Arts & Culture
record producer, found the piece in 2011 that this rare and beautiful object was revived. Jo Humphris, co-founder of Alice T rough the
Looking Glass LTD, recalls the day that Jake brought the chessboard home. “It was clearly a beautiful object,” she says “But it showed signs of wear and its age. Jake was sure it was by Tenniel but you have to prove these things beyond doubt.” In order to validate the authenticity of the board, the duo had to pinpoint the date it was made and the techniques that had been used by Tenniel. It was as a result of this investigation that Jake and Jo gained an understanding of the techniques used to make the board and the idea of recreating a limited edition was formed. “We could both see just how beautiful it would have been in Victorian times when it was fi rst made so a desire to bring it back to life evolved from that,” Jo confi rms. After making several prototypes, the couple decided to make a limited edition and started to seek out the best artisans for the task. “We were always clear from the start that the
chessboard should be made here in the UK,” Jake explains. “We were advised that we were setting ourselves a huge task both regarding costs and the fact that a lot of the skills involved were no longer being widely practiced here but we believed it was just a case of fi nding the right artisans.” It took a tricky process of trial and error but Jake and Jo fi nally found the right team. “Along the way, some people told us it simply couldn’t be done,” adds Jake, “However, through perseverance we found Matthew from Jealous Screen Printers, Ken Brookes the gilder, Kate Hepburn the watercolourist and Jonathan Walker for the marquetry.” T e creation of the limited edition tested each of these talented artisans, throwing out obstacles such as printing onto wood and recreating Victorian gilt fi nishing (the frame is gilded in 16.5 carat gold leaf). In fact, each chessboard takes three weeks to complete. T e discovery of the chessboard prompted the
formation of Alice T rough the Looking Glass LTD and, of course, the London boutique. Here, Jo and Jake have created a treasure trove of rare objects including fi rst edition Alice books, rare psychedelia, limited edition prints, and Victorian top hats. “We have commissioned artists for a
hand printed t-shirt collection,” Jo explains. “T e fi rst of which is designed by Martin Welch, a known illustrator who has worked with Lulu Guinness and Vogue,” she adds. For fans of Lewis Carroll, the boutique will become a fi rm favourite as Jake and Jo have really captured the sensation of stepping through the looking glass into another world. Jake explains, “We really wanted to shop to feel like an experience. Everything we have put in the boutique has been carefully considered, from the 1950s chandelier to our early 70s space helmet television. An antiqued looking glass eff ect has been commissioned for the back wall and then of course there’s Harley, who will emerge from his rabbit hole into the window.” Harley is the couple’s giant white rabbit, who will be in residence at the boutique. When I ask Jo about this, she jokes, “I don’t think Harley realises just what a career he has ahead of him! He’s currently a house rabbit but they do love window seats and he’s very sociable so I think he will prefer the boutique to our home!” Turning to children’s literature, I ask the couple if they think that current children’s books off er children a similar sense of magic and absurdity. Jake answers, “T e Alice books are very sophisticated. You have to remember that Carroll was a Don at Oxford and the text is not only very funny in places but also contains middle English. I think maybe Tolkien’s T e Hobbit was the last time anything comparable was published.” And what of Tim Burton’s cinematographic
representation of Alice in Wonderland? T e pair are diplomatic but you can sense a slight disappointment in their responses. “I think Burton was probably trying to be too faithful to the original and maybe was constrained by the weight of its history,” Jake comments. Jo seems to agree but adds, “I thought that Burton’s version was visually stunning although I do prefer the moodiness and surrealism captured in Jonathan Miller’s 1960’s version.” It’s interesting to hear the opinions of two people so passionate about Carroll’s work. As the conversation comes to a close, I ask the couple to describe their shop in just three words. “Never Knowingly Understated,” Jake grins. Well, I suppose Lewis Carroll wouldn’t have had it any other way!
For more information visit
www.alicelooking.com 49
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