Hatter (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) door of his shop wearing a top hat. Sir John Tenniel is reported to have come to Oxford especially to sketch him for his illustrations. There is no evidence for this claim, however, in either Carroll's letters or diaries. In the chapter "A Mad Tea Party", the Hatter asks a much-noted riddle "why is a raven like a writing desk?" When Alice gives up trying to figure out why, the Hatter admits "I haven't the slightest idea!". Carroll originally intended the riddle to be without an answer, but after many requests from readers, he and others—including puzzle expert Sam Loyd—suggested
Henry VIII's writing desk Henry VIII's writing desk Henry VIII's writing desk is a portable writing desk, made in about 1525-6 for Henry VIII. It is currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The desk is a product of the royal workshops and is lavishly embellished with ornamental motifs introduced to the Kingdom of England by continental artists. The gilded leather lining is painted with figures and profile heads that are close in style to contemporary portrait miniatures, while the figures of Mars in armour and Venus with cupid are taken from woodcuts by the German artist Hans Burgkmair (1473-1531), which were published in