Photographers [Oo] Alexandra ‘Xie’ Kitchin in front of the lens | Lewis Carroll’s favourite model (1870-77)

Lewis Carroll, Alexandra Kitchin, 1873

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Alexandra ‘Xie’ Rhoda Kitchin (1864-1925) was a notable ‘child-friend’ and favourite photographic subject of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) L. Carroll once posed the question: “How do you achieve excellence in photography?” with the answer “Put Xie in front of the lens.”

Lewis Carroll, Alexandra Kitchin, 1876                                        Lewis Caroll, Alexandra Kitchin, 1873

Lewis Caroll, Alexandra Kitchin, 1873                                               Lewis Carroll, Alexandra Kitchin, 1877

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In a letter to her on June 16, 1880, he writes, “Here is a riddle—’What is the best way to secure excellence in a photograph?’

Answer: ‘First you take a “lence,” and then put “ecce” before it.'” He is punning on “ecce,” the Latin word for “behold.”

Lewis Carroll, Alexandra Kitchin, 1876

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Lewis Carroll photographed her around fifty times, from age four until just before her sixteenth birthday. Xie had three younger brothers: George Herbert, Hugh Bridges, and Brook Taylor, and a younger sister, Dorothy Maud Mary. All were featured in Dodgson’s photographs.

Lewis Caroll, Alexandra Kitchin, 1870