A RARE Oxford printed first edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - one of 23 in existence - could fetch more than £2m at auction in New York this week.

The book is one of 50 printed in 1865 by Oxford University Press and has been given the multi-million guide price.

Only 23 of this original run are known to have survived and five are in the hands of private collectors.

This copy was given by Lewis Carroll to George William Kitchin, a colleague of Carroll’s at Christ Church. He in turn gave it to his daughter Alexandra (‘Xie’) Rhoda Kitchin - one of Carroll’s favourite photographic models. The book is accompanied by an original photograph of her taken by Lewis Carroll. She sold the copy at auction in 1925, but, sadly, died on the day of the sale.