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snark150.bsky.social
150 Years of Snark
@snark150.bsky.social
220 followers 730 following 670 posts
Let's celebrate the sesquicentennial anniversary (snrk.de/150th-snark-anniversaries/) of Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday's "The Hunting of the Snark" in 2026.

For Xwitter refugees: x[.]com/Snark150 ➜ @snarkhunt.bsky.social

2025-01-20
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snark150.bsky.social
150 Years of Snark @snark150.bsky.social · Oct 27
There are three important 150th anniversaries of “The Hunting of the Snark”. @panmacmillan.bsky.social already missed two of them.

snrk.de/150th-snark-...
https://snrk.de/150th-snark-anniversaries/ There are three important 150th anniversaries related to “The Hunting of the Snark”. Pan Macmillan already missed two of them. (1) === 18 July 2024: Conception === On 18 July 1874, the very last line of Carroll’s Snark tragicomedy came into his head while out on a walk at Guildford: “For the Snark was a Boojum, you see” . The first stanza was composed on 22 July 1874. “In the midst of the word…” which stands as the last verse of the poem. (2) === 25 October 2025: Naming === On 25 October 1875, Carroll decided to use “The Hunting of the Snark” as the title of his Snark tragicomedy (which in Henry Holiday’s view started out as a tragedy). (3) === 1 April 2026: Birth === On 29 March 1876 at Macmillan, Carroll prepared 80 presentation copies for family and friends. (As far as I understand, these copies contained an additional poem: the Easter Greeting.) On 1 April 1876, Macmillan officially published the poem with Henry Holiday’s illustrations.
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
demorganfoundation.bsky.social
Delve into this article on our website, which talks more about the link between them and their artistic outputs.

www.demorgan.org.uk/which-snark-...
Which Snark came first? The tiles or the poem? - The De Morgan Foundation
I knew there was some controversy surrounding who inspired whom to create fantastical creatures. Had William De Morgan’s ceramic tiles, purchased by Charles Dodgson for […]
www.demorgan.org.uk
February 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snark150.bsky.social
The word "snark" existed at least as early as in the 16th century. And Carroll's Snark even might not be an animal at all. But more important: The De Morgan Foundation could celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday's "The Hunting of the Snark" in March/April 2026.
Caucus Race Eagle and Snark Source: https://williammorristile.com/demorgan/lewis_carroll_fireplace_tiles.html William De Morgan Red Lustre Fireplace Tiles Source: https://snrk.de/starry-map/
January 24, 2026 at 3:24 PM
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snarkhunt.bsky.social
There is an interesting drawing in the article. Who made it? And who was the author of the article?

snrk.de/page_the-bar... is a post in my Snark blog about Henry Holiday's illustration to "The Barrister's Dream" in Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark".
Source: https://www.demorgan.org.uk/which-snark-came-first-the-tiles-or-the-poem/ See also: https://snrk.de/page_the-barristers-dream/
January 24, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snark150.bsky.social
#HeadsUp #TheHuntingOfTheSnark #150thAnniversary

@josietturner.bsky.social and @kimberleynyam.bsky.social , how will @panmacmillan.bsky.social celebrate the 150th anniversaries of "The Hunting of the Snark" in October 2025 and April 2026?
https://snrk.de/starry-map/ John Tufail’s “The Illuminated Snark” (p. 15) lead me to this comparison. In 2004 he interpreted the starry night sky in Henry Holiday’s front cover illustration to Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark” (1876) as a map, where the white clouds represented land with rivers. I liked the suggestion, but did not find any real-world map to which Holiday might have alluded. Holiday engraved that illustration himself. I discovered John Tufail’s paper in 2009. Only in 2024, after 15 years, I got the idea to compress and flip a large segment of a map of the British isles vertically. That’s my “slowness in taking a jest”. You see the result. Sadly, I can’t tell John that anymore. I appreciated his guidance a lot. The white clouds weren’t the land, but as for a map having been hidden in the illustration, John was right.
September 18, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snarkhunt.bsky.social
👈: Illustration by Henry Holiday (cut by Joseph Swain) to the chapter 'The Banker’s Fate' in Lewis Carroll’s 'The Hunting of the Snark' (1876).
👉: Horizontally compressed rendering of 'The Imagebreakers' (1566-1568) by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder.

snrk.de/flipping-the...
December 8, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snarkhunt.bsky.social
#TheHuntingOfTheSnark | #LewisCarroll | #HenryHoliday | #JosephSwain | #MarcusGheeraerts | #MarcusGheeraertsTheElder | #Nose

snrk.de/page_the-ima...
https://snrk.de/flipping-the-nose/ ※ Left: The Banker in Lewis Carroll's 'The Hunting of the Snark' (1876) after his encounter with the Bandersnatch, depicted in Henry Holiday’s illustration (woodcut by Joseph Swain) to the chapter 'The Banker’s Fate' in Lewis Carroll’s tragicomedy. ※ Right: Slightly horizontally compressed rendering of 'The Imagebreakers' (1566-1568, aka 'Allegory of Iconoclasm'), an etching by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder. Keys: TheHuntingOfTheSnark | LewisCarroll | HenryHoliday | JosephSwain | MarcusGheeraerts | MarcusGheeraertsTheElder | Nose
December 8, 2025 at 12:05 PM
snark150.bsky.social
We are getting close to 42 Million Bluesky users.
January 22, 2026 at 12:28 AM
snark150.bsky.social
@libraryofchlo.bsky.social, Macmillan used alice150.com (now "under maintenance") to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of "Alice ... in Wonderland". I'll give @panmacmillan.bsky.social the site snark150.com free of charge if they'll use it to celebrate the 150th Snark anniversary.
January 17, 2026 at 4:50 PM
snark150.bsky.social
"It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."
"It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."
"It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."

I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.
https://snrk.de/wp-content/uploads/texts/Carroll_AAiW_TtLG_1st_GASL_OCR.pdf Lewis Carroll ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. «QUADRILLE. [page] 155 [...] we don’t want you with us!’” “They were obliged to have him with them,” the Mock Turtle said: “no wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise.” “Wouldn’t it really?” said Alice in a tone of great surprise. “Of course not,’ said the Mock Turtle: “why, if a fish came to me, and told me he was going a journey, I should say ‘With what porpoise ?’” “Don’t you mean ‘purpose?’” said Alice. “I mean what I say,” the Mock Turtle replied in an offended tone. And the Gryphon added “Come, let’s hear some of your adventures.” “I could tell you my adventures—beginning from this morning,” said Alice a little timidly: “but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” “Explain all that,” said the Mock Turtle. “No, no! the adventures first,” said the Gryphon in an impatient tone: “explanations take such a dreadful time.” [...]»
January 15, 2026 at 5:46 PM
snark150.bsky.social
You cannot say that often enough.

www.lewiscarroll.org/event/snarka...
https://www.lewiscarroll.org/event/snarkapalooza/ Snarkapalooza March 29, 2026 All day Join this Webinar on March 29. Join us as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of The Hunting of the Snark with entertaining and enlightening talks, plus some surprises! More details TBA. Join us as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of The Hunting of the Snark with entertaining and enlightening talks, plus some surprises! More details TBA. Join us as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of The Hunting of the Snark with entertaining and enlightening talks, plus some surprises! More details TBA. “What I tell you three times is true.” -The Bellman
January 15, 2026 at 5:29 PM
snark150.bsky.social
"[...] It also celebrates the 150th anniversary of the publication of Carroll’s 'The Hunting of the Snark'. [...]"

I am curious how the Oxford University @ox.ac.uk will "also" celebrate the 150th anniversary of Carroll’s 'The Hunting of the Snark'. Do they understand Henry Holiday's illustrations?
Christ Church, University of Oxford, The House BEYOND THE APPLICANCES OF ART The Library's forthcoming exhibition: '"Beyond the Appliances of Art": Lewis Carroll and His Illustrators' explores how Carroll worked with artists to create illustrations for his books. 12 Jan 2026 The exhibition examines how Lewis Carroll's works have inspired later artists and illustrators to produce their own interpretations. It also celebrates the 150th anniversary of the publication of Carroll’s 'The Hunting of the Snark'. A highlight of the exhibition is the Michelson Alice, donated jointly to the Bodleian Libraries and Christ Church in 2025 by Ellen A. Michelson, a distinguished collector and philanthropist. The Michelson Alice is one of just 22 known copies of the 1865 true first edition of Carroll’s 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and was Lewis Carroll’s personal working copy, enhanced by his markings as he planned the contents of The Nursery Alice and by ten of John Tenniel’s original preliminary pencil drawings for the illustrations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The exhibition also showcases original sketches by John Tenniel, Carroll’s illustration plan for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, original sketches and proofs for some of Carroll’s other works along with later artists’ responses to 'The Hunting of the Snark'. Dates: 27 January to 26 February 2026. Venue: Christ Church Upper Library, St Aldates, Oxford OX1 1DP. Please enter Christ Church via Tom Gate on St Aldates. Please note that there is no step-free access to the Upper Library. Entry: Admission is free. There is no need to book a ticket or timed slot to enter – just drop in at any time during exhibition opening hours. How will Henry Holiday's illustrations (https://snrk.de) to Lewis Carroll's 'The Hunting of the Snark' be presented in the exhibition of the Christ Church Upper Library? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- About the image: https://snrk.de/page_elizabeth-i/ ※ [right]: Allegorical English School painting (by an unknown artist, ca. 1610) of Queen Elizabeth I at Old Age with allegory of Death and Father Time. (EAN: 4050356835081. Location of original painting: Corsham Court, Wiltshire, England, UK) ※ [left]: Henry Holiday’s back cover illustration (1876) to Lewis Carroll’s 'The Hunting of the Snark".
January 14, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snarkhunt.bsky.social
#OTD Lewis Carroll, the author of ‘The Hunting of the Snark’, died 128 years ago at age 65 on 14 January 1898.
https://snrk.de/page_elizabeth-i/ [right]: Allegorical English School painting (by an unknown artist, ca. 1610) of Queen Elizabeth I at Old Age with allegory of Death and Father Time. (EAN: 4050356835081. Location of original painting: Corsham Court, Wiltshire, England, UK) [left]: Henry Holiday’s back cover illustration (1876) to Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark.
January 14, 2026 at 3:37 PM
snark150.bsky.social
AI can be fun. I googled for "isle of sark" "the hunting of the snark" ang got this:

#IsleOfSark #IsleOfSnark #TheHuntingOfTheSnark
Prompt to Google AI: "isle of sark" "the hunting of the snark". Answer below (2025-12-17): The Isle of Sark has connections to Lewis Carroll's poem, "The Hunting of the Snark," primarily through fantasy stamps and literary allusions by later authors and artists. ※ Fantasy Stamps: The most direct link appears to be "Stamps for Snark," a set of fantasy stamps created by artist Gerald M King, which are explicitly based on the poem and the Channel Island of Sark. ※ Mervyn Peake: Author and artist Mervyn Peake, known for the Gormenghast novels, lived on the Isle of Sark and created illustrations for both "The Hunting of the Snark" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Peake's home on the island served as a base for his creative work, and critics have noted how his experiences there influenced his illustrations and writing. ※ Literary Allusions: Some literary analyses suggest that the actual Isle of Sark is referenced in other works of fantasy literature in the context of the poem, sometimes subverting the "generosity" of the "Great Pal" in Carroll's tale. Mapmaking in the poem has also been linked to the geography of Sark in academic discussions. While Lewis Carroll did not set the original poem on the actual Isle of Sark, the name's similarity and the island's unique character have led to these subsequent artistic and literary connections.
December 17, 2025 at 2:20 PM
snark150.bsky.social
@ideas4writers.bsky.social

In Dave Haslett's 'The Date-A-Base Book 2026', the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday's 'The Hunting of the Snark' is missing. The official publishing date was 1st of April in 1876.

#Anniversary #Anniversaries #Anniversaries2026 #2026Anniversaries
★✰✰✰✰ The 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's 'The Hunting of the Snark' is missing. In Dave Haslett's 'The Date-A-Base Book 2026' (3,700 historical anniversaries in 2026), the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday's 'The Hunting of the Snark' is missing. The official publishing date was 1st of April in 1876 (https://snrk.de/150th-snark-anniversaries/). — Goetz Kluge (snark150.bsky.social) #Anniversary #Anniversaries #Anniversaries2026 #2026Anniversaries #TheHuntingOfTheSnark #LewisCarroll
December 14, 2025 at 5:47 PM
snark150.bsky.social
Regrettably, to James Lindsay (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M...), the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday's 'The Hunting of the Snark' in Spring 2026 seems not to be worth mentioning.

The Boojum is back again. The Snark tragicomedy (snrk.de/snarkhunt) deserves more attention.
https://snrk.de/150th-snark-anniversaries/ There are three important 150th anniversaries related to “The Hunting of the Snark”. Pan Macmillan already missed two of them. (1) === 18 July 2024: Conception === ☑ On 18 July 1874, the very last line of Carroll’s Snark tragicomedy came into his head while out on a walk at Guildford: “For the Snark was a Boojum, you see” . The first stanza was composed on 22 July 1874. “In the midst of the word…” which stands as the last verse of the poem. (2) === 25 October 2025: Naming === ☑ On 25 October 1875, Carroll decided to use “The Hunting of the Snark” as the title of his Snark tragicomedy (which in Henry Holiday’s view started out as a tragedy). (3) === 1 April 2026: Birth === ☐ On 29 March 1876 at Macmillan, Carroll prepared 80 presentation copies for family and friends. (As far as I understand, these copies contained an additional poem: the Easter Greeting.) On 1 April 1876, Macmillan officially published the poem with Henry Holiday’s illustrations.
December 13, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snarkhunt.bsky.social
#ChristmasGift #FineArt #TheHuntingOfTheSnark #surrealism #LewisCarroll #BlueskyArt

Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark" illustrated by Mahendra Singh as a #surrealist #graphicnovel is a beautiful #PuzzleBook for #ArtLovers, as it contains many #allusions to well known #paintings and prints.
René Magritte, "The menaced assassin", 1927 #belgianart #surrealism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menaced_Assassin https://bsky.app/profile/art.feediverse.org/post/3m6kgp6ymr32l
December 1, 2025 at 12:52 PM
snark150.bsky.social
Drop something MIRRORED

Left: The mirrored screenshot from www.bbc.com/news/article... shows a photo of Lewis Carroll.
Right: Illustration by Henry Holiday (engraved by Joseph Swain) to the "fit" "The Beaver's lesson" in Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark.
Mirrored screenshot from https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgkwml0p3wo Staff at Lincoln Cathedral find a dinner party invite by author Lewis Carroll from 1875. 👇 BBC News - Dinner invite shows what Lewis Carroll had for tea See also: https://bsky.app/profile/ancestralenq.bsky.social/post/3m5452j75ds2o and https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgkwml0p3wo Carroll's Snark cameo: https://snrk.de/lewis-carroll/ See also: https://snrk.de/wimmelbild/
November 30, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snarkhunt.bsky.social
Rethinking the Snark

snrk.de/fact-checks/
https://snrk.de/fact-checks/ ⁕ Ambiguous: The “Boots” and “the maker of Bonnets and Hoods” in The Hunting of the Snark might be two different persons, but also could be the same person. Thus, the Snark hunting crew might have only nine members, not ten. ⁕ Unproven: The assumption that Carroll was on drugs when he wrote the Alice books. ⁕ Probably wrong: The assumption that the the Snark’s “fondness for bathing-machines” is nonsense. It might be an Oxford Christ Church College insider joke. ⁕ Too often wrong: Carroll quotes (e.g. in the Internet). Check them before a Carroll misquote sticks as a tattoo on your skin. ⁕ Wrong: The assumption that C.L. Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) invented the word “Snark”. ⁕ Wrong: The assumption that the “Ocean Chart” (the Bellman’s map) in The Hunting of the Snark was made by Henry Holiday. ⁕ Wrong: The claim by rare book sellers that only the first issue of The Hunting of the Snark has “Baker” on page 83. ⁕ Wrong: The assumption that there is photographic evidence that Alice Liddell, as a child, kissed C.L. Dodgson. ⁕ Wrong: The story that C.L. Dodgson sent an admiring Queen Victoria a copy of An Elementary Treatise on Determinants.
November 13, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snarkhunt.bsky.social
Today I made a discovery which lets me assume that the meaning of "snark" in 1831 was not too different from how we use the term today.

bsky.app/profile/snar...
snarkhunt.bsky.social The Hunting of the Snark @snarkhunt.bsky.social · Nov 3
#Etymology of #Snark

Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark" was published in 1876.

Amos Eaton wrote to to John Torrey on September 21st, 1831: "We are like some old husband and wife, who scold each other, fret, snark, &c. But when either is in distress the other feels it to the heart."
Source: Amos Eaton and John Torrey correspondence, 1816-1840, by Eaton, Amos, 1776-1842 https://archive.org/details/amoseatonjohnto00eato/page/n224/mode/1up «John Torrey Papers (PP), Archives, The New York Botanical Garden [...] Correspondence from Amos Eaton to John Torrey, dated 1816-1840. [...] In later years too, there are painful episodes of friction between Eaton and Torrey's protégé, Asa Gray. In the midst of a long tirade, however, Eaton pauses to reassure Torrey of his undying affection: "We are like some old husband and wife," he write in 1831[-09-21], "who scold each other, fret, snark, &c., but when either is in distress the other feels it to the heart." [...]»
November 3, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snark150.bsky.social
This also shows that the term “Snark” is older than Lewis Carroll (C. L. Dodgson).
November 3, 2025 at 6:39 AM
snark150.bsky.social
If a clock got stuck at six o'clock, just keep it in the time zones where it's six o'clock by moving the clock around the globe. The tea party's table is our globe.

snrk.de/breakfast-in...
https://snrk.de/breakfast-in-tahiti/ In November 1859, Dodgson gave a lecture at a meeting of the Ashmolean Society on “Where does the Day begin?”. A stopped clock is right 24 times a day, if you start carrying the clock around the globe due West at an angular speed of 15°/h once it has stopped. (It’s almost like the mad tea-party having always six o’clock while moving around the table.) Only the day date suddenly would change somewhere. (That’s where in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland the March Hare quickly changes the topic.)
November 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snark150.bsky.social
Whoops. Kim Nyamhondera (@panmacmillan.bsky.social's Senior Publicity Manager) didn't like my #HeadsUp.
https://clearsky.app/@kimberleynyam.bsky.social/blocking (2025-11-13)
November 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by 150 Years of Snark
snark150.bsky.social
Heads up!

How will @panmacmillan.bsky.social celebrate the coming 150th anniversaries of "The Hunting of the Snark"?

#SnarkHeadsUp
A heads-up to www.panmacmillan.com/contact-us (2025-05-19): There are still two anniversaries of Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday's "The Hunting of the Snark" to be celebrated in 2025 and 2026 (details: Snark150 in Bluesky). Will Pan Macmillan celebrate these events?
May 22, 2025 at 10:14 AM