Dickens and His Illustrators Part 1

d.i.c.kens and His Ill.u.s.trators.

by Frederic G. Kitton.

PREFACE

In the matter of pictorial embellishment, the writings of Charles d.i.c.kens may be regarded as occupying a unique position. The original issues alone present a remarkable array of ill.u.s.trations; and when we remember the innumerable engravings specially prepared for subsequent editions, as well as for independent publication, we are fain to confess that, in this respect at least, the works of "Boz" take precedence of those of any other novelist. These designs, too, are of particular interest, inasmuch as they are representative of nearly every branch of the art of the book-ill.u.s.trator; both the pencil of the draughtsman and the needle of the etcher have been requisitioned, while the brush of the painter has depicted for us many striking scenes culled from the pages of d.i.c.kens.

The evolution of a successful picture, as exhibited by means of preparatory sketches, is eminently instructive to the student of Art.

The present volume should therefore appeal not merely to the d.i.c.kens Collector, but to all who appreciate the artistic value of tentative studies wrought for a special purpose. The absolute _facsimiles_, here given for the first time, enable us to obtain an insight into the methods adopted by the designers in developing their conceptions, those methods being further manifested by the aid of correspondence which, happily, is still extant.

Referring to d.i.c.kens's intercourse with his Ill.u.s.trators, Forster significantly observes that the artists certainly had not an easy time with him. The Novelist's requirements were exacting even beyond what is ordinary between author and ill.u.s.trator; for he was apt (as he himself admitted) "to build up temples in his mind not always makeable with hands." While resenting the notion that d.i.c.kens ever received from any artist "the inspiration he was always striving to give," his biographer a.s.sures us that, so far as the ill.u.s.trations are concerned, he had rarely anything but disappointments,--a declaration which apparently substantiates the statement (made on good authority) that the Novelist would have preferred his books to remain unadorned by the artist's pencil. That the vast majority of his readers approved of such embellishment cannot be questioned, for the genius of Cruikshank and "Phiz" has done much to impart reality to the persons imagined by d.i.c.kens. We are perhaps even more indebted to the excellent ill.u.s.trations than to the Author's descriptions for the ability to realise the outward presentments of Pickwick, f.a.gin, Micawber, and a host of other characters, simply because the material eye absorbs impressions more readily than the mental eye.

That d.i.c.kens's a.s.sociation with his Ill.u.s.trators was something more than mere coadjutors.h.i.+p is evidenced both in Forster's "Life" and in the published "Letters." From these sources we derive much information tending to prove the existence of a warm friends.h.i.+p subsisting between Author and Artists; indeed, the latter (with two or three exceptions) were privileged to enjoy the close personal intimacy of d.i.c.kens and his family circle. Recalling the fact that the Novelist not unfrequently availed himself of the traits and idiosyncrasies of his familiars, it seems somewhat strange that in the whole range of his creations we fail to discover a single attempt at the portraiture of an artist; for those _dilettanti_ wielders of the brush, Miss La Creevy and Henry Gowan, can scarcely be included under that denomination.

During the earlier part of this century the ill.u.s.trators of books seldom, if ever, resorted to the use of the living model. Such experts as Cruikshank, Seymour, "Phiz," Maclise, Doyle, and Leech were no exceptions to this rule; but at the beginning of the sixties there arose a new "school" of designers and draughtsmen, prominent among them being Leighton, Millais, Walker, and Sandys. Those popular Royal Academicians, Mr. Marcus Stone and Mr. Luke Fildes (the ill.u.s.trators respectively of "Our Mutual Friend" and "Edwin Drood"), are almost the only surviving members of that confraternity; they, however, speedily relinquished black-and-white Art in order to devote their attention to the more fascinating pursuit of painting. While admitting the technical superiority of many of the ill.u.s.trations in the later editions of d.i.c.kens's works (such as those by Frederick Barnard and Charles Green), the collector and bibliophile claim for the designs in the original issue an interest which is lacking in subsequent editions; that is to say, they possess the charm of a.s.sociation--a charm that far outweighs possible artistic defects and conventions; for, be it remembered, these designs were produced under the direct influence and authorisation of d.i.c.kens, and by artists who worked hand in hand with the great romancer himself.

It is averred that "Phiz," who rightly retains the _premier_ position among d.i.c.kens's Ill.u.s.trators, placed very little value upon his tentative drawings, which, as soon as they had served their purpose, were either thrown upon the fire or given away incontinently to those who had the foresight to ask for them. Fortunately, the recipients were discriminating enough to treasure these pencillings, many of them having since been transferred to the portfolios of collectors. For the privilege of reproducing interesting examples I am indebted to Her Grace the d.u.c.h.ess of St. Albans, Mr. J. F. Dexter, Mr. M. H. Spielmann, Mr.

