part to be played by Jasper in the story, Dickens thought fit to confide
in him some details concerning the final scene. Principally, perhaps,
with this object in view, he invited the artist to spend a few days with
him at Gad's Hill, in order that he might become familiar with the
neighbourhood in which many of the scenes in "Edwin Drood" are laid. The
novelist promised him that, if he were a good pedestrian, he would
introduce him to some of the most charming scenes in Kent, and they
would visit together the picturesque Hall at Cobham with its famous
gallery of paintings, Cobham Park and village, and other interesting
places in that locality. In the course of conversation during this
interview, Dickens (who evidently anticipated much enjoyment from the
little holiday) recalled that, when a boy, he had seen in Rochester a
gaol or "lock-up," and significantly added that Mr. Fildes should make a
note of one of the prison cells, which would do admirably to put Jasper
in for the _last illustration_--thus pretty clearly foreshadowing the
conclusion of the story. "I want you to make as good a drawing," said
Dickens, "as Cruikshank's 'Fagin in the Condemned Cell,'"--a suggestion
which Mr. Fildes did not approve, as any attempt on his part to treat
the subject in the Cruikshankian manner might be resented as an obvious
plagiarism, although a comparison of the two designs would have proved
interesting.
PLATE LXVI
STUDY FOR
MR. GREWGIOUS
_Facsimile_ of the Original Sketch by
LUKE FILDES, R.A.
This figure appears in the Illustration entitled "Mr. Grewgious has his
Suspicions." _Vide_ "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."
_Lent by the Artist._
[Illustration]
It was decreed, alas! that Mr. Fildes's visit to Charles Dickens's
"little Kentish freehold" would never be realised while the great writer
lived. On the morning of the appointed day, Dickens intended making
his usual weekly call at the office of _All the Year Round_, and was to
have been accompanied on his return by Mr. Fildes. That very day,
however, the artist (whose luggage was packed ready for departure) took
up the newspaper, and was startled to read the melancholy intelligence
that Dickens was no more. This terribly sudden death changed everything;
but in order to fulfil the novelist's express desire, the artist was
invited (after the funeral) to stay with the Dickens family. "It was
then," remarks Mr. Fildes, "while in the house of mourning, I conceived
the idea of "The Empty Chair," and at once got my colours from London,
and made the water-colour drawing a very faithful record of his
library."[50]
Footnote 50: An engraved reproduction of this picture
appeared in _The Graphic_ Christmas number, 1870.
The death of Dickens had an extraordinary effect on Mr. Fildes, for it
seemed as though the cup of happiness had been dashed from his lips.
Following the example of Mr. Marcus Stone, he decided to abandon
black-and-white illustration and direct his entire attention to
painting, with what success all the world knows. In 1879 he was elected
an Associate of the Royal Academy, and attained full honours eight years
later. The first picture that brought him into notice was "Applicants
for Admission to a Casual Ward" (exhibited at the Royal Academy in
1874), this being elaborated from _The Graphic_ drawing, "Houseless and
Hungry," which, as already described, led to his acquaintance with the
author of "Pickwick." While occupied with this important canvas, Mr.
Fildes was desired by Forster to call upon him, and, on entering the
study, he was interrogated respecting his welfare; for Forster
apparently opined that the demise of the novelist, and the consequent
termination of his illustration-work for "Edwin Drood," might have
caused the young artist some embarrassment. After listening intently to
Mr. Fildes's description of the subject he was then painting, Forster
suddenly exclaimed, "How very strange! You are exactly depicting a scene
witnessed by Dickens himself many years ago. I have just copied his
letter referring to it, which has never been out of my possession;" and
from an accumulation of papers on his desk (for he was then preparing
his biography of the novelist) he abstracted the missive in which the
novelist alluded to the unfortunate outcasts as "dumb, wet, silent
horrors--sphinxes set up against that dead wall, and none likely to be
at the pains of solving them until the general overthrow." Mr. Fildes
was so struck by this coincidence, that he sought and obtained
permission to quote Dickens's forcible sentence under the title of his
picture when printed in the Academy Catalogue.
Mr. Luke Fildes has many pleasant recollections of Charles Dickens to
impart. "He was extremely kind to me," observes the artist, "and, when
living in Hyde Park Place, asked me to many of his entertainments. He
was almost fatherly, seeming to throw a protecting air over me, and
always elaborately introducing me to his guests." The artist still
cherishes, as valued mementoes, a little memorandum porcelain slate
bound in leather, a quill pen with the blue ink dried upon it, and a
square sheet of blue paper, which were given to him by Miss Hogarth, who
found them on the novelist's desk just as he had left them.
