Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, an English writer, mathematician, Anglican deacon, and photographer. Best known for his classics Alice s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and Jabberwocky, Carroll was also an accomplished inventor who created an early version of what is today known as Scrabble. The publication of Alice s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 brought Carroll a certain level of fame, although he continued to supplement his income through his work as a mathematics tutor at Christ Church, Oxford College. Carroll s whimsical characters and nonsensical verse resonated with Victorian-era readers, and his books continue to be enjoyed by numerous modern societies dedicated to his promoting his works.

Sir John Tenniel briefly attended the Royal Academy Schools, but for the most part he was a self taught artist. His illustrations appeared regularly in Punch, but it was the Alice books that confirmed his international reputation as an illustrator. Tenniel was knighted in 1893.