His love of Lewis Carroll extends to Alice in Wonderland collectables

But one of the most unusual collectors in NSW must be retired mathematician John Spraggon, and he doesn't even live in the region.

He lives on Sydney's lower North Shore, but he surely should qualify as an honorary Novocastrian, at least.

For years, he's regularly caught the train from Sydney to Newcastle to visit MacLean's Booksellers, in Beaumont Street, Hamilton.

His special pilgrimage up here has but one purpose. And that's to buy any freshly illustrated book written by his favourite author, who happens to have been dead for 125 years.

And if the name of that writer, Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), means anything, read on. For who hasn't heard of this 19th century publishing phenomenon, that era's Harry Potter, whose extraordinary fantasy works have never been out of print in almost 160 years.

They've sold 100 million copies and been translated into 174 languages.

Does his ground-breaking, illustrated 1865 book, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, or its 1871 sequel, Through The Looking-Glass, ring any bells?

It should, as Lewis is one of the greatest children's authors of all time. His surreal fantasies have inspired those in the visual arts from ballet directors to filmmakers to reinterpret this mother lode of creativity. Think Walt Disney's classic 1951 animated film, and who could forget Tim Burton's zany 2010 movie starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.

But English author, poet, teacher and Oxford mathematician, Lewis Carroll and his vivid imagination has yet more claims to fame. Carroll was famous for puzzles, logic, and he may even have developed an early form of Scrabble.

He's known for his famous literary nonsense poems such as Jabberwocky (later inspiring the Monty Python film team), The Hunting of the Snark and even The Walrus and the Carpenter. Also think of legendary nursery rhyme character Humpty Dumpty.

But most memorable are Carroll's psychedelic Alice books, peopled with bizarre characters igniting the imagination of children everywhere. After Alice falls down the rabbit hole chasing a time-obsessed white rabbit, she meets the Mad Hatter and a Dormouse dunked in a tea pot, a croquet-playing Red Queen, odd twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee, a cheeky Cheshire cat hovering in air and a hookah-smoking caterpillar on a mushroom.

But now let's return to amazing Carroll collector John Spraggon. He may have up to 3000 books and other collectables, including Wonderland-themed ceramic teapots, posters, programs, paintings, 43 DVDs alone on Carroll's works, teapot clocks, dolls, mugs, calendars, cat caps, top hats, scarves, rare stamps, decorative plates, commemorative coins, mini-plaster statues found in nurseries and gift shops, Alice wrapping paper and even a rare Alice diorama.

Then there are five crates of collectables on his balcony. The more quirky the object, the more it's prized, such as the croquet-playing Red Queen with a pendulum mechanism and a small flamingo paperweight.

Items inside are stacked high in bookcases, cabinets, wardrobes, on any shelf space really in his modest, tidy unit. Next to his TV, staring quizzically at visitors, is a pink bow-tied, waist-high white rabbit (a hare really, as its ears are too long), but in keeping with the overall fantasy theme, a watch and chain have been added to the exhibit.

But curiouser and curiouser, colourful artworks, including framed and mounted special tea towels, line all the walls of his unit, from his lounge room, to dining room, kitchen and bedroom.

But here, we should give some background to this remarkable collector.

According to a close friend, Judith of Manly, John Spraggon probably has the largest collection of Lewis Carroll memorabilia in the Southern Hemisphere.

Describing herself as being NDY ('not dead yet') and an OBE ('over bloody eighty') Judith said: "He's travelled all over NSW collecting. Getting up at 4am to catch trains.

"He's a lovely man. A brilliant eccentric. I'm glad someone is finally doing an article on him. It's long overdue. It's a bit surprising he didn't tell you of his academic achievements. He has a BA, a MA Lit (in mathemathics), a MA Honours and a PhD, so he should be called Dr John Spraggon," she said.

"If you believe in reincarnation, he reminds me of a Victorian parson."

Late last week, Spraggon welcomed Weekender into his inner sanctum to reveal his vast collection, including his prized, limited edition, newly illustrated Alice book costing $950.

Spraggon, a knowledgeable and gentle man, said he began collecting Lewis Carroll merchandise 36 years ago, in 1987.

"I've since been everywhere from Newcastle to Nowra, from Kiama to Katoomba. All the dealers know me," he said.

"Why do I collect? I suppose there's a similarity of interests. Carroll was a mathematician and what's called a polymath, he wanted to know everything about everything.

"Carroll had a huge collection of books on science, philosophy, medicine and even marriage, although he never married. Even natural history books. For example, here's an artwork showing the Mock Turtle crying. But they don't. He knew they excreted salt through their eyes. It was the only way for their bodies to remove salt.

"And his famous Mad Hatter creation is reality based. The 19th century hatters used mercury to manipulate felt to make hats and they inhaled the fumes. It led to them becoming slightly mad or psychotic," Spraggon said.

"Lewis Carroll was also a pen name. His real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson turned into Latin as 'Carolus (Charles) Ludovicus (Lutwidge/Lewis)'. He then reversed it. He was shy and a clergyman, a gifted mathematician and he stuttered, except, strangely, except around young girls."

Spraggon said controversy still swirled around Carroll/Dodgson and opinions among scholars were divided.

Today there's general agreement Dodgson had an inappropriate fixation with young girls, but with no hint of inappropriate behaviour.

The real-life inspiration for the fictional Alice of the books was apparently Alice Liddell, an Anglican Dean's daughter who he took rowing with her sisters along the Thames.

There's even speculation among scholars Carroll might have proposed a future marriage to Alice when she was aged 11 years.

"Carroll was a leading amateur photographer of his time. He even took pictures of very young girls, as young as six, in the nude, but always with the parents' permission. It was very much criticised in his day though," Spraggon said.

"He also took a picture of a scantily-clad young Alice Liddell (in 1858) as a beggar's maid which in opinion of poet Alfred Lord Tennyson was one of the most beautiful photos ever taken of a young child."

Dodgson's diaries between 1858-1862 are missing, but no one knows if Dodgson or others removed the pages and why. The conservative Liddell family later cut links to Dodgson but Spraggon has read he was supposed to be "making eyes" at the children's governess.

The collector said people shouldn't judge Dodgson by the standards of their own era.

"Anyway, after I'm gone, I've willed my collection to my niece. She'll probably open up a shop and sell the items. I've put no conditions on them."