When Dickens died, only three numbers of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
had been published. The illustrations for the ensuing portion of the
story, as completed up to the time of his brief but fatal illness, had
yet to be executed, and it is interesting to know that the titles for
these were composed by the artist. With a view to future numbers, Mr.
Fildes had made several drawings in Rochester, including the choir of
the Cathedral and the exterior of Eastgate House (_i.e._ "The Nuns'
House"), which were never utilised; he also painted a view of Rochester
Castle and Cathedral as seen from the Medway, this being reproduced as a
vignette for the engraved title-page. The artist invariably signed his
drawings "S. L. Fildes;" but in the vignette here referred to the
signature incorrectly appears as "J. L. Fildes."
PLATE LXVII
STUDY FOR
MR. GREWGIOUS
_Facsimile_ of the Original Sketch by
LUKE FILDES, R.A.
This figure appears in the Illustration entitled "Up the River." _Vide_
"The Mystery of Edwin Drood."
_Lent by the Artist._
[Illustration]
It will readily be conceded that Mr. Fildes's illustrations for
Dickens's final romance are remarkable for a serious and sound
draughtsmanship, while the life-like delineation of the various
characters, as well as the pictorial exactitude of backgrounds and
accessories, invite careful study and examination. Without unduly
disparaging the excellent etchings by Cruikshank and "Phiz," it must be
admitted that there is a vitality appertaining to Mr. Fildes's designs
which imparts to them a reality not always discoverable in the
illustrations produced by those admirable artists.
APPENDIX
I
ILLUSTRATORS OF CHEAP EDITIONS
C. R. LESLIE, R.A.--Design for "Pickwick"--Washington
Irving's Tribute to the Artist--Portrait of "Dickens as
Captain Bobadil"--T. WEBSTER, R.A.--His Picture of
"Dotheboys Hall"--A. BOYD HOUGHTON--Illustrations for "Hard
Times" and "Our Mutual Friend"--G. J. PINWELL--Illustrations
for "The Uncommercial Traveller"--Interesting Portrait of
the Novelist--F. WALKER, A.R.A.--Illustrations for
"Reprinted Pieces" and "Hard Times"--Illustrators of the
Household Edition--C. GREEN, F. BARNARD, J. MAHONEY, E. G.
DALZIEL, F. A. FRASER, G. THOMSON, H. FRENCH, A. B. FROST,
and J. M^CL. RALSTON--Charles Green's Illustrations for "The
Old Curiosity Shop," "Great Expectations," and the Christmas
Books--F. BARNARD, the _Premier_ Illustrator of Dickens--The
Novels Illustrated by him--His Favourite Model--Tragic Death
of the Artist--An American Household Edition--New Designs by
C. S. REINHART, T. WORTH, W. L. SHEPPARD, E. A. ABBEY, A. B.
FROST, and T. NAST--Illustrations by J. M^CLENAN--F. O. C.
DARLEY--His Reputation as a Draughtsman--His Designs for an
American Household Edition Engraved on Steel--Independent
Illustrations--Death of the Artist--Sir JOHN GILBERT'S
Designs for "Holiday Romance"--G. G. WHITE--S.
EYTINGE--Prolific Contributor to Books and Periodicals--His
Picture of "Mr. Pickwick's Reception"--Designs for the
Diamond Edition, &c.--Character Sketches--Dickens's
Admiration of the Artist's Conceptions--Gives a Sitting for
his Portrait--A Unique Print--Eytinge Visits Gad's
Hill--Illustrations by H. BILLINGS for "A Child's Dream of a
Star"--The "Christmas Carol" Designs by GAUGENGIGL and
CHOMINSKI--"The Cricket on the Hearth" Designs by MAROLD and
MITTIS, and L. ROSSI--Some Dickens Illustrations by J. NASH,
T. W. WILSON, J. E. CHRISTIE, and G. BROWNE--Designs by E.
J. WHEELER for "Tales from Pickwick"--Illustrations by PHIL
MAY, MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN, and HARRY FURNISS--Coloured
Frontispieces for the Temple Library Edition.
