The Missing Pages

In addition to the four lost volumes, there are ten individual pages that are missing from the nine surviving journals.

There is strong evidence that Dodgson himself removed at least one of these pages, perhaps as a result of a mistake, or possibly because he felt the tone of his comment, on reflection, was inappropriate.

A page definitely removed by Dodgson comes from volume 12 and concerns an entry between 16 and 18 June 1885. Page 116 is missing from the right-hand leaves, but the pages follow consecutively when the volume is reversed and entries are made on the left-hand leaves. To confirm the identity of the perpetrator, Dodgson has written at the top of page 117 an insert-mark and "June 18" to indicate the date of the remaining portion of the entry.

A page missing from journal 4 may also have been removed by Dodgson himself. Two missing pages may be the result of errors in pagination by Dodgson. He was not always careful when numbering the pages.

The other six missing pages were probably not cut out by Dodgson, but by other hands. The following table gives details of all the missing pages:

Journal: 2
Pages: 64, 65, 66
Missing: 1855: 15 to 19 August
Dodgson did not use the left-hand page for entries. He included an index at the end of this volume which gave two references to missing pages: "Visit to Whitburn" (page 64); and "Sent picture on Ossian to C.T." (page 64). "C.T." is the Comic Times.
Journal: 4
Page: 108
Missing: 1855: 15 to 19 August
Dodgson is reflecting on the past year and may have said more than he intended, and removed the page himself.
Journal: 5
Page 46
Missing: 1857: 30 May to 31 May
Dodgson did not use the left-hand page for entries in this volume.
Journal: 8
Page: 2
Missing: 1862: 18 to 23 May
Possibly a result of mis-pagination.
Journal: 8
Page: 91
Missing: 1863: 27 to 29 June
Part of 27 June exists. In these parts of the volume Dodgson did not use the left-hand page for entries.
Journal: 11
Page: 110
Missing: 1879: 24 May to 5 June And Verso: 265
Missing: 1882: 14 to 24 January
Part of 24 May exists on page 110. Page 265 is the other side of page 110; part of 14 January exists, and the entry before 25 January exists (presumed to be part of 24 January).
Journal: 12
Page: 85
Missing: 1884: 23 to 26 November
Possibly a result of mis-pagination.
Journal: 12
Pages: 116
Missing: 1885: 16 to 18 June
Parts of 16 & 18 June exist. The left-hand pages follow consecutively. Dodgson has inserted "June 18" at top of page 117.

There are a few occasions when Dodgson mis-paginates his journal and records two separate pages with the same number in the same volume, indicating that he inserted the page numbers as he worked his way through the note-books. They occur as follows: volume 4, two pages numbered 31; volume 5, two at 17; volume 9, two at 14; volume 11, two at 242; volume 12, two at 35, two at 51, two at 195 and two at 326; volume 13, two at 26. On working back from the reverse of later volumes, he leaves out a page number if the page has already been filled with a subsequent note relating to the right-hand entries. There is no page 206 in volume 10, but the error is Dodgson's. The entry for 9 January continues without a break from page 205 to 207. The page numbering on the opposite pages is consecutive in this volume.