A knight would have to train in all aspects of warfare; archery would be one of these skills.
Capricorn = The goat in the railway carriage. It is interesting to note that traditionally Capricorn has a fishes tail and no feet, in the carriage you can not see its tail/feet. We have given our Capricorn feet, as the fish footmen and oysters all have human feet.
If the above does seem somewhat plausible, then now you must look outside the zodiac belt, this is where the main body of constellations lie and once again there are very strong similarities between them and characters from Alice:
Andromeda chained = Hatta the queer Anglo-Saxon messenger. Hatta is chained and fortunately for us is wearing a dress! (Albeit Anglo-Saxon!) It should be noted that both Hatta and Andromeda are chained for no fault of their own.
Antila Pneumatica = The Air Pump. This is close to Hydra the water snake, you will see that we have made the Caterpillar as Hydra as he uses a water pipe or hookah. But it is the hookah itself that we have matched for the Air Pump, as air needs to be drawn through it in order to make it work.
Argo Navis the Ship = Sheep and Alice in Rowing Boat. This represents Jason’s ship the Argo; he built the ship to search for the Golden Fleece. Is it mere coincidence that the only boat mentioned in Alice, already has a fleece in it?! Lewis Carroll repeatedly points out that life is but a dream, when one dreams, all the images in front of you are created by you, therefore one does not need to search, as they are potentially there should you be aware. It also should be noted that images of Jason’s ship depict a ram figurehead, is it just coincidence that in the reverse land of the Looking Glass, the sheep this time is at the stern of the boat and is possibly making a figuretail.
Bootes the Herdsman = The Carpenter. While some fools think that a farmer/shepherd or herdsman is kind to their flock, their ultimate motive is to line their pocket or stomach! Here the carpenter displays this sad truth of life with great professionalism! It should be noted that when put to song, “The Walrus and the Carpenter” is in the same metre as the hymn “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night”.
Canis Major the Greater Dog = The Dog.
Canis Minor the Lesser Dog = We have used the same dog as used for Canis Major, but scaled down, this is justifiable as it is Alice’s size which will dictate the size of the dog when she encounters it.
Camelopardalis the Giraffe = Alice with Stretched Neck.
Cassiopeia = White Queen. Legend states that Cassiopeia was placed into the heavens in a compromising position, strange that the White Queen is always showing her petticoat, which in Victorian times was just not done!
Centaurus the Centaur = The Red Knight
Cepheus = White King. Queen Cassiopia and King Cepheus were married to each other as are the White King and Queen in Alice.
Cetus the Sea Monster = The Walrus. Cetes is a sea monster, the walrus is both this in appearance and behaviour.
Chamaeleon the Chameleon = The Tove. I believe this strange creature is the best candidate as it is changing from a badger to a lizard to a corkscrew. I can only presume that a chameleon once passed a badger a mirror and a corkscrew in a wine bar close to where Charles Dodgson was sitting!
Corvus the Crow or Raven = The Crow. Though not illustrated by Tenniel, both are mentioned in Alice; the Raven in the Hatters riddle and The Crow menacingly appears in poem and presence with Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Sadly as this character is not illustrated by Tenniel, we have therefore depicted it as one of the birdlike items formed from a decanter and two plates (when Alice pulls away the tablecloth).
Crater the Crater = A Teacup. The Crater symbolised an object of desire, thousands of addicted tea drinkers world-wide will verify this!
Cygnus the Swan = The Dodo. Cygnus before it was depicted as a swan was described as a large bird. In Arabia it was depicted as a chicken therefore it is possibly safe to presume that in Mauritius it would be the Dodo. I hope there is agreement with this choice as by way of including the Dodo we include Dodgson himself (Dodgson was called Do-Do because of his stammer).
Delphinus the dolphin = The mouse from the pool of tears. This may seem somewhat vague, until one remembers that when Alice first encounters the mouse, when swimming, she believes it to be something else (walrus or hippopotamus) until she remembers her size and then rethinks what it could be, and then makes it out to be a mouse (see dream section of Argo Navis). A Dolphin/Porpoise is also mentioned in the Mock Turtle’s poem, the Mock Turtle also says ‘porpoise’ as a play on words for ‘purpose’, needless to say we would have used this porpoise had Tenniel illustrated it.
Draco the Dragon = The Jabberwock! Who else could be this?
Equuleus the little Horse = The White Knight. Depicted by Tenniel sliding down a banister, we have positioned this sliding down one of Pegasus’ rockers.
Fiume Giordano the Milky Way. What is the Milky Way? It is stars so dense that individual ones are hard to discern. Groups of stars make constellations, so potentially, the Milky Way is numerous constellations. Here we have depicted in lesser characters and objects from Alice, in order to differentiate this group from the main constellations, we have left them black and white.
Fornax the Furnace = The Furnace Fly.
Hercules = Father William, Hercules is known for undertaking numerous challenges in order to prove himself. There can be no better candidate for this than Father William (One of Hercules’ greatest tasks is to hold the sky up and give Atlas a break, this I tell you is no trick at all as anyone can do it by placing ones hands it the air. Likewise one can hold up the World by standing on ones head! I believe Father William goes one better; he balances an eel on the end of his nose, a far harder task!).
Heritonius the Charioteer = Red Queen carrying Alice. The Red Queen moves like Queen Boudicia in her chariot when she moves Alice through time and space, albeit to nowhere! Which is precisely what happens when journeying in any form of transport, as when you arrive at your destination, the item of transport that surrounds you is still unchanged. Which means that the transport device used is utter rubbish! It is only by removing oneself from your chosen mode of transport, that can you actually change the surroundings and consequently make the journey. One day some bright spark will tell us that we can do all of the above without using a chariot or its modern day equivalent.
Horologium the pendulum clock = The Looking Glass Clock would certainly have a pendulum in its movement.
Hydra the Water Snake = The Caterpillar. Combined with his water pipe or hookah.
Hydrus the lesser water snake = The eel from Father William.
Indus the Indian = the man in the railway carriage, he looks like an Indian especially as Indian is an old fashioned way of describing an indigenous person.
Lacerta the liazrd = Bill the Lizard.
Lepus the Hare = March Hare.
Lupus the wild animal = The black kitten. Since the Renaissance this constellation has been depicted as a wolf, however before then it was an unspecified wild beast. The Black Kitten fits this description and is briefly in the land of the Looking Glass before Alice returns. A panther is mentioned by Alice when she recites the poem ‘Tis the voice of the sluggard’, had Tenniel illustrated this we would have used it in preference to the black kitten.
Lynx = The Cheshire Cat. The constellation for the Lynx is so named, as you have to be lynx eyed in order to see it, as it is barely visible ‹ like the Cheshire cat is at times.
Lyra = The Lyre. There are only two musical instruments depicted by Tenniel, the drums in the Lion and The Unicorn, and the White Rabbit, with a horn when dressed as a herald. Here we have depicted the White Rabbit. It should be noted that Lyra represents the Lyre made by Hermes out of a tortoise shell and cattle sinew, the Mock turtle would possibly be the best candidate for this, it’s singing confirms this, but we offered him the more prestigious constellation of Taurus which he wisely accepted!
Medusa’s Head = The Cheshire Cat’s Head when it makes its body invisible. This imagery is part of the constellation of Perseus.
Mensa the Table Mountain = The Glass table. Mensa is so named after Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Hope, when Alice encounters the glass table, it soon appears like a mountain to her. It also does seem somewhat strange that the glass table is a test for Alice and that Mensa is now used as a select club for those with high IQ’s!
Microscopium the Microscope = the Guard with binoculars. He is clearly using them as a microscope because he is looking at Alice from a distance of just a few inches!
Monoceros the Unicorn = Unicorn. Is the real crown that they fight over, none other than the zodiac belt? Because the Lion won the fight, there he now sits. The Unicorn being the looser remains banished outside and has no astrological influence as the Sun does not travel in between it and the Earth (or in the case of Alice, the land she is on). Does the kings crown have 12 points to symbolise this? If so then the large orb in the centre of the crown is surely the Sun, proving that Looking Glass land is free of any interfering church and that they also believe in Copernicus’ theory!
Musca the Fly = The Bread and Butter Fly. This position also could be taken by the Gnat.
Ophiuchus the Serpent Holder = Humpty Dumpty. Why do you ask? Well, what does an egg hold? Often none other than a Serpent! Not only this but Humpty also holds Alice’s hand – as Alice is called a serpent by a pigeon when she protrudes from the treetops.
Orion the Hunter = The Old Man on the Fence. He hunts for haddocks’ eyes, crabs and butterflies! We have also positioned his waist where the stars that make up Orion’s Belt are found.
Pavo the Peacock = Who else but the Knave of Hearts. Here you will see him ‘strutting like a peacock’; we have also positioned the Tray of Tarts behind him, so that the two figures combined make the shape of a peacock with fanned tail.
Pegasus the winged horse = Rocking Horse Fly. This weird fly also has wings.
Perseus = The Executioner. Perseus is famed for cutting off the Medusa’s head. In Alice, this is the executioners’ sole job in life and is ordered by the red queen to execute the Cheshire Cat, Alice, the Cards, Duchess and croquet playersŠ..
Phoenix = The Gryphon. This was not the first choice, the first being the Plum Cake (Lion and Unicorn) as it rises in a fire (oven) and miraculously transforms from mixed ingredients to a cake. However early depictions of this constellation also depicted a gryphon/griffin, which being a more important character in Alice won the space!
Pixis Nautica = The Compass. We selected the White Rabbit for this constellation. He seems to turn up when Alice is either lost, stuck or bored and influences Alice’s direction.
Recticulum = The Net. A net is depicted clearly in Alice, the White Queen uses a hair net in an attempt to tidy her hair. This is what you will find when looking for Recticulum on Alice’s Globe.
Sculptor = The Sculptor. Despite that this constellation refers to a sculptor, it always depicts a sculptors tools or workshop. Here we have made a stool support a piece of white stone. Dodgson denoted exceptional days in his diaries by marking the page with a metaphoric white stone.
Telescopium the Telescope = Drink Me bottle. Alice says herself that she feels like a Telescope when she drinks from it.
Triangulum = there are two triangular constellations, for one we used the Kings sandwich and the other the Paperman’s triangular Hat.
Tucana the Toucan = The Borogrove bird. This has a large beak like the toucan.
Ursa Major the Great Bear = This at first was a hard one as there are no bears in Alice. However if you look into the myth of the Great Bear, you will learn that though Jupiter was married, he had several lovers. His lover Callisto was disguised as the bear in order that she would not be found. Their son was also disguised as the constellation the Little Bear. ‘Duchess’ is a colloquial term for a king’s mistress as several mistresses to kings became duchesses as a way of incorporating them into the royal court. In Alice the duchess also has a son and also has a tryst with the queen, which seems to confirm all of the above so making remarks that the duchess has to bear her ugly face unnecessary!
Vulpecula cum Anser the Fox and Goose = Bishop and Pawn, The reasoning for this might seem odd until one recalls that there is a game played using a chess board which involves a fox trying to catch a goose, to play this game one uses a bishop and 4 pawns. I presume these figures are selected to imply that the church is the sly fox that survives by catching geese (pawns) in order to survive in this reality with very little effort.
There are several constellations with which we have matched with an Alice counterpart, but are not listed above, they are included on the globe and we have left them unlisted in order to give you the opportunity to find them. Here you will find the Queen of Hearts, Hatta and Haigha to name but a few. Also it might be of interest to note that in the 18th century, located near the North Pole, the constellation of La Renna = The Deer was depicted, by the 19th century this was removed. By coincidence Alice finds a fawn that has lost its name. This we have placed back into the heavens. It is similarities such as this, and Mensa, that compound the possibility of this theory, but in the mean time we must all try to stop bridges from rusting and witness this dream of life float by.
But where might you ask is the Red King? For he holds all together! The Red King in Alice appears to illustrate Bishop Berkeley’s theory that all is perception and that there is nothing material beyond it. Alice dreams of the Red King, who is dreaming about her and the land of Looking Glass. Berkeley sought to show that this theory leads directly to an awareness of all of us and the world itself being an idea in the mind of God. Consequently, like Alice, we all have the opportunity to determine this dream we perceive. On a similar vein the Bible states that Adam goes to sleep, but it has not been written anywhere that he has yet woken, implying that we are just part of Adam’s dream. Taking this further, Adam created by God substitutes himself for God by perceiving/dreaming this world we now find ourselves in. We are part of this, witnessing it and being in it as Adam continues to dream it. So life continues, bridges rust and sadly pawns will become Queens. But suppose Adam or God wished to be part of the new perception, then they would appear in it the same way that Alice does. Alice is told of this by Tweedledum and Tweedledee, likewise, this paragraph is reiterating the Tweedle’s point for you, reminding you that you are part of this dream which you have helped perceive. This can be likened to Christ’s parable of the Prodigal Son; the Prodigal is Adam going out and making his own world/perception. But Christ says that ultimately the Prodigal fails. Has Adam failed? Is war, strife, sickness and death a reflection of Adam’s perception/dreaming or is it something that we are now instigating? Whatever the reason, we need to remember that we also hold the dream, so we can help change failure to success….. In the meantime, you will find we have positioned the sleeping Red King on the Globes cartouche, perched above him is the Gryphon also dreaming, possibly of you reading this.
There is a constellation situated close to the Red King. Here you will find the Queen of hearts, holding the King of Hearts crown. Despite her bossy dominating behaviour it is actually the king who is the ruling monarch, consequently she cannot wear the crown, only hold it. We have positioned her pointing vehemently at the cartouche, presumably in utter disgust as the inscription proclaims the globe to be Alice’s and not hers.
As for Alice, she had been observing this with vague interest all along, but she was now beginning to get very tired of the whole idea. So Alice started to her feet and walked away, muttering to herself…….
James Bissell-Thomas
Text and Artwork Copyright © 2000 Greaves & Thomas. London
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