[Sidenote: =C. R. Leslie, R.A.=]
Besides the illustrators of the original issues of Charles Dickens's
novels there are other distinguished artists concerning whose designs
for the cheaper editions some mention should be made in the present
work. Besides Clarkson Stanfield, R.A., who has already been referred to
as supplying the frontispiece to the first cheap issue of "American
Notes," Dickens was under a similar obligation to two other Royal
Academicians, Leslie and Webster, for frontispieces to the first cheap
edition of "Pickwick" (1847) and "Nicholas Nickleby" (1848)
respectively. Charles Robert Leslie, of whom Thackeray once said that no
artist possessed so much as he "the precious quality of making us laugh
kindly," found a suitable subject in the twelfth chapter of "The
Pickwick Papers," his illustration representing Mrs. Bardell fainting
in the arms of Mr. Pickwick,--an incident that had already been depicted
by "Phiz." The original picture by Leslie--which was a commission from
Dickens--is a cabinet-painting in grisaille or monochrome; it realised
£137, 11s. at the sale of the novelist's effects in 1870, and is now the
property of Mr. William Wright, of Paris. It seems probable that Dickens
owed his introduction to this artist through the friendly intervention
of Washington Irving, who, in May 1841, thus wrote to the novelist: "Do
you know Leslie the painter, the one who has recently painted a picture
of Queen Victoria? If you do not, I wish you would get acquainted with
him. You would like one another. He is full of talent and right feeling.
He was one of my choice and intimate companions during my literary
sojourn in London. While I was making my early studies with my pen, he
was working with his pencil. We sympathised in tastes and in feelings,
and used to explore London together, and visit the neighbouring
villages, occasionally extending our researches into different parts of
the country. He is one of the purest and best of men, with a fine eye
for nature and character, and a true Addisonian humour." In 1846 Leslie
produced his well-known picture of Dickens as Captain Bobabil, in Ben
Jonson's play, "Every Man in his Humour," which was exhibited in the
Royal Academy the same year; shortly afterwards the painting was
reproduced in lithography by T. H. Maguire, impressions of which
(especially those that were coloured) are now very scarce.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =T. Webster, R.A.=]
The first cheap edition of "Nicholas Nickleby" was embellished by means
of a frontispiece engraved on wood by T. Williams from the picture by T.
Webster, R.A., which (like Leslie's) was painted for the novelist. This
exquisite painting (measuring only ten inches by seven inches) depicts
the familiar scene at Dotheboys Hall, where Mrs. Squeers administers the
much-dreaded brimstone and treacle; at the Dickens sale the interesting
little picture realised the substantial sum of £535, 10s. It is said
that the artist was so thorough and so persistent in illustrating the
humours of boys' schools that he earned the _sobriquet_ of "Dotheboys
Webster."
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =A. B. Houghton and G. J. Pinwell=]
[Sidenote: =F. Walker, A.R.A.=]
The first cheap editions of later works were graced with frontispieces
from the pencils of two artists better known as draughtsmen than as
painters. These were A. Boyd Houghton, who designed the frontispiece for
"Hard Times" (1865) and "Our Mutual Friend" (1867), and G. J. Pinwell,
who furnished an illustration for "The Uncommercial Traveller"
(1865)--all of which were engraved on wood by the Dalziel Brothers. In
1868 Pinwell likewise contributed four excellent woodcut illustrations
to the Library Edition of the same work,[51] and it is interesting to
note that in one of these, "Leaving the Morgue," he has introduced a
full-length presentment of the novelist.[52] Associated with the Library
Edition we find the name of Fred. Walker, A.R.A., whose position as a
designer in black-and-white stands high in the first rank of English
masters. This clever artist prepared four illustrations respectively for
"Reprinted Pieces" and "Hard Times" (1868), and for refinement of
execution they have probably never been excelled. Fred. Walker, the
painter of those world-famous pictures known as "The Harbour of Refuge,"
"The Bathers," "The Lost Path," &c., died prematurely of consumption in
1875, at the age of thirty-five, a loss which all artists and art-lovers
have never ceased to deplore. The Library Edition of the "Christmas
Stories" is illustrated by F. A. Fraser, H. French, E. G. Dalziel, J.
Mahoney, Townley Green, and Charles Green, fourteen woodcuts in all.
Footnote 51: The later volumes of the Library Edition were
issued at intervals during 1862-1868.
Footnote 52: The Library Edition of "The Uncommercial
Traveller" also contains four illustrations signed "W.M.,"
which are much inferior to Pinwell's designs.
After Dickens's death, that is, during 1871-79, Chapman & Hall issued a
Household Edition of his novels, ensuring their further popularity by
inserting entirely fresh illustrations. The artists selected for this
undertaking were Charles Green, Fred. Barnard, J. Mahoney, E. G.
