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Primary sourcePhotograph30 June 1860

Thomas Combe in Cloak and Mortar Board

Lewis Carroll · 30 June 1860

A photograph by Lewis Carroll of Thomas Combe, an Oxford printer and friend, dressed in academic gown and cap.

Carroll took this photograph himself, showing his skill and interests as a photographer beyond his writing.

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Sepia-toned photograph of an elderly man with white hair and a long white beard, wearing a dark academic gown, seated in profile looking to the right, with his hands resting on a mortar board at lower right.
Lewis Carroll, Thomas Combe in Cloak and Mortar Board, 30 June 1860.

About this source

What it is

This is a sepia photograph taken by Lewis Carroll in 1860, showing Thomas Combe, an Oxford printer, dressed in a dark academic gown with a mortar board resting on his hands. It is now held in a museum collection.

Why it matters

Carroll was a keen amateur photographer alongside his writing career, and this image shows his skill at formal portraiture of friends and figures connected to Oxford life. It reveals the social and academic world Carroll moved in, including his friendship with Combe.

Look closer

  • What does the choice of academic dress tell you about how Combe wanted to be remembered?
  • Why might Carroll have chosen a profile pose rather than a front-facing one?
  • What does this image not tell us about the relationship between Carroll and Combe?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Lewis Carroll on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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