Initial letter "T" by George du Maurier for William Black's "Three Feathers" (December 1874)

Initial letter "T"

George du Maurier

December 1874

7.8 by 5.9 cm (3 inches by 2 ⅜ inches), vignetted

The Cornhill Magazine (30): 740.

Illustration for Ch. XVI, "Spring-time," in Three Feathers by William Black.

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

[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.]

Passage Complemented

The spring-time had indeed arrived — rapidly and imperceptibly; and all at once it seemed as if the world had grown green, and the skies fair and clear, and the winds sweet with a new and delightful sweetness. [Chapter XVI, "Spring Time," 740]

Figure Illustrated: Wenna, Contemplating the Visitors' Book

"And such a knowledge of the world as you have!" Mrs. Trelyon continued, unconsciously staring at the girl as if she were some strange phenomenon. "Where did you get it?"

"That I am sure I have not got," Wenna said, brightening considerably, "for the strangers who come to the inn of course don't speak to me, except one or two of the very old ladies sometimes, and all they talk about is the scenery. But Mabyn and I read the remarks in the Visitors' Book; and these are very amusing, especially the poetry that the young gentlemen write. . . . [Chapter XVII, "Only a Basket of Primroses," 129 in the 1892 edition]

Comment

Since du Maurier draws his captions directly from the letterpress for the full-scale composite woodblock engravings, the reader is rarely at a loss for the subject of the monthly illustration, although it may not be anticipating a narrative moment in the opening chapter of the monthly instalment. The captions are consistently word for word what Black has written, and the composition often realises details of setting, particularly for the outdoor scenes.

The situation is vastly different for the initial letter vignettes, which of course represent in each case the opening letter of the first paragraph in the monthly number of The Cornhill, often on the opening page of a monthly number. However, these portraits, often of the young female characters (Wenna and her sister Mabyn in particular) have no titles or captions, so that the reader is often left to speculate as to whom du Maurier is representing and why. Here, for example, the subject is likely the heroine, Wenna Rosewarne, but the vignette provides little context to assist the reader in interpreting the moment realised. No indoor scene in the opening chapter of the December 1875 instalment corresponds to Wenna's contemplating a page, either of a book or a letter.

Bibliography

Allingham, Philip V. "The Illustrations for William Black's Three Feathers." (2001).

Black, William. Three Feathers. Illustrated by George du Maurier. The Cornhill Magazine, Vols. XXX & XXXI (August 1874 through June 1875).

Black, William. Three Feathers: A Novel. Illustrated by George du Maurier. London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1875. 3 vols. Rpt., 1892 in a single volume.

Created 18 December 2001

Last updated 14 January 2025