Through the Looking Glass c.1899.jpg

One of thousands of items in the Cleveland Public Library's Lewis Carroll collection.

(CPL)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Fans of the new "Alice through the Looking Glass" movie have a unique local resource to learn more about Lewis Carroll's classic.

The Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library has one of largest "Alice in Wonderland" and Lewis Carroll collections in the world.

"We collect Alice books because of Lewis Carroll's references to chess, especially in 'Through the Looking Glass,' " says Pamela J. Eyerdam, Fine Arts & Special Collections manager. "We have one of the largest chess collections in the world."

Eyerdam says CPL has tens of thousands of items in their Alice and chess collections. They range from books and periodicals to antique chess pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries.

"Some are valuable; some are handmade. They're from all over the world, many different cultures."

The chess collection dates back to 1899, thanks to a donation from a prominent Clevelander, John G. White. His endowment still helps fund the growing collection.

Another reason for the sizable Alice collection is that when the Main Branch of Cleveland Public opened in 1925, the children's reading room was known as the Lewis Carroll Room. In 1971, the room and its collection became known as the Children's Literature Department. Now located on the fourth floor of the original building of the Main Branch, many of the older children's books in the collection still have the original bookplates from the Lewis Carroll Room.

The John G. White Collection of Chess and "Alice in Wonderland" memorabilia is open to any members of the public to visit on the third floor whenever the downtown library is open.