The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all considered to be within the genre of literary nonsense. Oxford scholar, Church of England Deacon, University Lecturer in Mathematics and Logic, academic author of learned theses, gifted pioneer of portrait photography, colourful writer of imaginative genius and yet a shy and pedantic man, Lewis Carroll stands pre-eminent in the pantheon of inventive literary geniuses. He also has works published under his real name.

Emily Gertrude Thomson (1850–1929) was a British artist and illustrator. She was the daughter of Alexander Thomson (1815–1895), a professor of Greek and Hebrew. She studied at Manchester School of Art and became a member of the Royal Miniature Society. In 1878 she was approached by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) to illustrate some of his books, including Three Sunsets and Other Poems: she also designed the cover for The Nursery "Alice", and became a friend of Dodgson and wrote a short biographical memoir of him. After studying at the Manchester School of Art she attended the studio of Frederic Shields and they became lifelong friends. Emily also studied for some time at Messrs. Wedgwood’s works at Etruria in Staffordshire painting on china. She exhibited in Manchester, Liverpool, Brussels and Canada, Manchester Art Gallery and the V&A own her works. At various points of her career she painted portraits, illustrated books and designed stained glass.