I have never been able to see what they are
Fred Barnard
1870s
Woodblock Engraving by the Dalziels
14 x 10.9 cm
Full caption: "I have never been able to see what they are, because one of the old ladies always sits before them; but they look, outside, like very old backgammon boards" — Book 5, chap. iv. Forster's Life of Charles Dickens in the Household Edition.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham