While we might quibble over the most important dramatic film or the most essential classical piece or the fashion designer who went on to influence other stars of the industry, it isn't difficult to trace modern children's literature back to a single book from the Victorian era.
It's "Alice in Wonderland," Lewis Carroll's adventure-themed tale of a girl's fantastical journey down a rabbit hole. From the Disney film to several live-action movies to the countess iterations in music videos and graphic novels and clothing lines, Alice, as a major force of pop culture, has reigned more powerfully than the Queen of Hearts herself.
A century and a half has passed since the first publication of "Alice in Wonderland," and the California International Antiquarian Book Fair will celebrate the book's sesquicentennial.
The rare-and-vintage tome to-do, which lands at the Pasadena Convention Center over Valentine's Weekend, also has some impressive years logged: It marks its first half-century in 2017.
That means that visitors can find a host of first editions and hard-to-find works and pros who know pages. And, yes, in 2016 there'll be an Alice-focus, complete with a special exhibit featuring "books, illustrations, papers and original ephemera from the G. Edward Cassady M.D. and Margaret Elizabeth Cassady R.N., Lewis Carroll Collection at the University of Southern California Libraries, Special Collections."
The famous Mary Blair drawings of the Disney Alice will also make a cameo.
And if you're looking to own an "Alice in Wonderland" book there'll be several on hand, from a number of eras, for the perusing and/or buying, from various dealers.
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Think you have an interesting rare book at home, one you'd love to get appraised? "Discovery Day" at the fair is Feb. 14, and you can present up to three items for an examination by an expert. Cost? Free.
Though do note the fair itself is ticketed. Want to buy your pass to Wonderland... er, Pasadena, rather? The rabbit hole is this way, book buffs.
