Chapter I: Illustrators of Cheap Editions 219 (4)

In 1836, as soon as Dickens terminated his connection with the Reporters' Gallery in the House of Commons, he was induced to take a considerable interest in the then newly-erected St. James's Theatre, and even essayed to write for his friend J. P. Harley ("as a practical joke," he afterwards explained) a comic burletta called "The Strange Gentleman," which was adapted from "The Great Winglebury Duel" in "Sketches by Boz." The little farce was published by Chapman & Hall during the following year with a frontispiece by "Phiz," the subject of the plate being suggested by the concluding scene, where the Strange Gentleman proposes marriage to Julia Dobbs; the two seated figures are vigorously drawn, and on a larger scale than those in the "Pickwick" designs. "The Strange Gentleman" is perhaps the rarest of Dickens's writings, and the extraordinary sum of £45 was realised at Sotheby's in August 1892 for an exceptionally fine copy. It has since been beautifully reprinted in _facsimile_, with a new frontispiece etched by F. W. Pailthorpe.

[Sidenote: =Sketches of Young Gentlemen, 1838.=]

In the same year Chapman & Hall published a booklet (anonymously written by E. Caswell) entitled "Sketches of Young Ladies," by "Quiz," with six etchings by "Phiz," the author of which was erroneously believed to be Charles Dickens, whose literary style it somewhat resembled. The "Young Ladies" being referred to here in a rather ungallant fashion, Dickens essayed (as a kind of protest) a similar work, in which he pokes fun at the idiosyncrasies of youths of the sterner sex. Like its predecessor, the "Sketches of Young Gentlemen" were written anonymously, and similarly contained six etched illustrations by "Phiz."

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =Sketches of Young Couples, 1840.=]

In 1840 there appeared a third booklet, entitled "Sketches of Young Couples;" of this Dickens was also the unavowed author, while "Phiz" contributed the usual six etchings. In the third of these designs (only two of which are signed) we are reminded of his presentment of the Kenwigses in "Nicholas Nickleby," the illustrations for which story were then occupying the artist's attention. These little productions were issued in green paper covers, decorated with designs by "Phiz."

The sets of six original drawings for "Sketches of Young Ladies" and "Sketches of Young Gentlemen" realised £40 and £39 respectively at Sotheby's in 1897.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =Nicholas Nickleby, 1838-39.=]

In the advertisement announcing the publication of "Nicholas Nickleby," it was stated that each monthly part would be "embellished with two illustrations by 'Phiz'." This is not strictly accurate, for to the twenty parts the artist contributed but thirty-nine plates, the full complement, however, being made up with a portrait of the author (as the frontispiece), engraved by Finden from the painting by D. Maclise, A.R.A.

The most interesting of the "Nickleby" plates are undoubtedly those depicting scenes at Dotheboys Hall, that representing Squeers at the Saracen's Head containing the most familiar presentment of its amiable proprietor. Thus, as he stood mending his pen, the novelist and artist saw the living prototype, and had taken mental notes of the odd figure, who, as will presently be related, was among the several schoolmasters they interviewed.[23]

Footnote 23: Among the few drawings executed by "Phiz" for
_Punch_, there is a representation of an orthodox
pettifogging attorney perched upon a stool, whose portrait is
that of the very Squeers. It constitutes one of a series of
"_Punch's_ Valentines," and was published in the second
volume, 1842.

It was the novelist's intention to expose in this story the terrible abuses practised in the cheap boarding-schools of Yorkshire, and, in order that he might realise their true character, he determined to investigate for himself the real facts as to the condition of those notorious seminaries. Accordingly, at the end of January 1838, he and "Phiz" started on this memorable journey, in bitterly cold weather, and, visiting several schools in the locality, they came into direct contact with the proprietors. One of these was William Shaw, the identical schoolmaster who, some years previously, had been heavily fined for what was represented at the trial as gross maltreatment of his pupils. According to the following entry in the novelist's private diary (under date February 2, 1838), there can be no doubt that he had this individual principally in his mind when delineating the infamous Squeers:--"Mem.--Shaw, the schoolmaster we saw to-day, is the man in whose school several boys went blind some time since from gross neglect. The case was tried, and the verdict went against him. It must have been between 1823 and 1826. Look this out in the newspapers." Mr. Lloyd, a well-known Glasgow comedian, who spent twelve months in Shaw's school at Bowes, Yorkshire, afterwards testified to the truth of the _outward_ appearance of the man as described by Dickens and portrayed by the artist in the pages of the novel, "allowing, of course, for both being greatly exaggerated. A sharp, thin, upright little man, with a slight scale covering the pupil of one of his eyes. Yes, there he stands, with his Wellington boots and short black trousers, not originally cut too short, but from a habit he had of sitting with one knee over the other, and the trousers being tight, they would get 'rucked' half-way up the boots. Then, the clean white vest, swallow-tailed black coat, white necktie, silver-mounted spectacles, close-cut iron-grey hair, high-crowned hat worn slightly at the back of his head--and there you have the man." It certainly seems remarkable that Mr. Lloyd and others who knew Shaw recollect him as a most worthy and kind-hearted gentleman, but this perhaps is explained by certain facts concerning him and his school that were published in the _Athenæum_, February 1894, together with a commentary upon a reprint of the trial in which he was the defendant.

It is a curious fact that several Yorkshire schoolmasters actually claimed to be the prototype of Squeers; indeed, a member of the fraternity (probably Shaw himself) declared that he remembered being waited on by two gentlemen, one of whom held him in conversation while the other took his likeness; "and although" (says the author in his preface to the story) "Mr. Squeers has but one eye, and he has two, and the published sketch does not resemble him (whoever he may be) in any other respect, still he and all his friends know at once for whom it is meant, because the character is _so_ like him." I think there can be no doubt that both Dickens and "Phiz," when delineating Squeers, reproduced too closely the idiosyncrasies of one individual, and that the author's description, as well as the artist's presentment, bore so obvious a likeness to Shaw, that he became the scapegoat for others worse than himself, and suffered accordingly.

PLATE XXXII

"THE DOMBEY FAMILY"

_Facsimile_ of the First Study for the Etching by

H. K. BROWNE ("PHIZ")

The "Query" written beneath the Drawing is in the autograph of the Artist. It was addressed to Dickens, and reads as follows:--"_Qy._ Whether 'twere better to have him standing thus, stiff as a poker, with a kind of side glance at his daughter,--or sitting, as in the other?" The Etching differs considerably from the Drawing.

_Lent by Mr. J. F. Dexter._

In some of the etchings may be discovered slight incongruities (as, for example, in the first plate, where Ralph Nickleby's hat is too small for his head), while in others there is a palpable touch of exaggeration. In the illustration, "The Country Manager Rehearses a Combat," the artist has omitted to introduce the figure of the landlord who ushered into the managerial presence Nicholas and Smike, and the broad-swords should have been basket-hilted weapons. In the etching, where Nicholas instructs Smike in the art of acting, Nicholas wears the rapier on the wrong side, this oversight doubtless resulting from the non-reversal of the design upon the plate. The "Nickleby" illustrations are, as a whole, very successful; in many instances the expressions are capitally rendered, although it is to be regretted that the artist did but scant justice to the physical attractions of Kate Nickleby and Madeline Bray.

There were sixty-three quarto plates etched for the thirty-nine illustrations in the story, each plate carrying two designs; some of these were etched three times, while in seven instances the quarto plate was reproduced no less than four times. In none of these duplicated plates will be found such marked variations in detail as may be noted in the _replicas_ of the "Pickwick" designs, so that the collector need only seek for well-printed impressions.[24]

Footnote 24: The "Nickleby" plates were copied by J. Yeager
for the first American edition of the story.

All the original drawings for "Nickleby," with one exception, are still in existence; they were disposed of on July 16, 1880, in Robinson & Fisher's auction-rooms, when they realised in the aggregate rather more than a hundred pounds. The missing design is that depicting Nicholas in his capacity as tutor in the Kenwigs family. These drawings are executed in pencil and wash, some being especially valuable by reason of marginal notes in the autograph of the novelist. At the top of the original sketch for "A Sudden Recognition, Unexpected on Both Sides" (kindly lent by Mr. M. H. Spielmann for reproduction), Dickens has pencilled a note to the artist, a portion of which (that within the brackets) has been cut away: "I don't think that Smike is frightened enough [or that Squeers is] earnest enough, for my purpose,"--a criticism which was apparently not productive of much alteration in the direction indicated, unless effected in the sketch before the subject was etched.

The late Mr. F. W. Cosens, who possessed several preliminary studies of the Kenwigs children, had in his collection a note from Dickens giving minute instructions to "Phiz" respecting the design for the plate entitled "Great Excitement of Miss Kenwigs at the Hairdresser's Shop." The novelist desired his illustrator to depict "a hairdresser's shop at night--not a dashing one, but a barber's. Morleena Kenwigs on a tall chair, having her hair dressed by an under-bred attendant, with her hair parted down the middle and frizzed up into curls at the sides. Another customer, who is being shaved, has just turned his head in the direction of Miss Kenwigs, and she and Newman Noggs (who has brought her there, and has been whiling away the time with an old newspaper) recognise, with manifestations of surprise, and Morleena with emotion, Mr. Lillivick, the collector. Mr. Lillivick's bristly beard expresses great neglect of his person, and he looks very grim and in the utmost despondency."

The original drawing for "Nicholas Starts for Yorkshire" presents several important variations from the published plate, the positions of the figures being considerably altered, the most remarkable differences being that Ralph Nickleby and Squeers in the sketch are placed on the side opposite the coach and more in the background, the coachman reading the way-bill is transferred to the spot where Squeers now stands, while there is another coachman looking over his shoulder, who is omitted in the etching; the coachman with the whip (as seen in the plate) was not introduced in the sketch. For the monthly parts "Phiz" designed a pictorial wrapper; on either side of this wood-engraving is a corpulent figure mounted on tall stilts, surmounted by an allegorical scene typifying Justice, with cornucopia, &c., and below is seen the culprit Squeers wading through a river, guided by imps carrying lanterns.

For the two volumes of the Library Edition of "Nicholas Nickleby" (1858-59) "Phiz" prepared small designs, delicately tinted in water-colours, which were engraved on steel as vignettes for the title-pages; the subjects represented are "The Nickleby Family" and "The Mad Gentleman and Mrs. Nickleby," the original drawings realising £14 each at Sotheby's in 1889.

HABLÔT K. BROWNE ("PHIZ")

II

"MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK"--A Quaint Advertisement--Woodcuts
instead of Etchings--"Phiz's" Contributions--Instances of
his Exaggerated Grotesqueness--Mr. Frederic Harrison's
Comment--A Powerful Design--Illustrations in "The Old
Curiosity Shop" Criticised--Ruskin's Attack upon the Designs
in "Barnaby Rudge"--His Admiration of the Woodcut of
"Barnaby and Grip"--"Phiz's" Frontispieces--His Letter to
Dickens--An Amusing Epistle from Dickens to his Publisher--A
"Clock Dinner"--Original Drawing of Master Humphrey and the
Deaf Gentleman--Frontispiece for the First Cheap Edition of
"Barnaby Rudge"--Vignettes for the Library Edition--New
Designs for "Master Humphrey's Clock"--Portraits of Dolly
Varden, Little Nell, and Barbara--Sale of Water-Colour
Drawings--"MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT"--The Illustrations
Characterised--How they were Prepared--Slight Errors by
"Phiz"--The Original Drawings--Minute Instructions from
Dickens to the Artist--A Humorous Rejoinder--Sale of the
"Chuzzlewit" Designs--Vignettes for the Library
Edition--"DOMBEY AND SON"--The Plates Etched in
Duplicate--Introduction of the Oblong Form of Illustration--Method
of Obtaining _Chiaroscuro_--Some Anomalies in the Etchings--Working
under Difficulties--Dickens's Anxiety Respecting the
Designs--Studies for Mr. Dombey--A Letter of Instructions--Hints
to the Artist--Dickens Disappointed--The Etching of "Mrs.
Pipchin and Paul"--"Doctor Blimber's Young Gentlemen"--A Remarkable
Oversight--Explicit Directions from Dickens to "Phiz"--Original
Drawings for "Dombey and Son"--Slight Variations from the
Etchings--"Dombey" Sketches Presented to Dickens--A Portrait
of Little Paul--Pictorial Wrapper--Extra Plates--Criticism by
Dickens--Portraits of Alice and Florence Dombey--Frontispiece
for the First Cheap Edition--Vignettes for the Library Edition.

[Sidenote: =Master Humphrey's Clock, 1840-41.=]

Charles Dickens's next work, entitled "Master Humphrey's Clock," which comprises "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge," was first issued in weekly instalments, as well as the customary monthly parts, the new venture being thus announced: "Now wound up and going, preparatory to its striking on Saturday, the 28th March, Master Humphrey's Clock, Maker's name--'Boz.' The Figures and Hands by George Cattermole, Esq. and 'Phiz.'" A novel feature of this undertaking was the illustrations, which were not etched as hitherto, but engraved on wood and dropped into the text, the total number of designs being one hundred and ninety-four, including three frontispieces and twenty-four initials. Of these "Phiz" produced by far the greater proportion, he being responsible for no less than a hundred and fifty-three, including two frontispieces and all the initials; the subjects of many of the latter, by the way, have no connection with the letterpress. Some of the drawings are unsigned, while others have appended to them the artist's initials or monogram, occasionally reversed. At this time "Phiz" was almost as anonymous as "Boz," but when "Master Humphrey's Clock" ultimately appeared in volume form, his identity was fully established on the title-page as "Hablôt Browne." The result of a careful analysis of the illustrations discloses the fact that "Phiz" produced sixty-one for "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge" respectively, and seven for the miscellaneous papers relating to "The Clock," exclusive of the initials. The greater number of figure-pieces fell to his pencil, while the architectural subjects were entrusted to his coadjutor, George Cattermole.

PLATE XXXIII

"PAUL AND MRS. PIPCHIN"

_Facsimile_ of the Original Sketch for "Dombey and Son" by

H. K. BROWNE ("PHIZ")

A subsequent and more complete Drawing of this subject is included in the Duchess of St. Albans' Collection.

_Lent by Mr. J. F. Dexter._

In many of the drawings (admirably engraved by S. Williams, Landells, Gray, and Vasey) Browne hardly did himself justice, their exaggerated grotesqueness tending to deprive these little pictorial compositions of much of their artistic value. Observe, for example, the repulsive features of Kit, his mother, and the child in the tenth chapter of "The Old Curiosity Shop," and note how positively diabolical are his representations of Sampson Brass and his sister, and of Dick Swiveller. It is difficult to believe that the terrible-looking creature intended for the Marchioness, in the fifty-seventh and sixty-fifth chapters, would ever have developed into a "good-looking" girl, as she really did, according to the text. It is probably such unpleasing illustrations as these which induced Mr. Frederic Harrison in _The Forum_ to condemn, with exceeding severity, the artist's propensity for caricature; "the grins, the grimaces, the contortions, the dwarfs, the idiots, the monstrosities of these wonderful sketches could not be found in human beings constructed on any known anatomy." Other woodcuts are of course excellent, especially those in which Mr. Pickwick and the Wellers are resuscitated. One of the most striking, however, is the weird water-scape showing the corpse of Quilp washed ashore--a vista of riparian scenery which, for the sense of desolate breadth and loneliness it suggests, it would be difficult to excel. An illustration deserving special examination is the tailpiece for the chapter immediately following the end of "The Old Curiosity Shop," where the artist has depicted Master Humphrey in his arm-chair, surrounded by Lilliputian figures, among which may be recognised some of the principal actors in the story.

A careful comparison of the illustrations with the text of "The Old Curiosity Shop" reveals certain slight inaccuracies on the part of the artist. For example, in the twenty-seventh chapter we read that Quilp leant upon his stick as he beckoned to the boy carrying his trunk, whereas "Phiz" depicts him raising the stick. In the woodcut portraying Kit and his party at Astley's Theatre, the umbrella should be held by Barbara's mother, and not Kit's. Again, in a subsequent chapter, we are told that Sampson Brass's hat was "grievously crushed," but "Phiz" has represented it with the crown suspended by a single thread,--a striking instance of his tendency to exaggeration. The careful reader will also note (in the seventeenth chapter) that the stilt on the right leg of the "young gentleman" in "Grinder's lot" is at least twelve inches shorter than its fellow, and that Mrs. Jarley's horse (in the twenty-sixth chapter) is considerably out of proportion with its surroundings; the caravan, too, is incorrectly drawn, and Mrs. Jarley with the drum should have been placed upon the platform of the van. The inherent humour of "Phiz" was often _àpropos_, an amusing instance being discoverable in the illustration of Miss Monflathers and her young ladies (in the thirty-first chapter), where the inscription on the board above the wall reads, "Take notice--Man traps."

Although the designs in "Barnaby Rudge" are not entirely exempt from the charge of exaggeration, they are, on the whole, more pleasing. The artist seems to have fairly revelled in the scenes depicting the rioters, and, while failing in his conception of Sir John Chester, he successfully realised the more picturesque figures of Barnaby and Maypole Hugh, the latter being admirably limned. Professor Ruskin, however, in his "Ariadne Florentina," denounces these woodcuts in language more caustic even than that of Mr. Frederic Harrison: "Take up," he says, "for an average specimen of modern illustrated works, the volume of Dickens's 'Master Humphrey's Clock' containing 'Barnaby Rudge.'... The cheap popular Art cannot draw for you beauty, sense, or honesty; and for Dolly Varden, or the locksmith, you will look through the vignettes in vain. But every species of distorted folly or vice ... are pictured for your honourable pleasure on every page, with clumsy caricature, struggling to render its dulness tolerable by insisting on defect." The drawing of Barnaby and the Raven (the final illustration in the second volume) is one of the few the author of this pungent criticism can bring himself to admire. "The raven," he observes, "like all Dickens's animals, is perfect; and I am the more angry with the rest because I have every now and then to open the book to look for him." Respecting these woodcuts, it may be pointed out that Dickens omitted to mention which arm Joe Willet was deprived of "in the defence of the Salwanners." Curiously enough, "Phiz" similarly fails to assist us in deciding the point, as, in the illustrations depicting him after the war, he is seen _minus_ the right arm in four instances, while in another woodcut it is the left which has disappeared.

The frontispieces designed by Browne for the second and third volumes are both elaborate and fanciful. In the first is seen an enormous hour-glass containing a crowd composed of some of the minor characters in the story, while surrounding it are representations of the more prominent persons. It was originally intended that George Cattermole should execute this drawing, but, being prevented by illness, it fell into the hands of "Phiz," who thereupon wrote to the novelist:--

"_Sunday Morning._

"MY DEAR DICKENS,--Will you give me some notion of what sort
of design you wish for the Frontispiece for second volume of
_Clock_? Cattermole being put _hors de combat_--Chapman with
a careworn face (if you can picture that) brings me the
block at the eleventh hour and requires it finished by
Wednesday. Now, as I have two others to complete in the
meantime, something nice and _light_ would be best adapted
to my _palette_, and prevent an excess of perspiration in
the relays of wood-cutters. You shall have the others to
criticise on Tuesday.--Yours very truly,

"HABLÔT K. BROWNE."

In the frontispiece to the third volume is portrayed an ornamental clock, at the summit of which is seated Master Humphrey, while on either side and at the base are introduced the presentments of Barnaby with his raven and other individuals in the tale. "Phiz" was also responsible for the elaborate design on the wrapper of the weekly numbers.

The following amusing epistle, having reference to the initial letter drawn by "Phiz" for the sixty-fifth chapter, was addressed by Dickens to a member of his publishing firm, Edward Chapman, the "precipice" here mentioned being a humorous allusion to the latter's approaching marriage:--

"BROADSTAIRS, _Thursday, 16th September 1841_.

"MY DEAR SIR,--Know for your utter confusion, and to your
lasting shame and ignominy, that the initial letter HAS BEEN
provided, that it was furnished to the artist at the same
time as the subject--and that it is a

D

"--which stands for
Double--Demnible--Doubtful--Dangerous--Doleful--Disastrous--Dreadful
--Deuced--Dark--Divorce--and Drop--all applicable to the Precipice
on which you stand.

"Farewell! If you did but know--and would pause, even at
this late period--better an action for breach than--but we
buy experience. Excuse my agitation. I scarcely know what I
write. To see a fellow-creature--and one who has so long
withstood--still if--will _nothing_ warn you?

"In extreme excitement
C. D.
"My hand fails me.
"P.S.--PAUSE
PUT IT OFF
"P.P.S.--EMIGRATE
"P.P.P.S.--AND LEAVE ME
THE BUSINESS--
I MEAN THE STRAND ONE."

On the conclusion of the second volume of "Master Humphrey's Clock," a dinner was given by Dickens to celebrate the event. Serjeant Talfourd presided, and the guests included those engaged in the production of the work. "Phiz," in accepting the invitation to be present, wrote as follows:--

33 HOWLAND STREET [1841].

"MY DEAR DICKENS,--I shall be most happy to remember not to
forget the 10th April, and let me express a _dis_interested
wish that, having completed and established one 'Shop' in an
'extensive line of business,' you will go on increasing and
multiplying suchlike establishments in number and prosperity
till you become a Dick Whittington of a merchant, with
pockets distended to most Brobdignag dimensions.--Believe
me, yours very truly,

"HABLÔT K. BROWNE.."

PLATE XXXIV

"MR. PEGGOTTY'S DREAM COMES TRUE"

_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing for "David Copperfield" by

H. K. BROWNE ("PHIZ")

In the published version the figure of Rosa Dartle (on the left) is omitted, and David's hat is placed upon the table.

_Lent by Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans._

Through the courtesy of Mr. J. F. Dexter, I am enabled to reproduce in _facsimile_ one of the original designs for "Master Humphrey's Clock," depicting Master Humphrey and the Deaf Gentleman. This drawing, executed in pencil, differs slightly from the engraving; underneath it Dickens has written, "Master Humphrey ADMIRABLE. Could his stick (with a crooked top) be near his chair? I misdoubt the deaf gentleman's pipe, and wish he could have a better one."

To the first cheap edition of "Barnaby Rudge," 1849, "Phiz" contributed the frontispiece,--a drawing on wood (engraved by W. T. Green) representing Dolly Varden, with Hugh hiding in the bushes. In the Library Edition (1858-59) the stories were published independently, each in two volumes, with pretty vignettes on the title-pages, specially designed by the same artist and engraved on steel. The original drawings were delicately tinted in water-colours, the subjects being Little Nell and her Grandfather, Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness, Dolly Varden and Joe Willet, Barnaby and Hugh. In these engravings the female characters are much more charmingly conceived than are those in the woodcuts.

In 1848, when the first cheap edition of the story appeared, Hablôt Browne made four new designs as "Extra Illustrations" for "The Old Curiosity Shop," viz., Little Nell and her Grandfather, the Marchioness, Barbara, and the Death of Little Nell. They were beautifully engraved in stipple, and issued as an independent publication by the artist and his coadjutor, Robert Young, whose joint venture it was. In the following year they produced a similar set of four plates illustrating "Barnaby Rudge," viz., Emma Haredale, Dolly Varden, Mrs. Varden and Miggs, and Hugh and Barnaby. The portraits of the various characters were engraved by Edwards and Knight, under the superintendence of Browne and Young. The original drawing of Dolly Varden, one of "Phiz's" happiest conceptions, is in the possession of Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans, together with an unengraved study for Emma Haredale. There are extant, in Mr. J. F. Dexter's collection, two other studies for the Dolly Varden plate, neither of which has been reproduced; the same gentleman also owns the drawings of Nell and Barbara, the latter being slightly different from, and superior to, the engraving.

A complete series of original water-colour drawings by "Phiz" for "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge," including an unused design for a tailpiece, were sold at Sotheby's in 1897, and realised £610. These drawings were executed as a commission for Mr. F. W. Cosens.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =Martin Chuzzlewit, 1843-44.=]

Browne's versatile pencil was again actively employed in embellishing the story begun by Dickens soon after his return from America in 1842, and to this he contributed forty etchings. Here the figures are drawn on a larger scale than usual, thus affording more scope for the delineation of character.

The frontispiece is a most elaborate design, representing the principal characters and incidents in the story, with Tom Pinch at the organ as a central idea. In the illustration where Mark Tapley is seen starting from his native village for London, "Phiz" exhibits his sense of the picturesque in the old gables and dormers of the ancient tenements in the background, while that depicting "Mr. Pecksniff on his Mission" is an excellent verisimilitude of such a locality as Kingsgate Street of fifty years since. But the etching in "Chuzzlewit" which may be described as the artist's happiest effort as a comic creation is that where Mrs. Gamp "propoges" a toast. Here he has admirably illustrated the text,--the two midwives in friendly chat, surrounded by bandboxes and other accessories, while behind are seen the immortal Sarah's rusty gowns, which, depending from the bedposts, "had so adapted themselves by long usage to her figure, that more than one impatient husband, coming in precipitately at about the time of twilight, had been for an instant stricken dumb by the supposed discovery that Mrs. Gamp had hanged herself."

All the designs for "Martin Chuzzlewit" were etched on quarto plates, two on each plate. Five of these plates were etched three times, these including, besides the frontispiece and vignette title, the first six illustrations in the book, and two which appeared in the fourteenth number, viz., "Mr. Pinch Departs to Seek his Fortune," and "Mr. Nadgett Breathes, as Usual, an Atmosphere of Mystery." A careful examination of different copies of the first edition will disclose minute variations in these particular illustrations, worthy of special mention being the vignette title, where, in the earliest impressions, the £ mark is incorrectly placed after the figures in the amount of reward on the bill.

In the majority of the "Chuzzlewit" etchings there is a vigour and precision of touch indicating the artist's riper experience. It must, however, be admitted that a few of the plates are so feeble in execution in comparison with the rest as to suggest that "Phiz's" drawings were copied on the plate by a less expert etcher. An instance of this poverty of execution will be found in the first design, depicting "The Meekness of Mr. Pecksniff and his Charming Daughters," and the fact that this plate is unsigned seems significant; in reply to my enquiry respecting it, Mr. Robert Young assured me that "no one ever copied or etched plates for Browne; he traced the subject on the steel himself, and etched every line before it was bitten in. I know no reason for the omission of his signature to any of his plates."

In a few instances the artist has not strictly followed the text. For example, in the plate where Mr. Pecksniff calls upon Mrs. Gamp, the pie-shop is placed next door, whereas it is clearly described as being next door _but one_. In the etching of Mark Tapley "finding a jolly subject for contemplation," instead of Mark's name being inscribed in full upon the "Rowdy Journal" door, his initials only should appear, "in letters nearly half a foot long, together with the day of the month in smaller type;" the four horses harnessed to the coach in which Tom Pinch departs to seek his fortune ("Phiz's" horses, by the way, are always well drawn) are described as "greys," while in the plate only one is thus represented. Such discrepancies, however, although interesting to note, are unimportant. As usual, we find in the accessories (such as the titles of books and pictures) sly touches of humour peculiarly _àpropos_ of the principal theme. "Phiz's" design for the wrapper of the monthly parts is emblematical of the story; here "silver spoons" and "wooden ladles," as embodied in the original title, play a conspicuous part.

The "Chuzzlewit" drawings, all of which have been preserved, are executed in pencil, some having washes of neutral tint. They vary but slightly from the etchings, the greatest differences being noted in the first two designs, this doubtless arising from the difficulty experienced by the artist in immediately seizing the author's meaning. In one special instance Dickens favoured his illustrator with very precise instructions. Respecting the American scenes, the artist desired more details than usual, so he received from the novelist the following letter (now in Mr. J. F. Dexter's collection), giving particulars for the plate representing "The Thriving City of Eden, as it appeared in Fact."

"Martin and Mark are displayed as the tenants of a wretched log hut (for a pattern whereof see a vignette brought by Chapman & Hall) in a perfectly flat, swampy, wretched forest of stunted timber in every stage of decay, with a filthy river running before the door, and some other miserable log houses distributed among the trees, whereof the most ruinous and tumble-down of all is labelled 'Bank and National Credit Office.' Outside their door, as the custom is, is a rough sort of form or dresser, on which are set forth their pot and kettle and so forth, all of the commonest kind. On the outside of the house, at one side of the door, is a written placard, 'Chuzzlewit and Co., Architects and Surveyors,' and upon a stump of tree, like a butcher's block, before the cabin, are Martin's instruments--a pair of rusty compasses, &c. On a three-legged stool beside this block sits Martin in his shirt sleeves, with long dishevelled hair, resting his head upon his hands--the picture of hopeless misery--watching the river and sadly remembering that it flows towards home. But Mr. Tapley, up to his knees in filth and brushwood, and in the act of endeavouring to perform some impossibilities with a hatchet, looks towards him with a face of unimpaired good humour, and declares himself perfectly jolly. Mark, the only redeeming feature. Everything else dull, miserable, squalid, unhealthy, and utterly devoid of hope--diseased, starved, and abject. The weather is intensely hot, and they are but partially clothed."

The artist, naturally bewildered by such elaborate directions, has written underneath this note: "I can't get all this perspective in, unless you will allow of a long subject--something less than a mile!"

For the plate, "Martin Chuzzlewit Suspects the Landlady," two drawings were prepared, but the second was probably only to guide the biter-in of the steel as to the effect of light and shade required; for it occasionally happened that "Phiz" had not time to give verbal instructions to his assistant, when he would send a rough indication of what was needed in the matter of _chiaroscuro_. In the original drawing representing "The Meekness of Mr. Pecksniff and his Charming Daughters," the figure of Tom Pinch differs from the plate, and shows signs of having been quickly sketched in, as though the first idea was not to introduce him at all; in a second delineation of the same subject this figure is limned with greater care.

The original designs for "Chuzzlewit" were disposed of at Sotheby's in 1889 for £433, 13s., the beautifully-finished drawing of the frontispiece realising £35, while that of "Mrs. Gamp 'Propoges' a Toast," rightly considered as one of the artist's _chef-d'oeuvres_, was purchased for £35, 10s.

To the Library Edition (1858-59) "Phiz" contributed a vignette for the title-page of each of the two volumes of "Martin Chuzzlewit," which were engraved on steel from the original water-colour drawings. The subject of the first design is almost a repetition of the etching in the original issue, and depicts the "Meekness of Mr. Pecksniff and his Charming Daughters," the ladies being certainly more attractive in the later conception. In the second vignette we see Mrs. Gamp and Betsy Prig, at the moment when the latter, in her wrath, denied the existence of the memorable Mrs. Harris.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =Dombey and Son, 1846-48.=]

Among the forty illustrations prepared by "Phiz" for "Dombey and Son" will be found some of the artist's happiest efforts. By this time his experience with the etching-needle enabled him to execute his designs upon the steel plates with wonderful facility and dexterity, and continual practice had made him almost perfect in this particular branch of art. All these plates were etched in duplicate; the greater number were drawn on quarto plates, having two subjects on each as usual, but the frontispiece, the last four illustrations, and the duplicates of three others were etched singly on steels of octavo size.[25]

Footnote 25: An American edition (published in 1844) contains
fourteen clever _replicas_ of the "Dombey" etchings.

The duplicates do not vary much; that in which an alteration is most noticeable, although hardly perceptible, is "Abstraction and Recognition," the bills on the wall near Alice in one plate being less mutilated than in the other. There was such a large circulation of the book in part form that the printing from the plates could not be executed quickly enough, the etchings being rarely sent in until the last minute; so that it became necessary to resort to lithographic transfers until the duplicate plates could be etched. In "Dombey and Son" the artist first introduced the oblong form of illustration, this lending itself more appropriately to the subjects so treated, and in succeeding novels we find a fair sprinkling of designs of this shape. When nearing the end of the story he essayed, with considerable success, a new method of obtaining _chiaroscuro_, and he afterwards adopted it whenever striking effects were required. The only plate in "Dombey" so treated is "On the Dark Road," on which, by means of a ruling-machine, a tint had been placed before the subject was drawn, and, by a process of biting-in, stopping-out, and burnishing, an effect resembling mezzotint was obtained. The machine was kept in Mr. Young's studio at Furnival's Inn, and could be manipulated by a boy, the operation of "ruling" being a purely mechanical one; it was the subsequent treatment by acid and burnisher, in reproducing the tones of the original drawing, that required the knowledge of an expert.

A few anomalies may be discovered in the "Dombey" plates. In the various representations of Captain Cuttle the artist has depicted him, in two instances, with the hook upon the left arm instead of the right. When comparing the three plates portraying Sol Gills's little back-parlour, certain little discrepancies are apparent, such as the altered position of the model of a brig, &c. In the plate entitled "The Wooden Midshipman on the Look-out," Florence is delineated as a well-developed young woman, whereas, according to the text, she was then but a mere child of fourteen. In the same illustration the artist has drawn a pair of horses (or rather their heads) which can have no possible connection with the omnibus near by, although they are evidently intended to be associated therewith. In the etching "Abstraction and Recognition," Alice and her mother standing in the archway are much too tall; it is interesting to note here the advertisement on the wall of Cruikshank's "Bottle," which may be considered as denoting the popularity of that remarkable series of pictures, then being issued. Two palpable errors are discoverable in the illustration entitled "On the Dark Road," for not only does the driver hold the reins in the wrong hand, but it will be seen that the wheels of the rapidly-moving carriage are really represented as stationary, while the "off" wheels are omitted altogether. In the last plate but one, the figure of Florence is not sufficiently visionary, and therefore fails to convey the author's meaning respecting the conscience-stricken Dombey.

Hablôt Browne invariably laboured under some disadvantage when designing his illustrations for Dickens; indeed, he was sometimes compelled to draw his inspiration merely from the author's verbal explanation or reading of a particular passage; so it is not surprising that we discover an occasional discrepancy. In the case of "Dombey," he experienced a difficulty of another kind, for during the writing of the story Dickens was living at Lausanne in Switzerland, and the sketches had to be sent there for his criticism and approval, which not only caused delay, but gave the artist some trouble in understanding the suggestions made by the author when returning the drawings.

PLATE XXXV

"MR. CHADBAND 'IMPROVING' A TOUGH SUBJECT"

_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing for "Bleak House" by

H. K. BROWNE ("PHIZ")

In the Etching the figure of Jo is placed on the opposite side of the picture.

_Lent by Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans._

Several letters from Dickens to Forster at this time express solicitude concerning these plates. Writing from Lausanne on the 18th of July 1846, he said: "The prints for illustration, and the enormous care required, make me excessively anxious." A nervous dread of caricature on the face of his merchant-hero had led him to indicate by a living person the type of city gentleman he would have had the artist select. "The man for Dombey," he explained, "if Browne could see him, the class man to a T, is Sir A----E----, of D----'s;" and this is all he meant by his reiterated urgent request, "I do wish he could get a glimpse of A., for he is the very Dombey." It seems, however, that the "glimpse of A." was impracticable, so it was resolved to send, for selection by himself, glimpses of other letters of the alphabet--actual heads as well as fanciful ones--and the sheetful of sketches forwarded for this purpose contains no less than twenty-nine typical Dombey portraits, comprising full-length and half-length presentments, as well as studies of heads in various poses, but with the same hard characteristic expression.[26] Against four of them "Phiz" has placed little arrows, to indicate that (in his opinion) they best accorded with the author's conception. The Dombey actually etched was not, after all, an absolute transcript of these tentative ideas, but seems to be a combination of several; and it is curious to note that, in the various representations of the proud city merchant as seen in the plates, "Phiz" did not keep religiously to the same type. That Dickens considered the artist's presentment as satisfactory is proved by his remark to Forster, "I think Mr. Dombey admirable," this doubtless referring to the illustration entitled "Mr. Dombey and the World." In a fragment of a letter preserved by Mr. J. F. Dexter may be read a few instructions to the artist with reference to the delineation of Mr. Dombey and his second wife: "It is a part of his character that he should be just the same as of yore. And in the second subject, I should like Edith Granger to possess the reader with a more serious notion of her having a serious part to play in the story. I really hardly know, however, what [part] beyond an expression of utter indifference towards Mr. Dombey...."

Footnote 26: In Mr. Andrew Lang's opinion, these sketches for
Mr. Dombey look like "a collection of criminal butlers."

In the letter to Forster already quoted, the novelist sent (for transmission to the artist) a few hints for the earlier designs: "Great pains will be necessary with Miss Tox. The Toodle family should not be too much caricatured, because of Polly. I should like Browne to think of Susan Nipper, who will not be wanted in the first number. After the second number, they will all be nine or ten years older, but this will not involve much change in the characters, except in the children and Miss Nipper." After the completion of the first two plates, Dickens seems to have been in better heart about his illustrator, for, again writing to Forster from Lausanne, he said: "Browne seems to be getting on well. He will have a good subject in Paul's christening. Mr. Chick is like D., if you'll mention that when you think of it." Then, a little later: "Browne is certainly interesting himself and taking pains." He seems, however, to have been greatly disappointed with the designs in the second number, viz., "The Christening Party" (which he anticipated would be a success) and "Polly Rescues the Charitable Grinder," declaring them to be so "dreadfully bad" (in the sense of not keeping strictly to the text) that they made him "curl his legs up." This failure on the part of the artist caused him to feel unusually anxious in regard to a special illustration on which he had set much store, intended for the number he then had in hand. Communicating with Forster anent this, he said: "The best subject for Browne will be at Mrs. Pipchin's; and if he liked to do a quiet odd thing, Paul, Mrs. Pipchin, and the Cat, by the fire, would be very good for the story. I earnestly hope he will think it worth a little extra care." On first seeing the etching of this subject, he was sorely displeased, and could not refrain from thus expressing himself to Forster: "I am really _distressed_ by the illustration of Mrs. Pipchin and Paul. It is so frightfully and wildly wide of the mark. Good Heaven! in the commonest and most literal construction of the text it is all wrong. She is described as an old lady, and Paul's 'miniature arm-chair' is mentioned more than once. He ought to be sitting in a little arm-chair down in the corner of the fireplace, staring up at her. I can't say what pain and vexation it is to be so utterly misrepresented. I would cheerfully have given a hundred pounds to have kept this illustration out of the book. He never could have got that idea of Mrs. Pipchin if he had attended to the text. Indeed, I think he does better without the text; for then the notion is made easy to him in short description, and he can't help taking it in." It is certainly strange that the sketch for this subject was not submitted to Dickens for approval before it was etched. We are told by Forster that the author felt the disappointment more keenly because "the conception of the grim old boarding-house keeper had taken back his thoughts to the miseries of his own child-life, and made her, as her prototype in verity was, a part of the terrible reality." In justice to the artist, it must be conceded that the etching of this subject seems to be an excellent rendering of the description of the scene as conveyed in the letterpress.

"Phiz" sometimes complained that Dickens did not send him more than a few printed lines as a guide to the subject to be illustrated, and, being kept in ignorance as to the context, he found it difficult to delineate the characters as well as the novelist might wish. Occasionally, as we have seen, he received quite a lengthy note when at work upon the designs, these communications sometimes being partly literal extracts from the text and partly condensation, such as the following:--

"Paul (a year older) has left Mrs. Pipchin's and gone to Doctor Blimber's establishment at Brighton. The Doctor only takes ten young gentlemen. Doctor Blimber's establishment is a good hot-house for the young mind, with a forcing apparatus always at work. Mental green peas are produced there at Christmas, and intellectual asparagus all the year round. Every description of Greek and Latin vegetable is got off the driest twigs of boys under the frostiest circumstances. Mrs. Blimber is fond of the boys not being like boys, and of their wearing collars and neckerchiefs. They have all blown before their time. The eldest boy in the school--young Toots by name, with a swollen nose and an exceedingly large head--left off blowing suddenly one day, and people _do_ say that the Doctor rather overdid it with him, and that when he began to have whiskers he left off having brains. All the young gentlemen have great weights on their minds. They are haunted by verbs, noun-substantives, roots, and syntactic passages. Some abandoned hope half through the Latin Grammar, and others curse Virgil in the bitterness of their souls. Classical Literature in general is an immense collection of words to them. It's all words and grammar, and don't mean anything else.

"Subject--These young gentlemen out walking, very dismally and formally (observe it's a very expensive school), with the lettering, _Doctor Blimber's young gentlemen as they appeared when enjoying themselves_. I think Doctor Blimber, a little removed from the rest, should bring up the rear, or lead the van, with Paul, who is much the youngest of the party. I extract the description of the Doctor. [Here follows a quotation from the eleventh chapter.]

"Paul as last described, but a twelvemonth older. No collar or neckerchief for him, of course. I would make the next youngest boy about three or four years older than he."

A remarkable oversight on the part of "Phiz" with reference to this plate is immediately observable, for while Dickens explicitly states the number of Dr. Blimber's pupils as ten, the artist has introduced no less than seventeen young gentlemen. Concerning the illustration, "Major Bagstock is Delighted to have that Opportunity," there is extant an interesting letter (dated March 10, 1847) from Dickens to "Phiz" (printed for the first time in Mr. D. C. Thomson's Memoir of H. K. Browne), in which the novelist is very explicit respecting his requirements:--

"MY DEAR BROWNE-- ... The occasion of my coming home makes
me very late with my number, which I have only begun this
morning; otherwise you should have been fed sooner....The
first subject I am now going to give is very important to
the book. _I should like to see your sketch of it if
possible._

"I should premise that I want to make the Major, who is the
incarnation of selfishness and small revenge, a kind of
comic Mephistophilean power in the book; and the No. begins
with the departure of Mr. Dombey and the Major on that trip
for change of air and scene which is prepared for in the
last Number. They go to Leamington, where you and I were
once. In the Library the Major introduces Mr. Dombey to a
certain lady, whom, as I wish to foreshadow dimly, said
Dombey may come to marry in due season. She is about thirty,
not a day more--handsome, though haughty-looking--good
figure, well dressed, showy, and desirable. Quite a lady in
appearance, with something of a proud indifference about
her, suggestive of a spark of the Devil within. Was married
young. Husband dead. Goes about with an old mother, who
rouges, and who lives upon the reputation of a diamond
necklace and her family. Wants a husband. Flies at none but
high game, and couldn't marry anybody not rich. Mother
affects cordiality and heart, and is the essence of sordid
calculation. Mother usually shoved about in a Bath chair by
a page who has rather outgrown and outshoved his strength,
and who butts at it behind like a ram, while his mistress
steers herself languidly by a handle in front. Nothing the
matter with her to prevent her walking, only was once when
a Beauty sketched reclining in a Barouche, and having
outlived the Beauty and the Barouche too, still holds to the
attitude as becoming her uncommonly. Mother is in this
machine in the sketch. Daughter has a parasol.

"The Major presents them to Mr. Dombey, gloating within
himself over what may come of it, and over the discomfiture
of Miss Tox. Mr. Dombey (in deep mourning) bows solemnly.
Daughter bends. The native in attendance bearing a
camp-stool and the Major's greatcoat. Native evidently
afraid of the Major and his thick cane. If you like it
better, the scene may be in the street or in a green lane.
But a great deal will come of it; and I want the Major to
express that as much as possible in his apoplectic
Mephistophilean observation of the scene, and in his share
of it."

The design was promptly executed and submitted to Dickens,
who, in a letter to the artist dated five days later,
expressed his approval thereof: "The sketch is admirable,"
he wrote,--"the women _quite perfect_. I cannot tell you how
much I like the younger one. There are one or two points,
however, which I must ask you to alter. They are capital in
themselves, and I speak solely for the story.

"First--I grieve to write it--that native--who is so
prodigiously good as he is--must be in European costume. He
may wear earrings and look outlandish and be dark brown. In
this fashion must be of Moses, Mosesy. I don't mean Old
Testament Moses, but him of the Minories.

"Secondly, if you _can_ make the Major older, and with a
larger face--do.

"That's all. Never mind the pump-room now, unless you have
found the sketch, as we may have that another time. I shall
'propoge' to you a trip to Leamington together. We might go
one day and return the next.... Don't mind sending me the
second sketch. It is so late."[27]

Footnote 27: This letter was by chance preserved from a
bonfire made by Browne of his old letters and unfinished
drawings previous to a change of residence.

In Mr. J. F. Dexter's collection there is a pencil-sketch by "Phiz" for this subject (evidently an earlier conception than that submitted to Dickens), in which the incident is depicted as occurring at the seaside (probably Brighton), while, curiously enough, the figure of Mr. Dombey is omitted. Another interesting drawing, also owned by Mr. Dexter, is a tentative sketch (in blue ink) for "The Dombey Family," under which the artist has written the following query: "Whether 'twere better to have him [Mr. Dombey] standing thus, stiff as a poker, with a kind of side glance at his daughter--or sitting, as in the other?" In the etching we see that Mr. Dombey is represented as seated, while Florence is transferred to the other side of the picture.

Through the kind courtesy of Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans, I have been enabled to examine the original "working" drawings for "Dombey and Son," all of these, with one exception (viz. "Polly Rescues the Charitable Grinder," which has mysteriously disappeared), being in the possession of her Grace. The majority of the designs were not reversed when copied upon the steels, and this accounts for some of the incongruities already referred to. In certain cases the drawings are sketched with blue ink and the effects lightly washed in; others are in pencil, or pencil and brushwork combined.

PLATE XXXVI

DOLLY VARDEN

_Facsimile_ of an Original Drawing by

H. K. BROWNE ("PHIZ")

This Drawing, which was designed for the series of extra plates for "Barnaby Rudge," has never been engraved. The published portrait of Dolly is a reproduction of a subsequent Drawing.

_Lent by Mr. J. F. Dexter._

In comparing the drawings with the plates, certain unimportant variations are discoverable; for example, in the drawing of "Paul's Exercises," the candlestick is placed on the table, and more to the right, instead of being raised on a pile of books; in "Major Bagstock is Delighted to have that Opportunity," the figure of the "Native" is differently posed, besides being almost erased, in consequence, perhaps, of Dickens's criticism; in "Coming Home from Church," the ringers hold two bells in either hand. On one of the drawings Dickens has placed his initials, while in the corner of another, "Secret Intelligence," the artist has written the words, "Better, eh?" whence we may infer that a previous sketch had been submitted. It seems likely that "Phiz" made two or three trial sketches for every etching in the book, as there are still in existence other tentative designs for some of the subjects above referred to.

Writing to the editor of the _Daily News_ (December 30, 1882), Dr. Edgar A. Browne, the artist's son, says: "Dickens's delight in the ['Dombey'] illustrations as a whole was, as a matter of fact, very great, and was expressed (doubtless with some characteristic exaggeration) so forcibly, that my father gave him the original designs, which were acknowledged in the following letter:--

"'DEVONSHIRE TERRACE, _Thirteenth June_, 1848.