Charles Dodgson, Page 1

It was the discovery of the Charles Dodgson letters, and the mint stamps stored in the envelopes, which enabled philatelist to chronicle the philately of the Pre-Alice Period of the Wonderland history.

This eminent divine, author, photographer and mystic was born in 1832 at Daresbury Parsonage, in Cheshire, where he was living when, in 1840, Wonderland issued its first stamps – blatantly copied by his own native land, Great Britain, one day later.

5. May, 1840

The theory is that Charles L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) from an early age was interested in Postal History, and knowing of the existence of Wonderland, decided to collect the stamps and postal items of that country. In order to do so he most likely contacted the Postmaster General of Wonderland and placed a standing order for all new issues. These could well have been posted to him in some of the Dodgson covers.

The first recorded cover from Wonderland to Charles Dodgson dated 5 May.

Examples below:

Cover 1 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 1 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)
Cover 2 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 2 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)
Cover 3 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 3 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)
Cover 4 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 4 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)
Cover 5 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 5 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)
Cover 6 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 6 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)
Cover 7 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 7 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)
Cover 8 from 5. May, 1840 (Front)	Cover 8 from 5. May, 1840 (Back)

6. May, 1840 – Letter to Postmaster-General

The second cover is a Mulready Envelope uprated with a Great Britain penny black and posted to Wonderland on 6 May. Inside is a letter from Master Dodgson to the Wonderland Postmaster-General placing a standing order for future stamp issues.

Examples below: