Tenniel was born on February 28 1820 and died February 1914. He lost an eye in a fencing match with his father in 1840. This failed to stop him becoming a highly regarded artist (he contributed a fresco to the newly rebuilt Houses of Parliament, London) and a regular contributor of cartoons to the British satirical magazine Punch.

However, it is as the illustrator of the two Lewis Carrol novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass that he has earned undying fame.