’I saw him and Master Simon’
Randolph Caldecott
1877
Photomechanical reproduction of pen and ink drawing
5½ x 4 inches
Illustration in Bracebridge Hall, facing 87.
A fine example of Caldecott’s draughtsmanship and characterization in which he individualizes the three characters while defining the situation with directness and psychological insight. The image is very much a version of ‘Old England,’ with the squires having a laugh at the expense of one of the peasants; there is also a sexual undercurrent, with the two seniors subjecting the attractive (‘buxom’) girl to the male gaze and to lascivious or ‘daring’ comments, as if she were Susannah being ogled by the elders (87). Irving points to this subtext and Caldecott is sensitive to the implications of what might otherwise seem an innocent jest in the countryside of the English idyll.
Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke. [Click on image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]