Dalziel, F. A. Fraser, Gordon Thomson, H. French, A. B. Frost, and J.
M^{c}L. Ralston, nearly all of whom had already been represented in the
Library Edition. In commenting upon these designs, it may be remarked
that, of his numerous illustrators, Dickens has never been more
sympathetically interpreted than by Charles Green and Fred. Barnard.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =Charles Green.=]
The thirty-two illustrations contributed by Charles Green to the
Household Edition of "The Old Curiosity Shop" contrast most favourably
with those by "Phiz" in the original issue; these drawings, which, for
the most part, were made upon paper by means of the brush-point, are
entirely free from the gross exaggeration and caricature which impart
such grotesqueness to the majority of the figure subjects by Hablôt
Browne for this story. Mr. Green's design for the wrapper enclosing each
part of the Crown Edition of the novelist's works (subsequently
published by Chapman & Hall) is cleverly conceived, for here he has
introduced all the leading personages, happily grouped around the
principal figure, Mr. Pickwick, who occupies an elevated position upon a
pile of books representing the novels of Dickens. A few years ago
Messrs. A. & F. Pears commissioned Mr. Green to design a number of
illustrations for a series of their Annuals, the artist's services being
specially retained for the following reprints of Dickens's Christmas
Books: "A Christmas Carol" (1892), twenty-seven drawings; "The Battle of
Life" (1893), twenty-nine drawings; "The Chimes" (1894), thirty
drawings; and "The Haunted Man" (1895), thirty drawings. His latest
productions as a Dickens illustrator consist of a series of ten new
designs, reproduced by photogravure for the Gadshill Edition of "Great
Expectations," recently published by Chapman & Hall. Undoubtedly Mr.
Green's most important work in connection with Dickens is to be found in
his water-colour drawings of scenes from the novels, of which a complete
list is given in the chapter entitled "Dickens in Art."[53]
Footnote 53: During the printing of this work, the death was
announced of Mr. Charles Green, R.I., who succumbed to a
painful illness of long standing.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =Fred. Barnard.=]
Fred. Barnard has come to be considered, _par excellence_, the
illustrator of the famous novelist; indeed, he has been not inaptly
termed "the Charles Dickens among black-and-white artists." Like Dickens
himself, he was essentially a humorist, and his designs, although never
lacking in infectious humour, had always something in them which raised
them above the commonplace. To his skilful and vigorous pencil the
Household Edition is indebted for the majority of the illustrations
appearing therein, as the following list testifies: "Sketches by Boz,"
"Nicholas Nickleby," "Martin Chuzzlewit," "Barnaby Rudge," "Master
Humphrey's Clock" (incidental chapters), "David Copperfield," "Dombey
and Son," "Bleak House," "Christmas Books," "A Tale of Two Cities,"
"Hunted Down," "Holiday Romance," and "George Silverman's
Explanation,"--making a grand total of nearly four hundred and fifty
drawings. There is no doubt that Fred. Barnard "knew his Dickens" as
well as any man, and he produced (independently of the foregoing
designs) a number of pictures and drawings of characters and scenes from
the novels, to which special reference is made in the next chapter.
Mr. M. H. Spielmann informs me that, for the purposes of his Dickensian
subjects, the model who sat to Barnard was the late well-known French.
The tragic death (in his fiftieth year) of this popular artist in
September 1896 is not yet forgotten. He had accustomed himself to the
pernicious habit of smoking in bed, and falling asleep (under the
influence of a powerful drug) while his pipe was yet alight, the bedding
caught fire, with the result that he was suffocated by the smoke, his
body being much burned.
[Sidenote: =American "Household Edition."=]
The Household Edition was simultaneously published in London and New
York, Harper & Brothers having arranged with Chapman & Hall to be
supplied with _clichés_ of the illustrations. For some reason, however,
the English engravings do not appear in several of the volumes thus
issued in America, there being substituted for them a similar number of
entirely new designs by the following American artists: C. S. Reinhart
("Nicholas Nickleby," "The Uncommercial Traveller," and "Hard Times"),
Thomas Worth ("The Old Curiosity Shop"), W. L. Sheppard "Dombey and
Son"), E. A. Abbey, R.A. ("Christmas Stories"), A. B. Frost "Sketches by
Boz"), and Thomas Nast ("Pickwick" and "American Notes").