W. H. Lever, Messrs. Robson & Co., the Committee of Nottingham Castle Museum, and others. I am especially grateful to Mr. Augustin Daly, of New York, for so generously permitting me to photograph the famous "Pickwick" drawings by Seymour, together with a hitherto unpublished portrait of that artist. The portrait of d.i.c.kens forming the frontispiece to this volume is reproduced from a unique impression of a very scarce lithograph in the possession of Mr. Stuart M. Samuel.

In order to give an effect of continuity to my Notes, I have lightly sketched the career of each Artist, introducing in chronological sequence the facts relating to his designs for d.i.c.kens. In several cases, the proof-sheets of these chapters have been revised by the representatives of the Artists to whom they refer, and for valued aid in this direction my cordial thanks are due to the Rev. A. J. Buss, Mr.

Field Stanfield, Mr. A. H. Palmer, and Mr. F. W. W. Topham. Those of d.i.c.kens's Ill.u.s.trators who are still with us have furnished me with much information, and have kindly expressed their approval of what I have written concerning them. I therefore avail myself of this opportunity of tendering my sincere thanks, for a.s.sistance thus rendered, to Mr. Marcus Stone, R.A., Mr. Luke Fildes, R.A., Mr. W. P. Frith, R.A., and Sir John Tenniel, R.I., whose mark of approbation naturally imparts a special value to the present record. I am still further indebted to Mr. Stone and Mr. Fildes for the loan of a number of their original drawings and sketches for d.i.c.kens, which have not hitherto been published.

Owing to the circ.u.mstance that many of the so-called "Extra"

Ill.u.s.trations are now extremely rare, my list of them could never have been compiled but for advantages afforded me by collectors, in allowing me to have access to their d.i.c.kensiana. The kind offices of Mr. W. R.

Hughes, Mr. Thomas Wilson, Mr. W. T. Pevier, and Mr. W. T. Spencer are gratefully acknowledged in this connection, as well as those of Mr.

Dudley Tenney of New York, who has rendered me signal service in respect of American Ill.u.s.trations.

To Forster's "Life of d.i.c.kens" and to the published "Letters" I am naturally beholden for information not otherwise procurable, while certain interesting details concerning "Phiz's" drawings and etchings are quoted from Mr. D. C. Thomson's "Life and Labours of Hablot K.

Browne," which is more extended in its general scope than my previously-issued Memoir of the artist.

I am privileged to a.s.sociate the names of Miss Hogarth and Mrs. Perugini with this account of Charles d.i.c.kens and his _collaborateurs_; to the former I am obliged for permission to print some of the Novelist's correspondence which has never previously been made public, while the latter has favoured me with the loan of photographic portraits. Finally, I must express my indebtedness for much valuable aid to George Cattermole's daughter, Mrs. Edward Franks, the "cousin" to whom the Novelist alluded in a letter to her father dated February 26, 1841, and to whose "clear blue eyes" he desired to be commended.

F. G. KITTON.

ST. ALBANS, _September 1898_.

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK

First Start in Life--Early Productions--"SKETCHES BY BOZ"--Introduction to d.i.c.kens--First and Second Series of the "Sketches"--Extra Plates--Additional Designs for the Complete Edition--Portraiture of Artist and Author--Historic Value of Cruikshank's Ill.u.s.trations--Some Slight Inaccuracies--Frontispiece of the First Cheap Edition--Tentative Sketches and Unused Designs--"OLIVER TWIST"--Incongruities Detected in a Few of the Plates--Thackeray's Eulogium--Working Tracings and Water-Colour _Replicas_--Trial Sketches--A Note from Cruikshank to d.i.c.kens--Sketches of Bill Sikes in the Condemned Cell--How the Design for "f.a.gin in the Condemned Cell" was Conceived--A Criticism by Ruskin--The Cancelled Plate--Cruikshank's Claim to the Origin of "Oliver Twist"--Designs for d.i.c.kens's Minor Writings in BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY--"The Lamplighter's Story"--Cruikshank's Last Ill.u.s.tration for d.i.c.kens--"Frauds on the Fairies"--The Artist's Remuneration--Death.

The name of George Cruikshank, which stands first in the long and imposing list of d.i.c.kens Ill.u.s.trators, is familiar to every one as that of a pencil humorist of no common calibre, whose genius as a designer and whose marvellous skill as an etcher have evoked enthusiastic praise from John Ruskin and other eminent critics. He undoubtedly inherited his artistic talent from his father, who was not only an etcher and engraver, but (as George himself has recorded) "a first-rate water-colour draughtsman." So experienced an artist was therefore thoroughly capable of training his sons, George and Isaac Robert, for the same profession.

