"Old Lobbs gave it one tug, and open it flew . . ." — nineteenth illustration by Phiz for Dickens's "Pickwick Papers" (1874)

Old Lobbs gave it one tug, and open it flew, disclosing Nathaniel Pipkin standing bolt upright inside, and shaking with apprehension from head to foot. by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne). (See page 117.). Chapter XVII, "Showing that an Attack of Rheumatism, in some Cases, acts as a Quickener to Inventive Genius." Wood-engraving, 4 ¼ inches high by 5 ⅝ inches wide (11 cm high by 14.6 cm wide), framed, half-page, p. 121; referencing text on page 117; descriptive headline: "Mrs Pott Recovers" (p. 121). [Click on the illustration to enlarge it.]

Passage Illustrated

. . . old Lobbs stormed away meanwhile, in the most wonderful manner. At last he thought of the closet, and walked up to it. It was of no use a little man like Nathaniel Pipkin pulling the door inwards, when a great strong fellow like old Lobbs was pulling it outwards. Old Lobbs gave it one tug, and open it flew, disclosing Nathaniel Pipkin standing bolt upright inside, and shaking with apprehension from head to foot. Bless us! what an appalling look old Lobbs gave him, as he dragged him out by the collar, and held him at arm's length.

'"Why, what the devil do you want here?' said old Lobbs, in a fearful voice.

"Nathaniel Pipkin could make no reply, so old Lobbs shook him backwards and forwards, for two or three minutes, by way of arranging his ideas for him.

'"What do you want here?" roared Lobbs; "I suppose you have come after my daughter, now!'

"Old Lobbs merely said this as a sneer: for he did not believe that mortal presumption could have carried Nathaniel Pipkin so far. What was his indignation, when that poor man replied — '"Yes, I did, Mr. Lobbs — I did come after your daughter. I love her, Mr. Lobbs.' [Chapter XVII, "Showing that an Attack of Rheumatism, in some Cases, acts as a Quickener to Inventive Genius," 117]

Commentary

Although the Household Edition compositors at Chapman and Hall positioned this illustration in Chapter XVIII, it clearly refers to a situation in the previous chapter's "The Parish Clerk. A Tale of True Love." The interpolated tale begins as all romantic idylls tend to, "Once upon a time" (114). Rather than illustrate a scene from the inset short story, the eighth that Dickens wrote in 1836 and the fifth in the novel, Thomas Nast in the American Household Edition realised the scene involving the irate Eatanswill Gazette editor Pott's confrontation with Winkle over the latter's pronounced interest in Mrs. Pott: "Sir!" exclaimed Mr. Winkle, starting from his chair. Although Maria Lobbs, "the old saddler's daughter," and her cousin Kate are charming adjuncts to Old Lobbs's confronting the young schoolmaster, Nathaniel Pipkin, in Phiz's 1874 illustration, Nast chose a much more dramatic subject, sketching the adversaries in depth, and rendering the background details of the breakfast-room lightly so as to emphasise Pott's indignation (at being characterised by his rival editor as a cuckolded "Brass Pott") and Winkle's shock and surprise at his host's accusation.

In Phiz's 1874 realisation of the "discovery scene" in the interpolated tale, subordinate elements of the sitting-room are engaging — we note with interest, for example, the notes and visiting cards thrust into the frame of the mirror above the fireplace — but tend to distract the reader from an analysis of the various characters' reactions. In drafting the character of Nathaniel, Phiz has erred in making him look like a juvenile rather than a small adult; and in his rendering of the irate parent, Phiz has failed to make him sufficiently angry, for he was already out of sorts at being unable to find his "large, brown-stemmed, silver-bowled pipe," which somewhat improbably he had left hanging in the very closet where Nathaniel had taken refuge when the old man unexpectedly arrived home.

Related Material

Other artists who illustrated this work, 1836-1910

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. Formatting by George P. Landow. [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.]

Bibliography

Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. New York and Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.

Cohen, Jane Rabb. Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus: Ohio State U. P., 1980.

Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File and Checkmark Books, 1998.

Dickens, Charles. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Robert Seymour, Robert Buss, and Phiz. London: Chapman and Hall, November 1837. With 32 additional illustrations by Thomas Onwhyn (London: E. Grattan, April-November 1837).

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Frontispieces by Felix Octavius Carr Darley and Sir John Gilbert. The Household Edition. 55 vols. New York: Sheldon & Co., 1863. 4 vols.

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Thomas Nast. The Household Edition. 22 vols. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873. Vol. 2.

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874. Vol. 5.

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. 2.

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr. The Diamond Edition. 14 vols. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. Vol. 1.

_______. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Thomas Nast. The Household Edition. 16 vols. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873. Vol. 4.

_______. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874. Vol. 6.

_______. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. 2.

Guiliano, Edward, and Philip Collins, eds. The Annotated Dickens.2 vols. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1986. Vol. I.

Steig, Michael. Chapter 2. "The Beginnings of 'Phiz': Pickwick, Nickleby, and the Emergence from Caricature." Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington & London: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 24-50.

Created 9 March 2012

Last updated 22 April 2024