It would take too long to name all the games and puzzles Lewis Carroll invented. Some were carefully thought out, some were produced on the spur of the moment, generally for the amusement of some special child friend. Indeed, the puzzles and riddles and games had accumulated to such an extent that he was arranging to publish a book of them with illustrations by Miss E. Gertrude Thomson, but after his death the plans fell through, and many literary projects were abandoned.
Acrostic writing was one of his favorite pastimes, and he wrote enough of these to have filled a good fat little volume.
His Wonderland Stamp-Case, one of his own ingenious inventions, might come under the head of “Puzzles and Problems,” and, oddly enough, an interesting description of this stamp-case was published only a short time ago in The Nation. The writer describes his own copy which he bought when it was new, some twenty years ago. There is first an envelope of red paper, on which is printed:
The “Wonderland” Postage Stamp-Case,
Invented by Louis Carroll, Oct. 29, 1888.
This case contains 12 separate packets for
Stamps of different values, and 2 Coloured
Pictorial Surprises, taken from “Alice in
Wonderland.” It is accompanied with 8 or
9 Wise Words about Letter-Writing.
1st, post-free, 13d.
On the flap of the envelope is:
Published by Emberlin & Son,
4 Magdalen Street, Oxford.
“The Stamp-Case,” the writer tells us, “consists of a stiff paper folded with the pockets on the inner leaves and a picture on each outer leaf. This Case is inclosed in a sliding cover, and in this way the pictorial surprise becomes possible. A picture of Alice holding the Baby is on the front cover, and when this is drawn off, there is underneath a picture of Alice nursing a pig. On the back cover is the famous Cat, which vanishes to a shadowy grin on the pictures beneath.”
The booklet which accompanied this little stamp-case found its way to many of his girl friends. Now, whether they bought it, or whether, under guise of giving a present, this clever friend of theirs sent them the stamp-case with the “eight or nine words of advice” slyly tucked in, we cannot say, but in the case of Isa Bowman and of Beatrice Hatch the booklet evidently made a deep impression, for both quote from it very freely, and some of the “wise words” are certainly worth heeding, for instance:
“Address and stamp the envelope.”
“What! Before writing the letter?”