Mr. Nast has also illustrated various Dickens subjects for American
magazines, and independent works such as "Gabriel Grub" (from
"Pickwick"), issued by M^cLoughin as a Christmas book. Mr. Frost is
likewise responsible for twelve illustrations engraved on wood for an
edition of "Pickwick" published a few years ago by Ward, Lock & Co., of
London and New York; and there is a design by him in _Scribner's
Magazine_, December 1897, entitled "That Slide," and depicting the
familiar scene described in the thirtieth chapter of "Pickwick." In 1859
Harper & Brothers printed "A Tale of Two Cities" as a serial in
_Harper's Weekly_, with thirty-four woodcut illustrations by a New York
artist, J. M^cLenan, and in the following year the same firm similarly
produced "Great Expectations," with twenty-seven illustrations by that
artist, the first chapter appearing in November 1860. Both stories were
subsequently issued in volume form by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, of
Philadelphia.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =F. O. C. Darley.=]
Perhaps the best of Dickens's American illustrators was Felix Octavius
Carr Darley, a most eminent and successful "character" draughtsman,
whose productions are both original and clever. When, in 1860, an octavo
edition (also designated the Household Edition) was prepared by W. A.
Townsend & Co. of New York, it was proposed that the services of Darley
and Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Gilbert should be secured as illustrators
for the new venture, this resulting in the American artist executing
nearly the whole of the vignette designs, all of which assumed the form
of frontispieces. He had already prepared more than five hundred
illustrations for an edition of Cooper's novels, so it is probable that
the excellence of those drawings led to his engagement in a like
capacity for this Household Edition of Dickens. His designs, which were
beautifully engraved on steel, are very refined both as regards
conception and execution, and are especially interesting as indicating
an intelligent appreciation, on the part of a Transatlantic artist, of
the novelist's characterisation, the extravagant and grotesque being
instinctively avoided. Darley, although born in Philadelphia in 1822,
was the son of an English actor; his natural gift for drawing was
properly encouraged, and he developed into one of the most efficient
book-illustrators of his time; in addition to this he achieved a
distinct reputation through the production of large prints, such as "The
Village Blacksmith," "The Unwilling Labourer," "The Wedding Procession,"
"Washington's Entry into New York," and other popular subjects. The
Dickens series of designs have recently been reprinted by Houghton,
Mifflin & Co. (Boston and New York) for their Standard Library Edition.
Darley also prepared six drawings for a little work entitled "Children
from Dickens's Novels," and subsequently painted a series of eight
familiar scenes from Dickens, which were reproduced as photo-etchings
and issued in sets; these afterwards appeared in an Imperial Edition of
the novelist's works by Estes & Lauriat, Boston, U.S.A. Darley
continued to occupy himself with his art up to the end of his life, but
withdrew in his latter years from the cities to his home at Clayton,
Delaware, where he died, March 27, 1888.[54]
Footnote 54: For many of these particulars I am indebted to
Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.'s Standard Library Edition of
Dickens's Works.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =Sir John Gilbert, R.A.=]
The small number of frontispieces furnished by Sir John Gilbert to W. A.
Townsend & Co.'s Household Edition are reprinted, with those of Darley,
in Houghton, Mifflin & Co.'s Standard Library Edition. It is perhaps not
generally known that, in 1868, four woodcut illustrations were specially
designed by Sir John for one of Dickens's minor productions, "Holiday
Romance,"--a short story written expressly for _Our Young Folks_, a
magazine published by Ticknor & Fields, of Boston, U.S.A. In the
original announcement we read that the artist had "consented to waive
his decision not to draw again on wood, in order to give additional
interest to Mr. Dickens's 'Romance,'" by which it may be inferred that
these are among the last examples of Sir John's skill in that direction.
For the initials in "Holiday Romance," a Transatlantic artist, G. G.
White, was responsible. Sir John Gilbert, R.A., P.R.W.S., also produced
a series of "Pickwick" illustrations, now exceedingly rare, particulars
of which will be found in the next chapter. This accomplished painter
and prolific designer died so recently as October 5, 1897, in his
eightieth year, and of him it has been truly observed that in his most
distinctive line--viz., illustration--we can look in vain for his equal.
It is recorded that he must have contributed no fewer than thirty
thousand subjects to the pages of _The Illustrated London News_ alone,
besides supplying innumerable designs to _The London Journal_ and other
publications. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that Sir John
Gilbert stands out pre-eminently the great popular illustrator of the
Victorian era.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =Sol. Eytinge.=]