Like most boys, George dreamt of the sea, aspiring to become a second Captain Cook; but, happily, the death of his father compelled him to take up seriously the work of designing, in order that he might a.s.sist in maintaining his mother and sister. His first start in life originated in a publisher seeing some of his sketches, which indicated such unusual talent that he was immediately engaged to ill.u.s.trate children's books, songs, and other cheap literature peculiar to the period. Then the young artist essayed the more profitable arena of political caricaturing, distinctly making his mark as a satirist Realising at this time his imperfections as a draughtsman, he determined to acquire the art of drawing with correctness, entering the Royal Academy as a student; but, finding it difficult to work on pedantic lines, his resolution soon waned, and, after one course of study, he left the place for a short interval of--forty years! Although he never became the learned artist, nor was able to draw with academic accuracy, he wielded his pencil with a facility and vigour that delighted all beholders, and this deftness, combined with a remarkable sense of humour and satire, speedily brought him commissions from every quarter.

It was as a book-ill.u.s.trator that George Cruikshank undoubtedly excelled, and some idea of his industry in this direction (during a period of eighty years of his busy life) may be obtained from G. C.

Reid's comprehensive catalogue of his works, where we find enumerated more than five thousand ill.u.s.trations on paper, wood, copper, and steel.

This, however, by no means exhausts the list, for the artist survived the publication of the catalogue several years, and was "in harness" to the end of his long career. If the works described by Mr. Reid be supplemented by the profusion of original sketches and ideas for his finished designs, the number of Cruikshank's productions may be estimated at about fifteen thousand!

Before his introduction to Charles d.i.c.kens in 1836, the versatile artist had adorned several volumes, which, but for his striking ill.u.s.trations, would probably have enjoyed but a brief popularity. His etchings and drawings on wood are invariably executed in an exceedingly delicate manner, at the same time preserving a breadth of effect unequalled by any _aquafortiste_ of his day. "Only those who know the difficulties of etching," observes Mr. P. G. Hamerton, "can appreciate the power that lies behind his unpretending skill; there is never, in his most admirable plates, the trace of a vain effort."

[Sidenote: =Sketches by Boz, 1833-36.=]

d.i.c.kens's clever descriptions of "every-day life and every-day people"

were originally printed in the _Monthly Magazine_, the _Evening Chronicle_ and the _Morning Chronicle_, _Bell's Life in London_, and "The Library of Fiction," and subsequently appeared in a collected form under the general t.i.tle of "Sketches by Boz." Early in 1836 d.i.c.kens sold the entire copyright of the "Sketches" to John Macrone, of St. James's Square, who published a selection therefrom in two duodecimo volumes, with ill.u.s.trations by George Cruikshank. It was at this time that Charles d.i.c.kens first met the artist, who was his senior by about a score of years, and already in the enjoyment of an established reputation as a book-ill.u.s.trator. That the youthful author, as well as his publisher, realised the value of Cruikshank's co-operation is manifested in the Preface to the "Sketches," where d.i.c.kens, after appropriately comparing the issue of his first book to the launching of a pilot balloon, observes: "Unlike the generality of pilot balloons which carry no car, in this one it is very possible for a man to embark, not only himself, but all his hopes of future fame, and all his chances of future success. Entertaining no inconsiderable feeling of trepidation at the idea of making so perilous a voyage in so frail a machine, alone and unaccompanied, the author was naturally desirous to secure the a.s.sistance and companions.h.i.+p of some well-known individual, who had frequently contributed to the success, though his well-known reputation rendered it impossible for him ever to have shared the hazard, of similar undertakings. To whom, as possessing this requisite in an eminent degree, could he apply but to George Cruikshank? The application was readily heard and at once acceded to; this is their first voyage in company, but it may not be the last." Each of the two volumes contains eight ill.u.s.trations, and it may justly be said of these little vignettes that they are among the artist's most successful efforts with the needle. Although highly popular from the beginning, the "Sketches" were now received with even greater fervour, and several editions were speedily called for. As the late Mr. G. A. Sala contended, the coadjutors.h.i.+p of so experienced a draughtsman as George Cruikshank, who knew London and London life "better than the majority of Sunday-school children know their Catechism," was of real importance to the young reporter of the _Morning Chronicle_, with whose baptismal name (be it remembered) his readers and admirers were as yet unacquainted.

During the following year (1837) Macrone published a Second Series of the "Sketches" in one volume, uniform in size and character with its predecessors, and containing ten etchings by Cruikshank; for the second edition of this extra volume two additional ill.u.s.trations were done, viz., "The Last Cab-Driver" and "May-day in the Evening."[1] It was at this time that d.i.c.kens repurchased from Macrone the entire copyright of the "Sketches," and arranged with Chapman & Hall for a complete edition, to be issued in s.h.i.+lling monthly parts, octavo size, the first number appearing in November of that year. The completed work contained all the Cruikshank plates (except that ent.i.tled "The Free and Easy," which, for some unexplained reason, was cancelled) and the following new subjects: "The Parish Engine," "The Broker's Man," "Our Next-door Neighbours,"

"Early Coaches," "Public Dinners," "The Gin-Shop," "Making a Night of It," "The Boarding-House," "The Tuggses at Ramsgate," "The Steam Excursion," "Mrs. Joseph Porter," and "Mr. Watkins Tottle."

Footnote 1: A set of the twenty-eight etchings, proofs before letters (First and Second Series), realised 30 at Sotheby's in 1889. Lithographic _replicas_ of the plates in the Second Series were published in Calcutta in 1837.

Cruikshank also produced a design for the pink wrapper enclosing each of the twenty monthly parts; this was engraved on wood by John Jackson, the original drawing (adapted from one the artist had previously made for Macrone) being now in the possession of Mr. William Wright, of Paris.

The subject of the frontispiece is the same as that of the t.i.tle-page in the Second Series. The alteration in the size of the ill.u.s.trations for this cheap edition necessitated larger plates, so that the artist was compelled to re-etch his designs. These reproductions, although on an extended scale, were executed with even a greater degree of finish, and contain more "colour" than those in the first issue; but the general treatment of the smaller etchings is more pleasing by reason of the superior freedom of line therein displayed. As might be antic.i.p.ated, a comparison of the two sets of ill.u.s.trations discloses certain slight variations, which are especially noticeable in the following plates: "Greenwich Fair;" musicians and male dancer added on left. "Election for Beadle;" three more children belonging to Mr. Bung's family on right, and two more of Mr. Spruggins's family on left, thus making up the full complement in each case. "The First of May"

(originally ent.i.tled "May-day in the Evening"); the drummer on the left, in the first edition, looks straight before him, while in the octavo edition he turns his face towards the girl with the parasol. "London Recreations;" in the larger design the small child on the right is stooping to reach a ball, which is not shown in the earlier plate.

PLATE III

"JEMIMA EVANS"

_Facsimile_ of Unused Designs for "Sketches by Boz" by

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Additional interest is imparted to some of the etchings in "Sketches by Boz" owing to the introduction by the artist of portraits of Charles d.i.c.kens and himself, there being no less than five delineations of the face and figure of the youthful "Boz" as he then appeared. In the t.i.tle-page of the Second Series (as well as in the reproduction of it in the octavo edition), the ident.i.ty of the two individuals waving flags in the car of the balloon has been pointed out by Cruikshank, who wrote on the original pencil-sketch, "The parties going up in the balloon are intended for the author and the artist,"--which may be considered a necessary explanation, as the likenesses are not very apparent.

In the plates ent.i.tled "Early Coaches," "A Pickpocket in Custody," and "Making a Night of It," Cruikshank has similarly attempted to portray his own lineaments and those of d.i.c.kens; he was more successful, however, in the ill.u.s.tration to "Public Dinners," where the presentments of himself and the novelist, as stewards carrying official wands, are more life-like. There exist, by the way, several seriously-attempted portraits of d.i.c.kens by Cruikshank, concerning the earliest of which it is related that author and artist were members of a club of literary men known during its brief existence as "The Hook and Eye Club," and that at one of their nightly meetings d.i.c.kens was seated in an arm-chair conversing, when Cruikshank exclaimed, "Sit still, Charley, while I take your portrait!" This impromptu sketch, now the property of Colonel Hamilton, has been etched by F. W. Pailthorpe, and a similar drawing is included in the Cruikshank Collection at South Kensington. Among other contemporary portrait-studies (executed in pencil and slightly tinted in colour) is one bearing the following inscription in the artist's autograph: "Charles d.i.c.kens, Author of Sketches by Boz, the Pickwick Papers, &c., &c., &c.,"--an admission that seems to dispose of Cruikshank's subsequent claim to the authors.h.i.+p of "Pickwick."

PLATE IV

"THE FOUR MISS WILLISES"

_Facsimile_ of an Unused Design for "Sketches by Boz" by

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK