‘Poor and Sure’, by Charles Bennett

Pure and Sure

Charles Bennett

1861

Wood engraving by an unknown engraver

3 x 2¾ inches at widest point

Illustration for W. H. Wills,Poet’s Wit and Humour, p.7.

Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

A playful image, punning on the shape of mice’s ears. This experimentation with outlines, breaking the conventional square or oblong frames containing wood-engraved illustrations, is typical of Bennett’s treatment of the page. It is significant that this book was published by Joseph Cundall, a book-designer who promoted novel and striking arrangements of image and text.

References

Wills, W. H.Poets’ Wit and Humour. London: Joseph Cundall [1861].

Last modified 25 March 2014