Prize-winning author's original illustrations on display

The collection was recently acquired by the British Library and is being exhibited in Sheffield to coincide with playwright Laura Wade's new adaptation of Alice at the Crucible Theatre.

The exhibition, which has been put together by Prof Vanessa Toulmin and Karen Middlemast from the university library, showcases original drawings and unpublished sketches which are being displayed for the first time since the British Library acquired the collection.

On show are 22 pen and ink drawings and five preliminary sketches by Peake, best known as the author of Gormenghast, for which he won the Heinemann Prize for Literature in 1951.

Prof Toulmin said: "The historically celebrated work of Mervyn Peake, one of Britain's greatest post-war writers and artists, is a treasured part of our national heritage and we are delighted that it is on display for the first time in Sheffield."

Peake visited Germany during the year he composed the illustrations. During the visit he entered the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and witnessed the destruction caused by bombs – an experience which is said to have heavily influenced his illustrations.

Peake's son Sebastian, who opened the exhibition, said: "I'm sure that had my father been alive he would have been delighted to see his illustrations to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland displayed in such glorious surroundings.

"With ample space for each drawing to be seen as a separate work within the collection, each of the characters depicted can come to life, reminding the viewer that the basis of any interpretation is vision."

The show will run until Wednesday, September 29.